Deer butchering tools?

[CoogarXR]

My wife and I decided to try our hands at processing a deer last night. All went well, I suppose, except I found out that most of our knives ****, lol. It was a lot more work that it probably should have been due to knife suckage.

So I am going to buy some new knives. Do any of you process your own game? If so, what type of knives do you recommend?

PS- This was a deer that my wife shot- her first time going out with a muzzle-loader. She's taken deer with a shotgun, but a group of friends invited her to try muzzle-loader season. She took that deer down on the first shot of a borrowed gun she had never fired before. I thought that was pretty neat, lol.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

My buddy lives/works in Alaska and does deer often. I have talked with him and he uses 1 sharp knife for everything. IDK what knife he uses...but he says a bunch of different knives are for the birds....

 

[Kenskip1]

How about a sawzall?

 

[gungatim]

honestly, most of my knives I get from yard sales, I pick them up when I see quality knives in the sizes I like, mostly boning knives. I also use a couple filet knives meant for fish but you can really slice out the sinew and fat with them.

to skin, I do it hanging from the hind qtrs. and pull down while it's still warm, all the way to the ears, then cut off the head. Some guys use skinning clamps (I think that's what they are called) from commercial slaughterhouses, clamp on and use a winch anchored to a ****** block in the floor. makes quick work of that part of the job.

the more you do it, the more you get a fancy to a specific knife/size/style, but I don't pay the big bucks for fancy expensive knives for just butchering. even the used sharpened down to nothing knives from the butcher shop they sell work just fine...

 

[PelicanPines]

Sharp hunting knife and a triangle tree saw.

 

[c-hawk19]

I have found a good short fillet knife is the best for skinning and butchering. a sawzall is great for removing lower part of legs.

 

[Jazz1]

Small very sharp knife to gut. I use a Mora for gutting. I have a meat saw but sawzall is quicker. Sharp is key! Check YouTube for how to's. There are some excellent videos posted by Department lands and forests

 

[CoogarXR]

Yeah, we watched some Youtube videos, and it seemed like fillet knives were used the most. It sure looked like an easier time than we were having with steak knives, lol. My wife has a nice lock-blade knife that did the best, but there was only one of them. I did the back straps with the steak knife, heh.

 

[M6erfan]

+1 for the Mora. I like the carbon steel version

 

[steveo1o9]

A regular sharp hunting knife can easily break a deer down into quarters. Then I found I liked a fillet knife to process the meat further. Sharp is key with any knife.

 

[jeb42]

I just got one on sale with the replaceable razor blade and used it on one deer and a couple of hogs. It's good, but I still use a lot of garage sale old carbon steel butcher knives. I keep several around when I butcher so I don't have to stop and sharpen knives.

 

[Hammell]

A half decent boning knife is what your after, I have a Henckels,

https://www.kitchensmart.ca/product...xV2jUii63ZzZzR5n_PpfhFrUHvnOJ-R87XBoCnLnw_wcB

Wusthof are good too.

https://www.williamsfoodequipment.c...rNzGj0d-z7HixUmkS4UIoeSVCHOOWBKKAZRoCsHjw_wcB

And regardless of make, make sure they are sharp

 

[slip knot]

Just about any knives will work as long as they're sharp. learn to sharpen them.

 

[CJM8515]

Boning knife, thing and very sharp blade!

 

[M6erfan]

Boning knifes can have thick blades too, there are many different styles. If you want to get exotic, these are superb, ultra pricey, but superb...



Japanese Hankotsu knife (price varies $80-$200).

Or, just get the Mora carbon for a few dollars and call it a day ($20)...

https://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Allround-Multi-Purpose-Carbon-5-8-Inch/dp/B0090UW9W8/ref=pd_sim_468_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0090UW9W8&pd_rd_r=X9DDXNC96CMZBRSK95J9&pd_rd_w=skC2z&pd_rd_wg=DLsm3&psc=1&refRID=X9DDXNC96CMZBRSK95J9

 

[2oolhound]

I don't hunt any more but lived on moose and deer meat for many years. I liked a wide blade knife for skinning like the puma white hunter as I didn't cut into the hide (which I kept for leather). I always wore my buck 110 and used that too. Hair would dull the knives so we usually had a few on hand for skinning.

I once gutted a moose with a small 1/4" box cutter.

For butchering I had a number of knives from 12" butcher down to filet types and lets not forget a good cutting board or butcher block. Like what is posted above, you have to keep them sharp.

A meat saw is nice to have, specially for moose.

 

[gt1guy]

I use a Puma "skinner". Works great. Stag handle doesn't get slippery when ******. Holds a very sharp edge well.

Skinner on bottom, White Hunter on top.

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[XxToolAholicxX]

Just run it over with a car.. no

 

[katiexoxo]

what the hell man
who would have the heart to kill a dear?
you guys are psychos

 

[gungatim]

what the hell man
who would have the heart to kill a dear?
you guys are psychos

anyone who wants to eat meat. you have to have enough heart to manage the deer population. better to harvest and consume a deer than let it get hit by a car possibly killing or injuring someone, or die of starvation due to overpopulation and lack of predators...educate yourself.

 

[emort007]

This little set is available from a variety of places, and a variety of names, but its all the same kit. The knives are nice, the sharpener is great, and the whole kit was less than $40 back when I bought it.
My wife and I process all our meat with it. 6 deer, over 200 chickens, and maybe 40 rabbits in the last 3 years.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CWGP2C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Its not some fancy German knife set but it works great, and has a great soft handle to keep the knives from slipping when wet.

 

[Jazz1]

what the hell man
who would have the heart to kill a dear?
you guys are psychos

There are man eating killer deer native to our border,,,,spread the word

 

[CoogarXR]

what the hell man
who would have the heart to kill a dear?
you guys are psychos

You must not live where there are lots of deer. They are like rats with hooves around here; quite the nuisance. They just happen to be a nuisance that can be quite tasty, lol.

If you are a vegan, then I understand your viewpoint (and unlike you, I can respect another person's viewpoint/lifestyle). But if you aren't a vegan, then you have to know somebody, somewhere kills the animals that make up the meat that you eat, so don't act all high and mighty just because you weren't the one to pull the trigger.

One good deer can feed my family for quite a while. So it's economical, healthy (deer meat is very lean), and like another poster said, it is government-regulated deer population control.

A side of beef is over $1000 (I've seen it over $1500). Deer meat is almost as good as beef, and it only costs me a bullet, a license, and a deer tag (about $50 total). I'll get a little blood up my arms to save a grand-plus.

To all those that posted up processing tools, thank you.