Great story. I can see how a .243 is a good choice for a younger hunter. The first time I took my son out on an elk hunt I had him using my old .257 Roberts converted 98K Mauser. I prefer a lighter kick so I generally use a .270 myself.
So how about a more detailed report on the skinning and gutting process? How were the various knives in use? What indications of wear were there? I find that I get BG42 sharper than S30V, did you notice any difference in cutting ability?
Jeff, I used a Buck 112 Bg.42 to do what i call a short gut, i opened the moose up to the rib cage and pulled out the majority of the insides, i didn't want to mess up the cape, some of the lung and the heart was left inside. I wanted to make sure to save the heart, Tommy grandpa loves heart. The 112 was scary sharp and made quick work opening up the moose, I did notice that the moose hide doesn't cut a easy as deer or elk.
When i got home i prepared the moose for hanging in doing so i took my buck 110fg with a bg-42 upgrade and skinned the hind leg past the tendon, once it's skinned that far i took knife and cut around the lower leg at the joint and twisted the lower leg/with hoof off, the bg-42 held up well and was still very sharp, the other hind leg i did the same thing with the s30v with no problem knife was scary sharp.
I then hooked the hind leg and started to hoist the moose into a hanging position, before we hoisted to high we skinned the hind quarters, one side with bg-42 the other with s30v, both were still scary sharp, but i could feel the s30v starting to dull, the bg42 felt just as sharp as when i started.
Once down to the rib cage i like to skin back the front legs and remove the lower front legs at the joint, i cut one leg with the bg42 and skinned up the front leg no problem still sharp and the other with s30v, i had a tough time cutting around the joint and when i went to skin up the other front leg the
s30v just seem to give up the ghost all at once, so i put it down and finished skinning with the 110 and 112 Bg42 both of these were still sharp and a joy to use, once a knife goes dull and it starts becoming a job to use it i put it down and grab another and that what happened with the s30v. i also noticed a couple very small chips on the cutting edge of the 110s30v as well as the 112 bg42.
My personal preference is the BG42, it's amazing how sharp it is and how long it stays sharp, The bg42 out lased the s30v on the moose, i also know that bg42 will even stay sharp longer when being used on elk or deer, this moose hide was tough, i'm just glade I had a knife/knives that were up for the occasion. O'ya i almost forgot the 110and112 bg42 would still cut the hair on my arm, not like when they are razor sharp, you could definetly feel the heavy pull and drag but they would still cut hair.
What would you put the weight at, Tom??? 1,000lbs+???
