Second, in my opinion, there is definitely a place for a big knife when your life might be on the line (and one never knows when that will be). In a scrap with a bear, which is always a possibility with the amount of time I spend in the wilderness, or a Cougar, a 7 & 1/2" blade beats a 4" blade most days of the week.
As for game, for many years, I used a 4" blade for gutting and skinning Whitetail Deer. Then I got a 6 & 1/8" Bowie custom made by Mr. A.K. Soellner of Chisholm's Trail, with Sambar Stag grips. Here is a photo with a 45-70 cartridge shown for scale ...
The 45-70 cartridge, by the way, is loaded with an Accurate Moulds 500 grain plain base bullet over 28 grains of IMR 4198, no filler, mag primer, 1,268 fps, and is dead accurate in my original Winchester 1886 (report to be posted sometime). Anyway, I started using the Bowie with the 6 & 1/8" blade and found I liked it better than the short blades, especially for reaching into places such as cutting all around the diaphragm without getting my arm bloody up to the elbow (not a problem in warm weather, but it gets a little cold up here in Canada by the second week in November. The curved-up point was slightly inconvenient for making the opening slit up the belly skin while avoiding cutting into the intestines, but two fingers sandwiching the up-turned blade solved that problem completely. I continue to use this knife for gutting, skinning and butchering/deboning/cutting up the meat for packaging.
I had a hankerin' for a Damascus blade so I ordered a 6 & 1/2" drop point with Buffalo horn grips. I prefer a drop point, since it is easier to make the slit up the belly skin without cutting the membrane that incases the intestines. I've found a 6 & 1/2" blade is just as easy to use as a 4" and regret not getting a 7 & 1/2" blade, thinking that extra inch could be a deal-breaker in a wrestle with a Black Bear. Playing dead doesn't work for Blacks; if they do attack you, it is usually for food. We lose one or two people every year to Black Bears here in Canada. I used this knife to gut, skin, and butcher/debone/trim/cut-up two large Whitetail deer on the same day, with no sharpening required for the entire process. Here is a photo, again with the 45-70 cartridge for scale ...
Bottom Line: After using small blades for many years to gut, and skin deer, I prefer the longer blades now, especially for butchering and cutting up the meat. If I ever have to scrap with a Black Bear, I will also choose the longer blade. If I get another knife, it will be a stainless steel Damascus with antler handle and a 7 & 1/2" blade, drop point.
I've always wanted to have a custom sword made, something to hand down for ages. 