yoderjac
Well-Known Member
For many years I used an Outdoor Edge Whitetail skinner for field dressing. There is a picture of one here: https://www.knivesplus.com/outdoor-edge-whitetail-skinner-oe-wt10.html. It worked great for me. The gut hook was great and I never punctured the stomach when gutting. The small skinning blade and T-handle were great for reaching up into the thorax to cut the esophagus and bull out the entrails. The skinning bale worked well too.
Eventually we bought property for hunting and had a barn with a hoist for field dressing after ATV retrieval of deer. I continued to use the Whitetail Skinner, but eventually, the gut hook got dull. It was a real PITA to sharpen. Since I no longer needed to carry the knife with me in the field, I decided to look for another solution for gutting. The one I came up with was a simple utility knife with a roofer's blade. It is a hook style blade and very cheap to replace rather than sharpen.
Because these are not meant for gutting, I had to be very careful not to cut the stomach. They worked very well otherwise. I used this approach for several years for gutting and continued to use the Whitetail Skinner for skinning. This year, we had a bumper mast crop. The deer I shot all had very bloated stomachs that were full of partially digested acorns. I nicked the stomach of every one of them and had to deal with the mess of the explosion of acorn mash.
I was googling around today and I think I found a better solution. I just ordered one of these: https://coastportland.com/products/...sxj-Ho3ArEKmRYQ8lFKcLzRD-J8RCX6HJHLmME8APAOUL
I was able to buy replacement gut hooks on Amazon for about $1 per blade. This is a lot more expensive than roofer's blades, but it is nominal. The season will be over before I get a chance to try these, but since they are designed as gut hooks, I presume, I'll have much less chance of nicking a stomach.
Perhaps others have used one of these and can comment on how well they work. Otherwise, I'll be the Guinee pig and report back when I get a chance to use one.
Eventually we bought property for hunting and had a barn with a hoist for field dressing after ATV retrieval of deer. I continued to use the Whitetail Skinner, but eventually, the gut hook got dull. It was a real PITA to sharpen. Since I no longer needed to carry the knife with me in the field, I decided to look for another solution for gutting. The one I came up with was a simple utility knife with a roofer's blade. It is a hook style blade and very cheap to replace rather than sharpen.
Because these are not meant for gutting, I had to be very careful not to cut the stomach. They worked very well otherwise. I used this approach for several years for gutting and continued to use the Whitetail Skinner for skinning. This year, we had a bumper mast crop. The deer I shot all had very bloated stomachs that were full of partially digested acorns. I nicked the stomach of every one of them and had to deal with the mess of the explosion of acorn mash.
I was googling around today and I think I found a better solution. I just ordered one of these: https://coastportland.com/products/...sxj-Ho3ArEKmRYQ8lFKcLzRD-J8RCX6HJHLmME8APAOUL
I was able to buy replacement gut hooks on Amazon for about $1 per blade. This is a lot more expensive than roofer's blades, but it is nominal. The season will be over before I get a chance to try these, but since they are designed as gut hooks, I presume, I'll have much less chance of nicking a stomach.
Perhaps others have used one of these and can comment on how well they work. Otherwise, I'll be the Guinee pig and report back when I get a chance to use one.