I'm going to get a knife for field dressing and wanted some opinions on guthooks. If you were buying a single blade knife that the same model had the option of a guthook or one without which would you get ? Thanks !

Rob

GUT HOOK

I have one with a guthook.....but I didn't think about how to sharpen the guthook. I had to get a file.

This year....unless it's a fairly large deer (large, for here)....Im not going to gut my deer when I butcher them. Still....the gut hook comes in handy on the hide, sometimes.

If the guthook is just on the back side of the knife blade then I would stay away from it. Too many times people cut themselves badly with that arrangement. If it is separate all together, like a folding knife with a blade that folds out separately from the guthook, then those are awesome for quick gutting and skinning.

The only guthook knife arrangement I ever liked was the Outdoor Edge Whitetail. That T-handle makes it a lot safer and easier to use. Otherwise, either get a folder with a second guthook blade or a plain knife and a seperate guthook like this set from Gerber:

Edit: the pic didn't come through. It's a Gerber Gator with a seperate guthook and carrying pouch. Costs about $45.

I like my Buck Zipper,

Don't always use the guthook though.
It's not necessary, but nice to have on occasion.

I don't think there is much chance of injury with the guthook on that knife.

What you have to watch out for is the other guy skinning. I got tagged before.

My .02 is that gut hooks are useless. They make a knife bulky and all you're really saving is two seconds it takes to cut a small slit and put your fingers in with the knife leading the way. Doesn't make sense to me.

Tom

I have a buck with a guthook on it and never use it. It gets in the way when cutting out the bung hole. I like a little bit longer knife with a thinner blade for getting up in there good and pull the bung out with the guts.

[align=left]Thanks guys. This is the exact info I was looking for.
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I have a Wyoming knife for starters. You can't beat it for gutting and skinning an animal in one knife. I used one two years ago on a bear and was astonished at how good it was. Check them out at http://www.wyomingknife.com/knives.htm
Mine is the second (original) model shown. That top one is on steroids but I bet it works great.

Happy and Safe Hunting
Reid