If I could convince CRK to make a white tail version I'd be thrilled !
I've carried a CRK as my EDC for more than 7 years, if I could get a 21 White Tail I'd be all over it.
As I mentioned I've been hunting for close to 30 years but last fall was the first time that I had to hunt without my best friend and hunting partner as we lost my dad to cancer about halfway into the year. Instead of letting it stop me from getting out into the woods I picked up a crossbow ( destroyed my left shoulder so the takedown recurve is out for a while ) and renewed my love of archery hunting, it had been many years since I'd been out for archery season- it was fantastic!
I'm honing my skills again so that when my oldest reaches legal hunting age here in about 2 years I'll be ready to pass on what I was taught and what I've learned to him and hopefully the other 2 when they're old enough.
If there's anything that can make up for the loss of being out in the woods with my father it'll be being out in the woods with my kids.
Obviously a knife is an important item to me, after all, this is bladeforums. I try out a new blade every couple of years, sometimes more than one a season if I find something I have to have, the Nyala has impressed me beyond comparison. I have a second one in the mail to me as I write this that a great fellow forum member sold me that's from the first batch of knives released. That beauty will be my new woods knife and the one I already have will go to my oldest when he starts hunting. For the money I could buy most any woods knife, that I chose to buy another Nyala should tell most people just how much I like the design.
My Father went to Wyoming twice when I was a kid to hunt Mule Deer, I've stared at a nice 8 point mount most of my life that's made me dream of getting west to give hunting them a try. I wasn't aware that Black Tail were in the lower 48, thought that I'd have to get to Alaska to hunt them for some reason, now I need to go and tell my Wife that I'm switching my 40th birthday caribou hunt over to an Elk hunt - Mmmm, Elk
Obligatory CRK fanboy statement,
Go buy the knife - YOU NEED IT !
I'm sorry to hear about your dad. My best friend and I still hunt, camp and fish together. We have been friends since grade school. Almost 40 years.
My dad quit hunting quite a few years ago. Not because he wanted to, but because he shakes so bad, he can't hold the rifle steady, or pull a bow...
I'm glad you carried on. I have no doubt your dad would have wanted you to...
I fully understand the enthusiasm for hunting with your kids. I started my son shooting when he was about 6 years old. I started teaching him gun safety when I thought he was old enough to absorb it, and also started teaching about taking care of guns. He developed a desire to shoot bows when he was about 9 years old, so we got him his first bow, and taught him how to shoot. He is an outstanding shot. He is now 16 years old, but when he was 13 he got to go hunting for the first time. He had been going with us before, but it was the first year he could actually shoot an animal...
I wanted to make sure he knew how to do these things, just in case something would have happened to me. I may have to give the Nyala a closer look.
It's not often you get a strong recommendation for a particular knife.
Re: the hunting. In Oregon, our archery season runs for 5 weeks starting the last weekend in August. Usually two or three weeks into the season, depending on the weather, the elk start rutting
The chances of seeing them becomes even greater, an deven if you don't see them, the chances are great you will get to hear them bugle. Assuming you are in the right area
The other cool thing is, if you archery hunt, you get to hunt deer and elk at the same time, and you can go anywhere in the state to hunt, with the exception of the Indian Reservations, and a couple units that recently went to a draw system.
The western portion of the state, from the Cascades west has Blacktail deer and Roosevelt elk. The east side of the state where I am, has Mule deer, and Rocky Mountain elk.
The Roosevelt elk are typically a lot bigger bodied, but have smaller racks compared to the Rocky Mountain elk. The hunting on the western side of the state is a lot harder. The trees and vegetation are very thick, and some of the canyons can be very brutal. Especially in the Coast range. The eastern side of the state is High Desert. We do still have some trees though. Mostly Junipers and Pines, but they are spread out so you can still see.
If you decided to come to Oregon and hunt, let me know and I will try to answer any questions you have, and hopefully make it easier for you.
What a beautiful knife! And Bend is such a beautiful place...they go together...Enjoy the knife and the hunt.
Thanks Bill. I see you are on the good side of the Cascades in Washington. That is also a very nice portion of the state. I use to spend a lot of time up there.
I don't do well on the west side of the mountains. WAY to much rain and fog
I would buy Elk Sebenza first not 25, because after couple of years will be much easy to buy 25 than Elk CGG
Good point
