Don't purchase anything with less than a 5" blade and always wear it on your hip, don't stuff it down in your pack. You never know what may happen and you may just need it in a hurry.

In the area I hunt we've got a lot of cougars and bears, walking around the woods with anything less than a 5" blade is insane. A friend of our family's was hunting turkeys several years ago and after cleaning it by a creek he headed back to his truck only to run into a bear and her cubs AND a cougar. Both chased him 1/4 to his truck. Don't take chances.

Buck makes a good solid quality knife, as does Old Timer. I would stay away from Kershaw, though they've got a reputation of being a quality knife manufacturer their recent blades have been brittle and prone to breakage. Gerber is alright, though their blades tend to lose their edges faster than others (as of late).

Serrated edges are over rated, keep that in mind. You're losing blade length to gain a section of serrated edge that you'll rarely (if ever) use. Deffinitly don't purchse a knife with a serrated edge on the back side. Bought a Kershaw for my dad a couple years back with about 2 inches of serrated edge on the back, no thumb stop. While gutting steelhead in the winter, in the snow, and because he already has lost about 75% feeling in his fingers/hands his thumbs slipped and he wound up slicing his thumb to the bone.

My two votes would be for Buck or Old Timer.