Deer hunting is by far the most popular game to hunt. Every year, roughly 11 million hunters go to the woods to hunt deer, but few go into the woods with good knives. And having a bad or unreliable knife when you get an animal down can make your processing job hellacious.
However, avoiding such an issue is easy with the correct selection of a knife. So I have compiled a list of the best knives for deer hunting that will fit the needs of any hunter out there whether you need a knife that is durable, lightweight, affordable, heavy-duty, or the highest quality offered.
Best overall: Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner
The Benchmade Saddle Mountain Skinner is hard to beat regarding overall performance. It has a perfect overall blade length of 4.2 inches which makes it large enough to use for bushcraft and processing large game, but it also is small enough that it isn’t too hard to use for more detailed cuts.
Another upside to this knife is the fact that it is lightweight. This makes it easier to pack and easier to use for extended periods of time. This is all not to mention the classic fit and finish of this knife with a wood handle and leather sheath.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Most affordable: Morakniv Craftline
Morakniv is a company known for producing knives which are extremely affordable. The Craftline is perfect for those who need a hunting knife that won’t cost them much but can still easily butcher a deer.
The Craftline has a very comfortable injection molded handle, a 3.6-inch blade, weighs 4 ounces, and has an injection molded sheath. The specs on this knife are nothing special but what can you expect from a 15-dollar knife?
There are two downsides to this knife. The first is that the blade is not corrosion-resistant and will rust and stain easily. The second is that it will not stay sharp for very long. However, it will get very sharp easily and doesn’t take much work to resharpen.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Best folding knife: Benchmade Tagged Out
The Tagged Out is a lightweight folding knife. It’s a good knife for those who want something small enough to put in their pocket but large enough to easily process game.
It has an orange grivory handle, a silky smooth opening with Benchmade’s AXIS lock, a 3.4-inch Magnacut blade, and it weighs only 2 ounces. The Tagged Out is a flashier knife that is a little expensive but has a lot of good features that can be helpful to any hunter out there.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Best for the price: Spyderco Bowriver
The Bowriver is a fixed-blade hunting knife by the iconic brand Spyderco. This lightweight hunting knife will get the job done while having an affordable price.
The Bowriver is a simple knife with a 4.4-inch 8Cr13MoV blade, a leather sheath, and it only weighs 4 ounces. If you want a simple hunting knife that is pretty affordable but will still work on just about anything you could need a knife for, this a knife you should look at.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Best replaceable blade: Outdoor Edge Razor Pro
The Razor Pro is a folding replaceable blade hunting knife that is perfect for making precise cuts when processing game. The replaceable blades ensure that your knife is always sharp and the fact that it is folding makes it easy to carry without taking up too much space.
Additionally, this knife has a large swooping folding gut hook. This makes it good for cutting through thinner sections of hide. This will also keep your main blade sharp from having to cut through the tough dirt-filled hair.
However, there are some downsides to this knife. The biggest is that it is not versatile. It is exclusively for processing game. This is because the blades are too thin to be used to pry or chop. Another downside is that this knife is extremely hard to clean as dirt, blood, and hair can get in between the handle scales and the two blades on this knife.
Check out this knife here (link to Amazon)
Conclusion
While these might not be the best deer hunting knives, and they certainly aren’t all of them, they do all share some qualities that could help you find your next knife: They all have blades that are sharp and are the right length for processing game, they all are simple in design, and they all are lightweight. So next time you look for a deer hunting knife, look for those key three qualities and do your research to make sure you have the right choice as a knife can either make or break your hunt.