Anyone here ever actually used a hunting knife for self-defense?

[SafariCurious]

I did a bit of searching on this forum before posting, and I see some members have mentioned carrying large knives on Safari in part because apparently carrying a sidearm isn't an option in a lot of places.

I live in the US and often hunt alone. Especially if I'm bow hunting (or using a single shot muzzle-loader) I often carry a handgun for self defense just in case where legal. In "bear country" I sometimes carry a pistol even if I'm using a modern rifle, just in case.

Once, when I went bow hunting for turkeys in an area firearms were completely forbidden, I actually considered carrying my Cold Steel Hunting Sword, lol, but decided to just carry a decent sized fixed blade hunting knife instead due to the weight.

I am curious, has anyone here ever actually used their hunting knife for defense against an animal or other threat?

I don't mean just carried one, but actually used it for real to stop an actual violent attack. If so, it would be interested to read your story.

I am wondering if using a hunting knife for self-defense is just like a one in million or less super unlikely scenario, or if it actually makes enough sense to be worth the extra weight and bulk as opposed to just carrying a quality lightweight folder.

 

[mdwest]

I have not used a hunting knife for self defense.. I have however used one on two different occasions to dispatch a wounded animal.

Probably 10-11 years ago I shot a Texas Dall ram.. I spined him and dropped him in his tracks, but neither the heart or lungs were hit. It was a high spinal hit, at the base of the neck (bad shot on my part) that for whatever reason didnt kill him. I used my knife to penetrate the heart and lungs by poking him under a front leg, through the tissue deep enough to get to the vitals..

and I a few deer seasons back I dropped a doe with what ended up being a low heart, single lung shot.. like the ram, I thought she was dead because she wasnt moving at all.. but once I got to her I realized she was just barely breathing.. rather than letting her suffer and prolonging her death I just went on and dispatched her in a similar manner to the ram..

I generally carry a G19 in the woods with me.. if Im worried about self defense, that would most likely be the preferred tool rather than my hunting knife..

When I am hunting internationally, thats really not an option though.. While I have exactly zero desire to find myself in a knife fight on the side of the road somewhere like South Africa or Namibia, I'd much rather try to defend myself and my family members with a 4" hunting knife against a group of attackers than with only my empty hands... unfortunately roadside attacks are fairly common in South Africa.. while I have not had it happen to me in particular, I do know of a hunter that was accosted with his PH when they had a flat and were stuck on the side of the road trying to fix it.. and I do know that the PH that I typically hunt with in South Africa was at one time subject to a multi person attack roadside (fortunately for him, he and his passengers all had sidearms and they were able to discourage the attackers fairly quickly)..

 

[HankBuck]

I did a bit of searching on this forum before posting, and I see some members have mentioned carrying large knives on Safari in part because apparently carrying a sidearm isn't an option in a lot of places.

I live in the US and often hunt alone. Especially if I'm bow hunting (or using a single shot muzzle-loader) I often carry a handgun for self defense just in case where legal. In "bear country" I sometimes carry a pistol even if I'm using a modern rifle, just in case.

Once, when I went bow hunting for turkeys in an area firearms were completely forbidden, I actually considered carrying my Cold Steel Hunting Sword, lol, but decided to just carry a decent sized fixed blade hunting knife instead due to the weight.

I am curious, has anyone here ever actually used their hunting knife for defense against an animal or other threat?

I don't mean just carried one, but actually used it for real to stop an actual violent attack. If so, it would be interested to read your story.

I am wondering if using a hunting knife for self-defense is just like a one in million or less super unlikely scenario, or if it actually makes enough sense to be worth the extra weight and bulk as opposed to just carrying a quality lightweight folder.

@SafariCurious - a Hunting Knife is better than nothing for self defense especially if you are getting mugged or assaulted by a Bad Guy. I only used on once - on a Caribou that was down, I thought slowly expiring, and didn’t want to place another shot in the bull because other hunters were close by putting a stalk on two other fine bulls. A quick stab into the chest-heart resulted in the Bull jumping to his feet and facing me from arms length away while slowly staggering and legs buckling. He didn’t charge (luckily) or I would’ve been very ‘messed up’ and the knife certainly near useless for real defense. I slowly reached down and grabbed my rifle- Bull turned and trotted away - I placed a finishing shot in him….the other Hunters still got their bulls (Caribou are stupid - and easily killed with any center fire rifle, a bullet in the foot might drop them !).

 

[SStomcat]

I will never take a knife to a knife fight.

 

[pilar]

Yes I have
I was standing on the bumper of my truck, filling up a deer feeder and cutting open feed bags , when my Dachshund started barking, I looked to see what he was barking at, when I saw a illegal alien / MS-13 guy trying to grab my leg and drag me down
Luckily I had my Spyderco serrated knife open and in my hand, I turned and tried to stab him in the face, and he jumped back and I missed, I ran and jumped over the roof of the truck and rolled off the hood and opened the door, and turned loose the dogs and grabbed my shotgun!
The gang members where going to beat me and steal my truck, it was 14 miles walk back to the house, and summer time, so I doubt I could have walked that far after they whipped my ass and drove to Houston or Dallas or something
I was very lucky I had my dogs and my knife in hand , a gun in a holster would have been useless at that point in time.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Yes I have
I was standing on the bumper of my truck, filling up a deer feeder and cutting open feed bags , when my Dachshund started barking, I looked to see what he was barking at, when I saw a illegal alien / MS-13 guy trying to grab my leg and drag me down
Luckily I had my Spyderco serrated knife open and in my hand, I turned and tried to stab him in the face, and he jumped back and I missed, I ran and jumped over the roof of the truck and rolled off the hood and opened the door, and turned loose the dogs and grabbed my shotgun!
The gang members where going to beat me and steal my truck, it was 14 miles walk back to the house, and summer time, so I doubt I could have walked that far after they whipped my ass and drove to Houston or Dallas or something
I was very lucky I had my dogs and my knife in hand , a gun in a holster would have been useless at that point in time.

That’s wild. Glad you made it out. Where did it happen? Close to the border or something?

 

[pilar]

That’s wild. Glad you made it out. Where did it happen? Close to the border or something?

Yes near Laredo Texas, early part of Obama administration, when they started letting terrorist in the country

 

[Flbt]

I did a bit of searching on this forum before posting, and I see some members have mentioned carrying large knives on Safari in part because apparently carrying a sidearm isn't an option in a lot of places.

I live in the US and often hunt alone. Especially if I'm bow hunting (or using a single shot muzzle-loader) I often carry a handgun for self defense just in case where legal. In "bear country" I sometimes carry a pistol even if I'm using a modern rifle, just in case.

Once, when I went bow hunting for turkeys in an area firearms were completely forbidden, I actually considered carrying my Cold Steel Hunting Sword, lol, but decided to just carry a decent sized fixed blade hunting knife instead due to the weight.

I am curious, has anyone here ever actually used their hunting knife for defense against an animal or other threat?

I don't mean just carried one, but actually used it for real to stop an actual violent attack. If so, it would be interested to read your story.

I am wondering if using a hunting knife for self-defense is just like a one in million or less super unlikely scenario, or if it actually makes enough sense to be worth the extra weight and bulk as opposed to just carrying a quality lightweight folder.

Would hog hunting with a knife count?

I know of a few guys that have cut deer necks with them trying to kick or horn them after a shot but the deer was not dead.
So I not sure that would count as self defense.

And I have taken a shank out of my leg after a cell extraction? So no I did not use it but I sure used the shield on his arm to stop him from using it anymore.

 

[mark-hunter]

I am curious, has anyone here ever actually used their hunting knife for defense against an animal or other threat?

I shot a jackal in Africa. Through the neck. The bullet passed under the skin, did not damage vitals, but we discovered that later. When we took the picture with him, he was just fine for the photo session.

We put him in the back of the truck
I was sitting in the back, and my tracker went to his house to check something with his family. Half an hour or more after the shot.
While I was sitting alone in the back of a truck, a jackal woke up and tried to bite me. Shooting it with my 375 in the back of a truck seemed most inconvenient.
The rest is up to your imagination, based on the subject.

The knife for a client hunter in Africa is like a parachute. Most likely, you will never need it. But if you do, you will need it very badly.
And outdoorsmen always carry a knife.

Other daily use on safari, opening a beer bottle, and cutting biltong.
For my safari, I bought a cheap hunting fixed blade knife, in case it gets stolen or disappears from the luggage on airport, I will not cry. That knife is still with me, and was with me on 5 safaris

 

[deewayne2003]

For hunting self defense no, but as @mdwest to dispatch a couple of animals.

However I have used my knife on a couple of occasions to fend off dog attacks; absent a firearm, a cut to the nose of a dog is the fastest way to get them off of you.

 

[mark-hunter]

MS-13 guy

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a MS-13?

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a MS-13?

A criminal gang from El Salvador

 

[Flbt]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a MS-13?

Gang

 

[dchum]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a MS-13?

I have no idea how he would know it was a MS-13 member. Did you ask him? Lol

It’s a small South/central American gang that is a new buzz word on Fox News. “Ms-13 members taking over Denver” etc etc.

Crazy story for sure…..

 

[BJH65]

I haven’t personally but one of our officers was was engaged in a fight with a mentally disturbed (5150) male and was losing the fight over a highway overpass. The mentally ill suspect was trying to grab the officers holstered gun too. The officer was able to deploy a knife worn on his belt, stabbing the suspect and ending the fight.

The suspect had a non lethal stab wound to his chest but it stopped him from further aggression. It was the only case I was aware of from our agency of an officer involved stabbing. I did carry a Spyderco folding knife but most of us carried a backup hideout pistol.

 

[Flbt]

I have no idea how he would know it was a MS-13 member. Did you ask him? Lol

It’s a small South/central American gang that is a new buzz word on Fox News. “Ms-13 members taking over Denver” etc etc.

Crazy story for sure…..

Tattoos if you have seen them you will know when you see them again.
It the same with all prison gangs there marked

 

[BJH65]

I have no idea how he would know it was a MS-13 member. Did you ask him? Lol

It’s a small South/central American gang that is a new buzz word on Fox News. “Ms-13 members taking over, Denver” etc etc.

Crazy story for sure…..

Maybe tattoos which is very common for MS-13. Unlike the Bloods and Crips that we encountered and Nortenos and Surenos, MS-13 didn’t really wear colors but they all had tattoos sometimes on their forehead, chest, hands, back, anywhere really.

 

[Flbt]

I haven’t personally but one of our officers was was engaged in a fight with a mentally disturbed (5150) male and was losing the fight over a highway overpass. The mentally ill suspect was trying to grab the officers holstered gun too. The officer was able to deploy a knife worn on his belt, stabbing the suspect and ending the fight.

The suspect had a non lethal stab wound to his chest but it stopped him from further aggression. It was the only case I was aware of from our agency of an officer involved stabbing. I did carry a Spyderco folding knife but most of us carried a backup hideout pistol.

Hey were y’all trained by “Air Force” Johnson?
“ the easies accessible knife on the weak side
Is one of the best handgun retention tools you have”

 

[BJH65]

Hey were y’all trained by “Air Force” Johnson?
“ the easies accessible knife on the weak side
Is one of the best handgun retention tools you have”

No but we had a very liberal use of force policy allowing us to use “any” implement in a lethal encounter. We were still using the carotid artery hold as less lethal force when most agencies banned its use. Honestly, I was very surprised since we all carried backup guns.

Also makes me think about the time my partner and I watched an hiv positive prostitute covered in her own blood from stabbing herself become combative and flee the ambulance. A background check would flag them “as a blood and bodily fluid precaution.” We looked at each other, paramedics just standing and watching, some other officers standing and watching, well fuck, we went after her and took her into custody. Nothing like having hiv + blood smeared over your uniform then notice you have a cut on your arm. For exposure you get an AZT cocktail, thankfully I was negative but not fun for the next 6 months. Fun times.

 

[pilar]

Tattoos if you have seen them you will know when you see them again.
It the same with all prison gangs there marked

Yeah , I had called the boarder patrol station and they sent a van while I & the dogs held them at gun point, they said “ because they did intend to beat me and steal my truck” I was very fortunate to have the dogs go to school on them.
BP & ICE did Id them as gang members