Hunting Knife With Gut Hooks: Seamlessly Prepare Your Game With These 7 Excellent Blades

admin
January 25, 2022

Take a quick look at your hunting tools, and you will see that you have more than just one knife. For sure, you have longer hunting knives to help you prepare bigger game like deer, but you probably have smaller blades perfect for small fowls and birds. A fillet knife is also most likely among the knives you own, especially if you go fishing every once in a while.

In this article, we will discuss a particular knife used for the task of gutting and skinning your game—the hunting knife with a gut hook. The hook design ensures you can cut through animal innards without damaging them and contaminating the meat with dirt. 

Let’s check out the seven best knives with gut hooks from trusted knife brands!

Buck Knives 660 Pursuit Folding Hunting Knife With Gut Hook

Blade

The Buck Knives 660 is a part of the Pursuit collection featuring blades hunters can use during open hunting season. This 3.5-inch blade stands out because of the gut hook design. Aside from the practicality, you can rely on Buck Knives’ extraordinary blade strength. Durability and corrosion resistance is assured because of the stainless steel material used to create it. 

Handle

The rubber handle design of army green with black streaks gives the knife a modern hunting vibe. The handle has finger grooves so that you can grip it with control. Aside from the handle serving as a covering of the razor-sharp edge, this Buck knife has a polyester sheath for extra safety. 

Pros

  • Highly portable because it is a folding knife with a sheath.
  • It has a full-tang design ensuring better slicing, skinning, and gutting control.
  • A blade from a trusted brand that has been manufacturing since 1902.
  • It has an ambidextrous design. 

Cons

  • Because of the blade length, it is not a hunting knife fit for big game.

Case XX Pocket Hunting And Skinning Knife 

Blade

The “XX” in Case’s name is what they call the signature heat treatment and technology their knives undergo. This same treatment is what this 4-inch, stainless drop point with gut hook hunting pocket knife has undergone to achieve durability and sharpness. As a result, you can excellently cut through your game with this knife. 

Handle

The brown leather handle of this knife will perfectly blend into the natural environment you are in. Aside from its beauty, it is also safe to use. It has a bolster guarding your hand against any injury because of slipping. Adding to handling security and beauty is the silver cap at the end of the handle. 

Pros

  • It comes with a brown sheath that perfectly matches the aesthetics of the knife.
  • The leather material used for the sheath assures safety when the blade is not in use.
  • You can loop in the sheath strap around your belt for portability.

Cons

  • The sheath does not have an ambidextrous design causing awkward carriage and unsheathing for left-handed users.

Old Timer Fixed Blade Hook Hunting Knife

Blade

Expert hunters often prefer shorter blades for better control, and that is what you’ll get with the 3.5-inch Old Timer fixed blade knife with a gut hook. You can cut through the tough skin and meat of deer, hog, or fowl as the blade is made of high carbon stainless steel, making it a sharp and durable fixed blade knife. 

Handle

The Old Timer brand has been manufacturing knives since 1958, and its logo is printed on the black handle of the knife. The handle is designed following the natural curve of the hand when slicing for comfortable use. You can keep the blade safe and carry it around as it comes with a leather sheath. 

Pros

  • It comes with a sheath for safety.
  • Easy to carry because of the 7.3-inch total length and 3.3oz weight.
  • It can be used as a gutting knife and all-around slicing knife in camp.

Cons

  • Left-handed users may find it awkward to hang the sheath on the right side of their body.

Outdoor Edge Folding Hunting Knife With Hook

Blade

Another short but powerful folding knife you can have is the Outdoor Edge 3.2-inch stainless steel folding knife with a gut hook. This knife will allow you to cut through the skin and open your game without puncturing its innards because of the gut hook design. The Japanese AUS treatment ensures that the knife remains sharp and strong. 

Handle

You won’t worry about losing this knife as it has a striking orange color that is easy to see. Aside from this convenience, you are also assured of solid control of your knife despite the wetness or sliminess you’ll experience with game preparation as the handle is made of rubber.

Pros

  • It has a sheath you can conveniently hang around your belt. 
  • It is a folding knife you can also slip into your pocket with its total length of 7.3 inches.
  • It has a partly serrated spine close to the handle that you can use for extra blade control.

Cons

  • It does not have any bolster for safety.

Boker Arbolito Stag Gut Hook Knife

Blade

Boker is a brand from the City of Blades: Solingen, Germany. If you are into knives from trusted brands, this is another you can add to your collection. It is a 4 ¼-inch stainless steel blade with a gut hook. A finger groove is added to the blade if you need additional control in skinning and gutting. 

Handle

The staghorn handle makes the knife look unique among other knives. Each detail of the handle is original as it is derived from deer antlers. The shades of white and brown make it even more visually pleasing. It has a bolster ensuring your safety while using it in wet environments. 

Pros

  • It comes with a brown leather sheath for knife storage and safety.
  • Both the knife and the sheath bear the Boker tree logo for extra branding.
  • Highly portable and easy to carry because of the sheath and the 3.5oz weight.

Cons

  • The staghorn handle may be slippery and difficult to grip, especially when wet.

Gerber Gear Freeman Guide Folding Gut Knife

Blade

Another folding hunting knife made by a brand manufacturing knives since 1939 is the Gerber Freeman Guide folding knife. It has a 3.6-inch drop point stainless steel blade that ensures you can skin and gut excellently because it is sharp, strong, and has a gut hook blade design. 

Handle

The Gerber Freeman Guide knife handle is designed to allow you to grip the knife comfortably and with steady control. In skinning and gutting, control is needed to ensure that animal innards are not punctured. It has a bolster that keeps your fingers guarded, instead of slipping through the knife’s edge. 

Pros

  • It comes with a nylon sheath for additional protection.
  • The handle has a lanyard hole you can use to hang the knife around your belt, your backpack, or anywhere easy to reach within the camp.

Cons

  • Gerber could improve the hues deviating from the classic silver blade and black handle color to be more appealing.

Mossberg Hunting Knife

Blade

You will want to have this knife at a single glance, especially if you collect unique designs. The stainless blade of this Mossberg knife measures 3.5 inches and has a black color for anti-glare. The blade is designed with a finger guard for safety and a serrated spine so you can grip the knife with more control. 

Handle

The handle balances the black blade because of its green printed design that will remind you of snakeskin. Together with the knife comes a nylon sheath to keep it in when not in use. With the handle, the knife measures 6.34 inches creating a knife that is easy to carry. 

Pros

  • Visually-pleasing design.
  • The blade is designed to give you more control when skinning or gutting.
  • Highly portable and usable knife.

Cons

  • The blade needs extra care in washing and cleaning. It would be best if you washed it often to retain its sharpness. 

Final Thoughts

A hunter like you should have a knife that is specifically designed to help you fulfill a particular task. You can also expect better results when you use the correct knife. It would be best to use these hunting knives with gut hooks for your skinning and gutting tasks. As expert hunters describe the process, you are like opening an animal using a zipper when you use a gut hook. There are seven variations you can choose from. To skip the difficulty of selecting just one, why not get a couple of them and use different knives on every hunting trip?

The go-to guide of sewing professionals and enthusiasts
Subscribe to our newsletter
Subscription Form
Be first to know about specials!
Join our mailing list.
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram