Finding the perfect hunting knife can be very hard. I know a few tips that will make your knife selection an easier stress-free process. Especially if you are a beginner and have never dealt with the obstacles mother-nature may throw at you, choosing the perfect knife can be a very hard task given all the choices we have today.

Fall! It’s that time of year again when the leaves turn different shades of orange, the birds are migrating south, and the deer are herding around the cornfields. Fall is a great time for hunters. It’s a time when father and son or just friends get together and spend some quality time together in the great outdoors. One of the most important things to remember when preparing the gear is to choose the perfect knife for the hunting trip.
    
Survival knives are a great tool to have when preparing for a hunting trip. No matter how long the trip is for, a week or a few days, you will be grateful when the perfect survival is by your side. When choosing a knife, you will need to factor the layout of the hunting grounds. If there is a lot of brush, a machete will be a great timesaver. Carrying a few extra pounds in your pack will greatly outweigh any scratches or tears you will incur while scouting through the woods.
     
Once you have reached your tree-stand or blind, you may need to clear some brush out of your way. That’s where a nice with a good serrated blade comes in. This simple design will allow you to easily clear any brush covering your blind, or small branches growing in the way of your tree-stand. A fixed blade survival knife, with the blade between six and 10 inches, I found works best for me. The serrated blade helps clear small branches. The serrated edge also works great when opening up the deer’s ribcage once you get the trophy buck you have been hunting for.
    
Whenever I go hunting, I always go with a fixed blade knife with a good sheath. A hunting knife is an important tool in the arsenal of a hunter. I have found that a folding knife tends to comes loose once in a while, unless you have a backup knife, you may be in a very uncomfortable situation when the blade comes off. Folding blades are great, don’t get me wrong, but when a knife will be used to clear brush, skin an animal or used to make cover, it needs to be dependable. If you want an all in one type of knife, the best option is a fixed blade, with a serrated edge and a rounded tip. The rounded tip is important if you plan to use the knife for skinning your trophy. However, I would recommend packing a small skinning knife in your pack. This will make the job much easier.
    
A perfect hunting knife should include all of the above stated characteristics. Of course there are some knife makers that throw in some extras to help the fellow hunter out on his expedition. Some knives come with a built in sharpener and a small survival guide in case you end up stranded somewhere. You may be interested in finding a knife that has a small compartment in the handle to hold your matches and any other survival tools you may end up needing. That’s the beauty about the great outdoors; you never know what you will come across out there.