Deer Butchering Knife

[paperboy]

I was wondering how many hunters use the same knife for different tasks like field dressing/skinning/butchering. I have a Buck Paklite that is fantastic, I mean I can get it razor sharp and it seems to hold an edge well. I think I am also going to use it to skin as well as get certain cuts like the backstraps because of the upswept blade. Anyone else have a favorite do-all knife?

 

[Yeah]

I've always been a do all knife kind of guy. Put up ridiculous quantities of meat with a #104 from Francois Van Rooyen, for many years. But I've tried a little of everything.

A couple of years ago I was put on to knives from Gene Ingram and have to say, the guy knocks it out of the park. I can't imagine his Bird & Trout pattern has a peer, for taking apart animals, stem to stern. The other half dozen patterns I have from him are all workers as well.

 

[standeford]

I have seen a few examples of Ingram's work and I agree with you about the B&T (#1 anyway). Raise you a Trapper though.

 

[HICKMAN]

Watched the Purdue Extension guys process a WHOLE doe with a 6 inch filet knife during their venison workshop Friday night.

 

[Yeah]

I have seen a few examples of Ingram's work

As the contents of your hunting coats, tackle boxes, and truck consoles are known to me, it seems your definition of 'a few' is similar to mine.

There is a lite/BT combo headed to me. I am catching up.

 

[cbseniour]

My son in PA is a very accomplished hunter, he asked me up last year to the first day of deer hunting. I had my survival knife and a Buck Buffalo skinner with me when we finally got that first deer, he produced a Winchester pocket knife with a gut hook a fine edge blade and a serated blade and did the whole job in about 10 minutes.
Proved to me that it's not the equipment so much as how you use it.

 

[williamnewman1]

heck when i was a kid my father once used a steak knife for the whole deer , may have not been pretty but worked i suppose

 

[bwframe]

Watched the Purdue Extension guys process a WHOLE doe with a 4inch filet knife during their venison workshop Friday night.

Last deer I took to the processors, they were using 6" Rapala filet knives, at least for the preliminaries.

 

[snapping turtle]

I like a 3.5 to 4 inch blade drop point hunter model myself for the field dressing. A hammer and the nice thick back blade of the drop point makes it easy to split the pelvis on a large deer (Normally 2 hits of the hammer.). The ribs are easy and it works well without resharpining in the field.

I also used a remington big game folder for several years. About 20 years and it is a nice do all with gut hook and the serrated edged blade. Much harder to clean than the fixed drop point after the deed is done.

I have seen the old buck folder do it well. In a pinch i used a Parker frost pocket knife but had a hack saw for the pelvis.

 

[standeford]

I've never split a pelvis or needed to, so I get by with the 2.5" blade on an Ingram Trapper. I like using fillet knives for the final butchering but I've never had one that would hold its edge for very long.

 

[HICKMAN]

I picked up an Outdoor Edge swingblade a while back, I notice walmart started carrying them this season.

They also made a fold-up version

Nice vid showing what the knives can do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe5o4jVaCa8

 

[DarkRose]

For years my dad and grandfather used a basic Buck 110 folder for almost everything on a deer...

Nowadays dad used a Buck Vanguard w/guthook for field dressing and skinning, and a Case M3 Finn for most of the butchering, with help from a Buck fillet knife at times (tenderloins usually).
There are normally an array of knives used in the butchering because there's usually 3 of us working on it. Dad, me, and my sister, and we all have our "favorite" knife. I love those little M3 Finns, but the design has changed slightly in the last 20 years or so, I do prefer the older versions.

 

[bdybdall]

I buy knives and then I buy more knives and............. well, you get the idea. But for dressing game like deer, I usually go back to my Buck 110. Of course, I also carry a Gerber gut hook to unzip and a Gerber T-handle saw to cut the pelvis/ sternum. It's the Buck, though, when I'm cutting the diaphragm, trach., and loosening everything up. Funny thing, I had done a number of deer before I took a couple of anatomy & physiology classes. It takes me longer now 'cause I'm scoping out all the neat mammal parts.