I just started hunting whitetail deer 2 years ago and was looking into buying a new hunting knife. I have found a 8.5 inch bowie

[Raider 56]

I just started hunting whitetail deer 2 years ago and was looking into buying a new hunting knife. I have found a 8.5 inch bowie knife but was wondering if it was really practical for field dressing a deer? Any comments will be appreciated.

[30-CAL]

I think the 8.5 Bowie is a little on the large side for field dressing whitetail. Check out a Buck 110 or a 112. They do the job and are not to big.
Good luck.

[JM]

8.5" Bowie Knife is definetely a great knife, just not for field dressing a deer. Look at the Buck 119

[officerdom1987]

That knife may be good if you're Rambo in Vietnam, but a good straight knife made of good steel that keeps an edge is all you need. I carry a SOG seal pup straight knife. You can pick it up for about 50 bucks at a Gander Mountain or Dicks and it an extremely well made, powder coated, made in USA knife.

[A Wild Beast at Heart_2]

Get a really sharp knife with a blade from 3 to 4 inches and a nice hand filling handle.

Please, read my blog. Just google "A Wild Beast at Heart".

[6phunter]

I haven't been hunting long either,I just completed my 48th season,and so far a small lockblade has worked well for me.

[DSMbirddog]

You can certainly do the job with the bowie knife, shoot you could field dress one with a machete if you wanted. However, it is not going to be as versatile or easy to use as smaller knife like those mentioned above. I like a knife with a bit of a drop point since I find it easier to use for gutting the deer. With a drop point I think it is easier to avoid nicking the stomach or intestines. You can get a Cold Steel Pendleton Light from Smoky Mountain Knife Works for around $15 and it will do everything you want.

[MountainMan6]

Ha ha all great and funny advice. Smaller is better, unless you want to pretend you're in a movie. All suggestions so far have been good. If you want something economical, you really can't beat the Buck 110, it is a classic and I think they're $33 on Amazon right now. They last forever and are almost indestructable. If you can splurge, there are plenty of great models from Spyderco, Benchmade, and Cold Steel that will do the job well and forever.

[buckhunter]

A 3in blade for deer is plenty.

[huntfishtrap]

Yep, too big; you start slashing away inside a deer with a small sword like that and you'll soon be heartily sick of field dressing!
I don't have any one single blade I use all the time for field dressing, but if I could draw up the perfect one, it would be a full tang, with a 4" drop-point fixed blade, and with a gut hook and non-slip rubber grip.
While folding knives such as the Bucks mentioned by others are good, I find them so annoying to clean that I forget to do it right away, until I go to peel an apple with it that is!

[pineywoods]

I remember when I first started deer hunting back in the Fifties and some men would show up for the deer drives with military surplus bayonets hanging on their belts as though they were afraid they'd have to go hand to hand (hoof) with the deer and I think that's kind of how the term "hunting knife" came to be associated with long, wicked-looking pigstickers (which have their place, too, if you're sticking pigs). I am in complete agreement with other posters on what is needed: a three to four inch drop point with good steel and a good handle. I'd go for Buck or Cold Steel, both of which I own and use. A good folding knife will certainly do the job and I've cleaned deer with a two inch pocket knife, but like huntfishtrap said, you have to be careful about cleaning them. At the end of the season this year, I was given a Cutco hunting knife (drop point) with a serrated edge and was amazed at how that knife cut on the one deer I cleaned with it---I normally don't have much use for a serrated edge, but this one is different and it's like using a lazer, almost scary the way it went through hide, meat and sinew. The man who gave it to me is a professional guide and said he cleaned and quartered two elk and a half a dozen mulies before it even began to get dull. Can't wait till next season to test it for real.

[Dcast]

If you're using it to chop off the legs to get them back to camp or home it would work perfectly fine but if you're gutting not so much.

[Trapper Vic]

3' drop point, no gut hook and no serrated edge. fixed, i like better because its on my belt easily reached. but lock blade will work.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


I presume that the 8.5" refers to the blade length? If so it might be a bit too long.

A lot depends on how big your hands are, and will the blade continue to maintain a sharp edge (this is VERY important).

For most people, that sized blade is a little large.

You also want a blade with a full tang (end of the blade extends to the end of the handle). Whether or not it has a serrated edge is up to you. I prefer an edge that is not serrated, and a non-folding blade. You will also need a knife with a handle that will not easily slip out of your hand.

Now that you have enough knife input to take several months to digest...I wish you the very best in your search for the "perfect" knife...!!