does anyone only carry 1 knife for hunting

[crgchck]

So you can drag it out whole and hang the critter for aging and/or processing. I quarter most everything, but it sure is more pleasant to break an animal down when it's hanging in my barn vs. doing it on the ground in the dirt. If I'm close enough to the road I'll gut and drag vs quartering.... usually only happens with antelope and whitetail does.



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so on a whitetail doe.. not saying this is right, I roll her over on her back Hide-on and remove both front shoulders then take my right foot and step on her left rear leg and remove right hind quarter, then remove left hind quarter, roll over on her legless body, now belly down, and split her hide down center of her back… I then remove both back straps and proceed to remove the inner loins from the topside of her ribs right at the spine… split both hinds between the bone and ligaments stick the hoof of each of front leg between the split of the rear and throw over shoulder…. Leaving hide on.. can age as is once home.. hide keeps dirt bugs and debris off.. once cured for 1-2 day , I then remove hide.. from quarters. It’s really easy and makes doing on ground for me is much more efficient than dragging all that other sh!t around.

 

[Kimmo H]

So I’ve never understood “gutting” anything other than a black bear.. you don’t eat the gutts, the ribs of anything other than a black bear are not eaten, so why gutt… I primarily carry a cuda fillet Knife. I cape, cut front shoulders, hind quarters, back straps, and inner loins off without gutting and leave carcass for predators.. I put the cuda in an old leather sheath from a rapala fillet knife so I can wrap my wet paper around for sharpening and then as a strop.. I usually only have to do once during a cleaning of an elk or whitetail… bear is normally twice butt mostly to remove waxy fat. …. Why gutt if your not using the ribs or gutts.??

We use every bit of meat we can from the animal shot, that's why we haul the whole thing out for further processing.
For example I usually rip out the bones from the ribs and mince the meat. If in a hurry I just cut between the bones.
The spine is cut to 3-4" pieces and those bits are used to make stew, the big bones are frozen to preserve for the the dogs used on the hunt etc.

Most of the time there is a road within a mile or so from the kill spot, so hauling the whole thing out isn't usually out of the question if there are few strong guys helping out pulling it on a slide plate.


I agree that if you are out on your own miles and miles deep in the wilderness, processing the way I do would be nothing short of idiotic.

 

[bsnedeker]

so on a whitetail doe.. not saying this is right, I roll her over on her back Hide-on and remove both front shoulders then take my right foot and step on her left rear leg and remove right hind quarter, then remove left hind quarter, roll over on her legless body, now belly down, and split her hide down center of her back… I then remove both back straps and proceed to remove the inner loins from the topside of her ribs right at the spine… split both hinds between the bone and ligaments stick the hoof of each of front leg between the split of the rear and throw over shoulder…. Leaving hide on.. can age as is once home.. hide keeps dirt bugs and debris off.. once cured for 1-2 day , I then remove hide.. from quarters. It’s really easy and makes doing on ground for me is much more efficient than dragging all that other sh!t around.

My only issue with that method is it sounds like you are making a LOT of cuts through the hide to get that accomplished...which in my mind means hair everywhere. That's another huge benefit to hanging them and skinning them in the barn...you pretty much roll the hide off of her so you get very little hair except for some that inevitably ends up on the shanks.

 

[Mikido]

does a carpenter carry 2 hammers? Do you carry 2 bows or 2 rifles or 2 of anything you don’t need?
Why you would carry more than 1 knife is beyond me.

 

[Big_wals]

does a carpenter carry 2 hammers? Do you carry 2 bows or 2 rifles or 2 of anything you don’t need?
Why you would carry more than 1 knife is beyond me.

No, but I do carry two pencils in my bags. For when I'm standing on a wall or up in some trusses and inevitably drop one. Also generally have two utility knives, one that get used for everything and one that I only use when I need a super sharp one. Although thats just because usually when the need arises for a scary sharp blade, I'm too lazy to go all the way to the trailer and change it lol. More convenient to just have one knife that rarely gets used. I guess it depends on how much weight youre willing to carry for peace of mind. I personally carry a medium size fixed blade in my pack, and a lightweight pocket knife in my pants.

 

[Big_wals]

Btw, not trying to come across as argumentative. You do have a good point. If youre comfortable with one knife thats great, and I would never carry two full sized knives. But I do like having a small backup.

 

[Randle]

For 3 ozs an extra knife is a no brainer. If I lose my only knife and have an animal down thats going to suck .
I carry 2 lighters, and 2 headlamps also. Same reasoning.
When you need em you need em.

 

[Randle]

If I lose a hammer I go get another one from my tool box.
If I lose my bow , well I have bigger problems.

 

[mtwarden]

I'm firmly in the two knife camp, my second knife is a Tyto 1.1 w/ two extra blades- that's a grand total of 1.75 oz; why wouldn't you carry it? My primary knife is a 4" custom that weighs a pretty svelte 3.5 oz; guessing my two knives probably weigh less than a lot of folks one knife.

I'm also in the two headlamp and two solid fire sources camp. I was on a four day backpack hunt and had a headlamp switch go out on me- I can tell you that having a backup saved the trip (we were leaving/returning to base camp via headlamps). I definitely don't want to be in a situation where I need a fire and don't have a backup source, ditto on the knife.

YMMV

 

[Mikido]

I see your points, but I’ve never lost anything critical, and I already have backups for all those items
-headlamp (phone light or small handheld light)
-knife (broadhead)
-lighter/fuel (I’m ok with cold meals…..I try not to hunt in conditions where I need fire to survive)

Just my personal style to keep everything as minimal and simple as possible.

Appreciate everyone’s input though and hope everyone’s training for next year!

 

[RockyMountainWest]

An entire gutout huh? That’s really taxing on a blade….

I got it for Christmas so it was basically brand new with a factory edge but it held its edge surprisingly well. It’s slightly dulled but it powered through

 

[*zap*]

3is2

 

[Owyhee H]

Custom-ish CPM154 (not 154cm). Typically don't need to touch up while breaking down an elk but carry the diamond stone just in case. I normally need to find a stick part way through to cut on to get the fat off the blade and then keep going. The scalpel blades scare me and I wont use them although my buddies do. The only place I see the scalpel as useful is caping an animal, but I don't do full head mounts so that is easily avoided. Only one knife needed for me.

 

[KingGus]

I've carried one knife for years with no dramas

 

[antlerless]

I only carry 1 havalon knife with extra blades

 

[InGobwetrust]

does a carpenter carry 2 hammers? Do you carry 2 bows or 2 rifles or 2 of anything you don’t need?
Why you would carry more than 1 knife is beyond me.

Ridiculous argument. A carpenter can go buy a new hammer if he somehow loses or breaks it on a job site. Your rifle or bow is large enough and presumably carried in a manner that you would immediately notice if you dropped it. If you fall or slip on the trail you could possibly lose an item the size of a knife and theoretically not notice ‘til many miles later.
One knife can lose an edge if used rigorously. How sharp do you think a blade stays after batoning to make kindling? A sturdy knife can save your life in the event of extreme weather changes or other emergencies. When hunting I carry 3. One on my hip, a folder in my pocket, and another fixed blade in my pack.

 

[Jdaley13]

You can’t ever carry “too many” knives.

 

[KingGus]

I was thinking about adding a lightweight scalpel to my list just in case I lost my knife