Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Deer hunting blade length

Montana what is that bottom one on the first set of pics, maybe brown micarta, looks like a sweet little knife thanks.

That is a Big Chris.

Thank you, looks like a very ergo friendly hunter.

I've used skinning knives with blades from 3" to 5", from old Western's to modern Randall's - I like 3-1/2" to 4" the best and prefer a Buck 118 over all others.

Good call. ^^^^

I got by with this old Estwing and a little Buck 102 for over forty years before someone told me I needed a custom knife. (Estwing on the outside, Buck on the inside.)




But I also did one a couple of weeks ago with an old carbon steel B&T knife so what do I know?

When hunting I always carry a belt knife.
For antelope to elk, I prefer a 3 7/8" to 4 1/8" semi drop point blade, bevel ground, .125" thick and slightly less than 1" width.
With this I can zip, open up, split, core bung hole, gut, skin, quarter, bone out and reduce cuts as the situation requires.

I carry a smaller fixed blade (3" or so) for back up in my back pack
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I don't put any part of my hands/fingers as far up as the cutting edge when working on game. I usually have a knife with some restriction in design such as a applied or integral guard or at least a finger notch----but not always.

But I still have a pile of knives to field test, so I could move off of center as time passes.

There are more "small" things you can do well with a bigger knife than there are "big" things you can do well with a smaller knife. Not considering the extremes here.
Just my current opinions.
Tim

I like a small knife, max maybe 4 inch blade. Why? Because you only use the tip 90% of the time and a big knife is awkward cutting inside the chest cavity, cutting the diaphragm...etc. Don't need a thick heavy blade either....a pocket knife or a small fixed blade sold as a "bird and trout" knife or for "small game" is about right.

I've historically carried a 3 - 3 1/4" drop point of some design or other. I've used a bunch and the only trouble I've ever encountered was hand fatigue when boning out an elk single handily with too small of a handle. Seems of late one of Tim's B&Ts is most often found in my pack.

I most commonly carry a folder, 3 5/8 overall, and a fixed blade in my pack. For deer and antelope I grab one and do the entire job. Elk get to see all my knives - one cuts hide and the other meat.

Just about perfect I would say.

I find a blade from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches ideal. My personal favourite for the last few years is Charlie May's Slitter. It has a 3 1/4 in blade, mine is Scandi ground. Makes darn quick work of deer. Haven't had the opportunity to try it out on an elk but I suspect it will be up to the task.

I like a thin 3 1/2" blade.

Like a Spyderco Moran drop point.