Anyone use a hatchet for skinning?

[The Fishman]

I collect Buck knives and I found this hatchet last week in a pawn shop. Buck made this size 106 Hunter's Axe from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s. An old Buck dealer's catalog from the early 1970s states "Hunter’s Axe - 4” head 2.5” cutting, 10.5” overall. Ideal for dressing big game and for all-around camp and trail use.” I found some videos where people demonstrate using a hatchet to skin a white tail. I am from the South and have never seen or heard of anyone using a hatchet for skinning a deer. My question is, does anyone use a hatchet for skinning deer, moose, or elk? Is this a regional thing or an older tradition? After watching a couple of videos, yes you can skin a deer with a hatchet, but it doesn't look like it is easier or more efficient than a knife.

 

[buckdeer1]

Nope but don't know why you couldn't

 

[buckdeer1]

I used to skin several hundred deer a year up till about 5 years ago when I worked for a processor taxidermist.We all used these cheap little carving knives like you would use in the kitchen.They had good handles and you could sharpen in 2 swipes on a steel

 

[drycreek]

I have a little hatchet that was intended for roofing that I used to use to dress snapping turtles. The handle was cut off about halfway. We also used it for various other things when we were fishing, cutting bait, etc. I guess it would skin a deer, it’s very sharp, but I don’t think it would be as good as my knife.

 

[SwampCat]

Used a hatchet for cleaning gator gar.

 

[b116757]

I have never used a hatchet for the actual skinning but to assist in quartering sure not my preferred method but in the back country with a larger animal I could see the merit in having one with you. Sometimes just getting a job done quickly has its place. I also collect some Buck knives so I would not complain at all if post up some knife porn from your collection.

 

[WTNUT]

Never a deer, but when we were younger and dumber we skinned a lot of elk with them. One guy even made axes for us to all carry and use. As we aged, we threw the axes over the mountain and started de-boning everything and carried the lightest knives and sharpeners we could find.

I will say on large game like elk you could do a lot of skinning with one of those axes.


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[The Fishman]

The whole reason for the question is that besides using the hatchet to skin animals, in my opinion it isn't large enough at 10.5" to do much else. We don't have elk or moose down here so I was trying to figure out the purpose of a "Hunter's Axe." According to what I found, Buck only sold about a thousand a year and discontinued this size hatchet in 1993. Buck released a larger hatchet in 1997 that is sized more like what I would consider a hatchet that could be used for camping or hack and squirt. The pawn shop must have acquired someone's knife collection since they had 25-30 old Case knives as well as a similar sized Kinfolks hatchet. The previous owner must have used the hatchets for something as they both showed wear.

I seem to accumulate Buck knives more than collect them. I just have the usual 119, 105, 110, a skinner, a fillet, and other assorted smaller pocket knives. Nothing really special and nothing that fancy. The 105 pictured below is probably my favorite and gets the most use. It is a good size for a lot of things. I use the 105 and 192 skinner for butchering and deboning deer.

 

[Foggy47]

I killed an elk in Idaho on my first elk trip.....the outfitter came with pack mules and panniers to haul the meat.....and we had to hustle to get off the mountain before this huge snow storm swept through. The guide was a real pro at this job. First thing the guide did was to use two axes to sever through the back bone from stem to stern. He would position one axe and use the but end of the other as a hammer to sever the spine......right down the middle. Then he cut in two quarters for each side. Put the meat In cloth bags and into the panniers.

I will never forget the way he would "talk to" those mules before loading the meat. Mules names were Pat and Mike.....and they were the only mules that would carry meat. Not going into detail on that....but those mules needed allot of "encouragement" before loading meat for the trip down the mountain to base camp. Once loaded they never rubbed anything on a tree. Amazing critters.

Came down that mountain with each of our group of 6 pulling 3 or 4 mules apiece.....as we had to load up the spike camp tents and gear onto the other pack mules prior to the impending big snow storm (which dropped two feet of snow by morning). Was a real sight with that pack string as we forded across the river into camp. I will never forget. Great memories.

Edit: Oh....and I think those little hatchets were a way to get a few more dollars out of the new hunters on their first western experience. Never seen a use for them in skinning game. More of a camp hatchet.