Becker Extreme BK-77

H

Hiker Ron

Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
8
Hello all. First time posting here. I bought a new Becker Extreme BK-77 from newgraham a few weeks ago. My wife and I backpack 5-6 multi day trips to the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness and Bitteroot mountains in Montana as well as the Selkirks and Selway Wilderness in Idaho. We carry UDAP bear spray as our first line of defense as we are often in grizzly bear and cougar country. Weight is always an issue when packing and i usually carry 50-55 pounds and my wife carries 30 -35 pounds. I carry a Wenger Handyman SAK for trout cleaning and small cutting/sawing chores and my wife carries a Victorinox Altimeter SAK. I got to watching too many "Hunter vs. Hunted" shows on Discovery or National Geograghic Channel and decided to buy a quality fixed blade for added safety and security. I chose the Becker Extreme BK-77 s30v with micarta handle. I also was lucky enough to find a new Becker Desert tan BK-71 since Camillus has shut down. My Extreme came hair shaving sharp out of the box and the micarta handle feels nice and grippy. The Desert tan BK-71 handle is thicker, but more slick when wet, so I'll get some grip tape for it. It certainly is sharp out of the box , but not nearly as sharp as the Extreme. My uses for the Extreme is going to be emergency use only as it will be my main go to knife when on extended pack trips - that is if I should have to stick a cougar's throat with it, or a rogue black bear or even a grizz should decide to want to dine on us at night. It will only be used if I need it for self defense in any shape or form on our pack trips. Whether real or imagined, I think having a large fixed blade knife will give me some insurance laying beside me in the tent at night or carrying it on my belt with the Spec Ops sheath that came with it. Our SAK's are great, but not if I get into a fight with the beasts - rare but happens. I'm going to use the Desert Tan BK-71 for car camping fun and be a good "have fun" knife around camping trips. So I guess I'm staking our lives on my Extreme - a bit pricey but very nice. I was wondering what any of your thoughts might be and so many people here are wonderful experts on knives. I'm not, but I'm learning more from reading posts on this forum. Do you guys think I made a good choice or should I have tried to get a better knife like a Busse or a Swamp Rat? Would you guys feel safe on a wilderness backpacking trip with the Becker Extreme as your go to knife? By the way - other knives I own are the Buck Duke (nice!) and a Buck Stockman pocket knife. I also use for a EDC a black combo edged Camillus Heat. Nice knife and sharp! It really opens fast. I liked it so much I just went to Sportsman's Warehouse near my abode and picked up their last new boxed black plain edged Heat in case I ever lose my combo edged Heat. I also got one of those Buck Cabella's 110 folders with the s30v blade. So I guess I'm starting to get your guy's fever!! Anyways any thoughts for discussion?

Regards,
Hiker Ron
 
I love knives as much as the next guy here, which is really saying something I might add. But if you are concerned about protecting yourself from grizzly bear and cougar, a knife just won't cut it (no pun intended). Maybe I've read too many stories about bears, but I fear that if you ever tried to use a knife on a bear you'd just end up dead. I don't want to get knife close to a human attacker and the average grizz is just a wee bit bigger and more dangerous.

I once read a story about a couple of black powder hunters that followed an injured bear into a thicket without reloading and had to use knives. They survived by a thin margin... Too thin for my taste.

-Gutshot
 
Are you sure sure you've been in bear country before ....a knife for self defense against a big bear ..... I doubt it ...
I would consider my .340 Weatherby "marginal" at close range for a grizz or brown bear.
 
Yeh I have to agree with the previous to guys...even a busse AK or Battle Mistress wouldnt cut it with a bare unless you are Conan...lol. Get a nice heavy compound bow if you dont like guns but a decent rifle is what I would take (a nice .308 should do the trick). Even a handgun would be better than the knife. However, if I had to fight a bear with a hand weapon and there was no other choice, I would want a Busse FBM and a nice sharp tomahawk for the other hand.
 
Hiker Ron,

I can't comment on the BK-77 directly but it seems as though it would be good for many types of camp chores. Beckers have a great reputation on this forum as a whole.

Some folks around here view a 7" knife as the ideal survival knife, big enough to do some chopping yet small enough for cutting. You stated that you want this knife mainly as a wildlife self defense tool and I'm therefore presuming that the knife will be on you (not in your pack) and readily available during hiking. If that really is the case, then why restrict yourself to keeping it sheathed until the unlikely event? Lots of chopping, batoning, shelter building, hammering (with the exposed pommel) of tent spikes, clearing land ect. can be done with the Becker.

Even though you may not be used to a larger knife and it may seem like a monster at present, once you start using it you will probably find many advantages of a large knife. This is especially the case since you are already committed to the major drawback of having one - that is lugging it around.
 
Ron, welcome to Bladeforums!

You should check in on our Wilderness & Survival Skills forum with a question like this.

I see you're already prepared with bear spray, which is a better option than a knife for self-defense. If all else fails, the knife is better than nothing.

I like your choice of smaller knives for utility. A small-to-medium fixed blade is a good idea in the wilderness. Any of the BK-7 range are good.

I suggest you find other ways to enjoy it as well, though, and learn to sharpen it. Keeping a useful knife pristine is a sure way to forget to bring it, forget it's there when you need it, or forget how to handle it when you do have to. Get out there and play with it, chop with it, slice with it. Learn what it is you've got.

Edit: Looks like kgd beat me to it!
 
Hiker Ron, I too do a lot of backpacking and the whole "which knife to bring" is a constant internal debate. I agree with the warm-fuzzy that a sturdy blade brings you while many miles from nowhere in a lonely tent in the pitch black night. But I've found weight to be more of a concern lately. Besides theres a lot of expert debate on whether a gun, knife or pepperspray will have an effect on a determined predator (better to employ good camp sanitation and food practices). I once backpacked the length of Isle Royale with a Boye fixed blade and a Leatherman. After the blisters, tweaky knee and general soreness I really looked for ways to cut back, and that knife combo seemed to be at least around 1 1/2 lbs. I never once used the fixed blade. And I love SAK's for EDC but I would not stake my life on one. Just too flimsy for that. So I have been looking at quality tactical folders that will hold up but do not weigh a lot. I've narrowed it down to a Syperco Delica, Buck Mayo TNT or an Emerson CQC-7. Then for other camp chores I have found that instead of a full half pound+ multitool (of which most of the tools I don't ever use), I take a Leatherman microtool. This worked well for me last year on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern MN. Later I learned that a black bear harassed some female hikers in the camp we stayed at one night after we left, so I know I'll always want something to reach for in the night, effective or not.
 
I think you'd have a vanishingly small chance of inflicting an attack-stopping injury on a grizzly with any knife.
 
I don't see how any common knife will even reach the vitals of an animal like a big bear. When you see a 1500 lb brown bear do you hack your way through tons of bone muscle and fat like you're chopping your way through a tree? Make a series of v cuts and then when you've dug a deep enough hole that you're within striking distance of the vitals, stab into the deepest part of the cavity you've dug in the bear?
 
I think Bear Grils from "Man vs. Wild" would advocate going for the eyes with your knife. Hopefully he will try that advice someday and end up Bear Turds.
 
Thanks for some of your replies kgd, Esav and comoha. I was born and raised in Montana and backpacking certainly isn't hunting. You carry your "house" on your back and usually need hiking poles for balance up and down steep grades and to take pressure off of your knees (and for stream crossing) when walking several miles each day. Taking a crossbow or a shotgun or a rifle is just not practical and almost probably impossible. Decisions have to be made because of the weight - you can't take the kitchen sink with ya. I should have made mention that I do bring along my S@W 686 4" 357 magnum but it's usually buried in my pack and only brought out after setting up camp and then in the tent at night. Flashlight choices are also made carefully, however, the wife can shoot if need be and I can light the area up with my Wolf Eyes Rattlesnake incan. or my Fenix LED and thought having a large fixed blade would be better than what I have (SAK) should crap hit the fan. We'd go with our bear spray first against any 4 or 2 legged threat and use a combo (if still needed) of lighting the threat, shooting, and slashing, stabbing and hacking if need be. I'm actually a bit more leery of cougars than bears, as most predatorial bear attacks happen at night - Read "Bear Attacks" by Stephen Herrero. But I've noticed that a lot of animals are acting stranger and stranger out in the boonies when packing - even deer. They come into our camp on several occasions (usually a loner buck, though not always ) and false charge. Meaning they get up on their hind legs and thrust forward towards us un afraid. If I have to go out of this world in the wilderness, I would rather die slashing and stabbing with my BK-77 than using my fingernails. My knife would always be on me and ready to use as a last resort if need be. One might not even be able to get to your gun and flashlight in time as attacks happen very very quickly if it's a predatorial attack at night - a knife on person may be the only thing one could fight back with. That book mentioned earlier is a must read for anyone who backpacks in the mountain states. Many (hunters even) have been dragged out of their tents by grizz with their rifles laying ready to go right beside them - no time. Again, whether real or imagined I think I'll feel just a bit better having a large fixed blade with me for defense and/or survival than not having one on me. I've made the choice that the pros outweigh the cons of having to carry extra weight and the inconvenience. The chances of these attacks by any animals (or maniacal 2 legs) even happening are still rare, but you never know. Those mountains are dark at night and spooky, and any comfort IS comfort whether real or imagined. And there's usually no other people around for miles.
 
I have both versions of the BK-7. Honestly, if it were just one knife I had along, I'd probably want the carbon steel version. The BK-77 is a great knife, but S30V is not what I consider ideal material for chopping. The 0170-6C in the standard BK-7 would be more forgiving if you had to chop/baton, and it would be a bit easier to resharpen.

BK77.jpg


BeckerUsers.jpg
 
Hello Ron, Welcome to BF!

Just a bit of constructive criticism. But walls of text are a bit eye-straining.
No offense intended, but breaking down your posts with paragraphs would be appreciated.
 
Use the knife for your backpacking chores. If you keep it in reserve for self defense, chances are you'll never use it.

You and your wife should both carry small frame .357 revolvers (e.g. Ruger SP101) for self defense. Use cartridges with deep penetrating (maybe hard cast) bullets and practice you shooting skills until you're both proficient in placing your shots where you need to place them.
 
Nice collection Guyon! It looks like that "big one" would be able to take a bear's head right off! LOL

Hiker Ron
 
Just get a 12-guage pump that'll shoot the heaviest slugs you can find. Get one with a "barely legal" barrel, so it won't get in the way too much, with a comfortable sling. Also, get a synthetic stock, to save on a little weight.
If you cannot possibly "bear" carrying a shotgun, carry at least a .454 Casull handgun; Alaskans seem to like 'em. It may not kill the bear, but, it may confuse the bear long enough so that you have a chance to outrun your significant other.:D
 
Troop said:
It may not kill the bear, but, it may confuse the bear long enough so that you have a chance to outrun your significant other.:D
Click to expand...
I think he's onto something. Forget the gun. Just practice your wind sprints, and always hike with a crowd. :D
 
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