Knives
A hunting knife gets used for about twenty minutes a year and those twenty minutes are cold, dark, and usually a long way from the truck. What matters is whether the edge holds through a whole animal and whether you can still grip the handle with wet hands.
Our knives cover replaceable-blade designs, fixed blades, caping and skinning kits, and folders, from Cold Steel, HME, and Muddy.
Replaceable blade or traditional
- Replaceable blade. You swap in a surgical edge instead of stopping to sharpen. The Cold Steel Click N Cut takes drop point, gut hook, and caping blades on the same handle.
- Fixed blade. Nothing to fail when you are prying at a joint. The HME Skeleton Fixed Blade is light enough to forget in a pack.
- Kits. The HME 2 Piece Skinning and Caping Kit gives you the right blade shape for each stage instead of forcing one edge to do everything.
- Everyday carry. The Muddy SWAP 3.5" folds down for a pocket and still takes fresh blades.
Blade shape does the work
A drop point handles most of a whitetail without puncturing what you do not want punctured. A gut hook opens hide without cutting into the cavity. Caping blades are short and fine for working around a skull if you plan to mount the animal. Carry two shapes rather than one compromise blade, and bring more blades than you think you need if you run a replaceable system, since a dull blade in the dark is the reason most guys quit halfway.
Fill out the rest of the kit with game processing gear and plan the season with our Missouri deer season guide.