knives for moose

[Chirogrow]

What knives do you guys bring into the field and does it change if you're on a DIY drop camp vs hunting from the truck? I currently bring a bench made bushcrafter which is quite big but I like it for the bigger cuts like BS and hindquarter. I also always bring a bench made steep canyon for everything else. I like the fixed blade feel but don't love the added weight especially for backpacking in.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

The knives I bring do not change. I’ll bring a scalpel/replaceable blade type knife (tyto) and a fixed blade (will swap between a few but typically a sturdy 3.5-4.5in blade). I’ve broken down everything from a bull bison to antelope with this combo.

 

[AK Troutbum]

About 20 years or so ago I started bringing an ulu on all my moose hunts. I primarily use it for skinning, and then I’ll use other blades for breaking it down the rest of the way. For larger, thicker skinned game, I find that the ulu just works a lot easier and is faster at getting the hide off.

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[KHntr]

I have an ulu around somewhere that I don't think I have ever cut anything with. I should dig that out.

Personally, I have a lot of knives kicking around. I used a few Ingram customs a bunch when I first got them, and I carry one of Gene's B&T's in a necker pretty much everywhere when I'm hunting.

That said, the last handful of moose I have killed or been there when they were killed were broken down to backpackable sized pieces using a havalon. This years bull was completely skinned and quartered (except for the skull cap obviously) and backpacked out after being broken down with but a single blade. And that included cutting the legs off at the knuckle. In fact, two weeks later I used the same blade to gut and skin an elk. (BUT, that was only to prove a point to my hunting pard who typically goes through a handful of blades every animal.)

When I'm on a dedicated backpack trip the B&T gets worn on my neck, and a havalon goes in my pack. On horses, same. From the truck, same. Walking from the house, same. You get the idea. Not really sure why I carry the necker other than it is too nice of a blade to sit in a drawer. It doesn't get used for much, other than I like having it around.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Here’s one of mine

 

[Nick Muche]

I butchered and deboned my entire moose this fall with a havalon, using only two blades. Worked incredibly well, as always.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Diddo with Nick. I use a plastic handled scalpel with #70 taxidermy blades. The blades have a rounded tip. Ive dissected dozens of critters from muskox and moose down to lynx.

I stopped carrying other knives and field sharpeners because of the above setup. That decision saved me nearly a pound of kit.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I like my havalon too.

 

[william schmaltz]

Yeup, I like a changeable blade - the outdoor edge razor pro for moose. You can zip the hide from the base of the skull to the tail in seconds with the gut hook. I use about 6 blades per moose; I grew up in the family butcher shop so anything other than razor sharp drives me nuts and I toss.

 

[AKBorn]

About 20 years or so ago I started bringing an ulu on all my moose hunts. I primarily use it for skinning, and then I’ll use other blades for breaking it down the rest of the way. For larger, thicker skinned game, I find that the ulu just works a lot easier and is faster at getting the hide off.

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This ulu has been in our family for many decades, I can remember Mom cutting up moose and caribou quarters on the kitchen table (we would cover the table with a sheet of plywood) back in the 60s. When my Mom passed in 2013, I told my sisters and brother it was the only thing I wanted...the handle is ivory and is shaped like a polar bear, not sure if that's discernible in the photo.

I take it on my 40 Mile moose/caribou hunts now. Although it would work great for doing what Troutbum is doing, I use it to trim the fat and sinew pieces from quarters and other cuts after we haul the meat back to camp. I don't want to possibly misplace it out in the field.

 

[hodgeman]

The last 4 moose I've butchered I used a Havalon and a Wyoming saw for the whole job. I quit carrying anything else at all for processing game. A handle and a half dozen blades weighs next to nothing and will get me through a whole season of hunting.

 

[Chirogrow]

I like my havalon too.

Where do you store the used blades while you’re still hunting?

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Where do you store the used blades while you’re still hunting?

I usually slide the used blades back into the packaging of the new blade I'm putting on (I open new blades just enough to grab the end and slide the blade out), fold the top back over and put into kill kit bag. I haven't had any get loose in doing this countless times.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Where do you store the used blades while you’re still hunting?

I just toss them in a river or into the gut pile.

Just joking, I put them into the foil of the new blade, and put it back in the tube with the other new blades, sometimes I re sharpen them on my work sharp when I get home.

 

[AKBorn]

I butchered and deboned my entire moose this fall with a havalon, using only two blades. Worked incredibly well, as always.

You guys are better field dressers than I am, I don't like doing the joint work around hip bones and things like that with a Havalon, I get nervous when the blade twists a bit.

 

[AKDoc]

For about twenty years I used a custom knife made by a guy up here....Chamberlin (pictured below). Excellent knife that would keep it's edge through a whole moose job, and then I'd sharpen it with a Lansky when I got home. Did a bunch of moose and different animals with that knife, and always had it in the field with me during those years.




Then came Havalon...and I reluctantly retired my Chamberlin about eight years ago...it weighed .6lb. I've done a bunch of moose, a mountain goat, black bears and a brown bear with the Havalon. I always take along numerous replacement blades...and I have certainly used more than one in a single trip, sometimes many more. I put the used blade back into the envelope of the new replacement blade and then back into the knife case for the trip home, as described by others. A couple years ago I went to an "upgraded" Havalon (pictured below), which I do like the best. I use the fixed blade for separating the joints and other tasks when before I'd likely break the surgical blade...complete user error on my part!



BTW AKborn...great story and beautiful family heirloom.

 

[mooster]

I just toss them in a river or into the gut pile.

Just joking, I put them into the foil of the new blade, and put it back in the tube with the other new blades, sometimes I re sharpen them on my work sharp when I get home.

What about near the base of a tree, insert it into the ground, and the step the blunt end of the blade driving it down deep into the ground? Wouldn’t that be a safe way to dispose?

 

[SliverShooter]

I use a Havalon, I just need to be a little more careful when changing the blades.

 

[AK Troutbum]

What about near the base of a tree, insert it into the ground, and the step the blunt end of the blade driving it down deep into the ground? Wouldn’t that be a safe way to dispose?

I prefer to safely pack them back home, then hide them in next year’s Halloween candy.


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[Maverick1]

About 20 years or so ago I started bringing an ulu on all my moose hunts. I primarily use it for skinning, and then I’ll use other blades for breaking it down the rest of the way. For larger, thicker skinned game, I find that the ulu just works a lot easier and is faster at getting the hide off.

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About 20 years ago I vacationed in Alaska for a couple of weeks. Awesome trip! Part of that vacation included buying some souvenirs, including a low-quality steel ulu, which was likely mass produced somewhere. (It was relatively inexpensive!....$30 or $40 maybe....the nicer ones were several hundred $). We still use that ulu for cutting up pancakes! (It still doesn’t hold an edge particularly well!)