I am curious, do any of you actually carry a really big bowie knife as your hunting knife, something with substantially bigger than a 6" blade?
OR are these bigger heavier blades just too much extra weight and/or too ostentatious to actually carry in the field for you?
I do not carry a big knife. Usually up to 4" for general trail use, camp, game, etc.
Seems that most here are focused on processing a dead animal, rather than killing with the knife.
Big knives have a place if you are actually using them to kill with. You need sufficient length to reach the vitals.