Field dressinbg in winter conditions

A

Alberta Ed

Joined
Jun 29, 1999
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Had a chance last weekend to try out three of my favorite blades while field dressing caribou in fairly severe winter conditions, around -25 F. with a stiff wind. My buddy and I took four caribou (you can legally take two each) up on the Dempster Highway, in the Tombstone Valley northeast of Dawson City. The Porcupine caribou herd winters there and they were just moving into the area. It was an easy stalk; then the work began.
Two of the knives were Marble's Campcraft models (now discontinued) in 52100, one with an elegant shaped micarta grip and the other with stacked leather; both are from the Mike Stewart era at Marble's and are among the best edge-holders in my collection. The other was my CS Master Hunter.
It was cold enough that blood froze instantly on the blades. I was wearing heavy rubber gloves with wool gloves inside; our hands froze almost immediately when we had to take the gloves off.
I didn't notice much difference in the steels; for all practical purposes, they perform about the same under field conditions. Both Carbon V/50100B or whatever the current steel is, and 52100 are excellent high carbon steels. But I was more interested in the grips.
The micarta worked well with its distinct curvature; I could pretty well always tell the orientation of the blade, even with the heavy gloves, when cutting inside the carcasses. I had to be more careful with the stacked leather grip, although it is my aesthetic favorite -- I just like stacked leather grips on a traditional blade -- but it was harder to orient the blade while wearing gloves. The overall winner had to be the big grippy kraton handle on the Master Hunter. It slipped or rolled less than the others, and the drop-point configuration and distal taper worked beautifully.
No problem with rust or putting the blades back in the sheath all bloody on this trip. Nothing thawed out until we got home and there was no time for anything to rust.
I touched them up back home with a diamond hone before we got to the skinning and quartering. Again, the MH came out ahead because of that big secure grip under slippery conditions.
Any of them would do the job. The Campcrafts sliced beautifully; they are a bit thicker and sturdier toward the tip, and the convex edges (and that Mike Stewart heat treat) can't be beat. The Master Hunter is one of the best hunting knife designs, maybe THE best, and is even better suited to opening game and skinning than the Campcrafts. If I had only one choice I'd probably pick the Master Hunter.
 
I assume that was -25 with the wind chill factor.

Actual temp was what?

The last deer (a nice whitetail buck) I gutted out was in weather way warmer than that.....about +15 with only a slight wind.

But, still not pleasant. I was able to do it without keeping a glove on my knife hand, but had to warm that hand up a few times.

My knife was a Browning folding knife made in Japan, a model 707. It has a four-inch drop-point blade and a black synthetic handle that is nicely checkered.

Both the slight curve of the handle and the checkering were extremely helpful in getting the job done safely.

I concur with your conclusions. I hate a knife with a slippery and straight handle for such a job. I gutted a lot of deer with my old Buck 110 (a 1968 model) and found it a bit slippery at times. The good handle curve on the Buck helped in orienting the blade properly when it was hard to see.

You must have been real cold when you got all done there. Good work.
 
Why assume that it is a wind chill "temperature"? Plenty of times in these places (alaska, yukon, etc.), people are dressing out big game with ambient temperatures way, way below zero. I have done caribou at -25 F and friends have done moose at -50 F. Pretty knife handles, especially ones that are good thermal conductors, are not a good thing then.
 
Sorry for assuming. I just assumed that because -25 with a stiff wind added to it makes for extremely nasty......no, dangerous conditions. I've experienced it and I sure wouldn't hunt in it unless I was starving. Your wind chill factor at that point would be in the -70 range (that's on the new charts, the pre-2002 calculations would have it at about -90).

Any exposed flesh freezes in a couple of minutes at that level of wind chill.

I've also hunted in -20 with little or no wind and I know that it can be ok......just have to be dressed for it and have the gear for it.

I also looked at the weather reports for that area for last weekend.
 
Great review and comments by a "REAL" knife user. I'd like to see the pictures. Did you use any kind of bone saw or just the knives? You were smart to take more than one knife. I don't like to stop to sharpen once I start cleaning and the second knife is handy in this regard. I do like my bone saw for quartering. I just can't imagine working under those conditions. At least you don't have to worry about meat spoilage. Any of those big Alaska bears in the area that could come poking around and take your game (or you)?

The knife I use most of the time is a custom made damascus with a rounded rosewood handle and a blade guard. I'm a big fan of blade guards to avoid getting tangled up with a sharp blade when working blind inside the chest cavity. I don't need anymore stitches thanks, assuming that you could even find someone in the woods to do them if needed. It is shaped very similar to the Master Hunter with the drop point and good handle even with heavy gloves on. The knife is not real big (probably 9-10" overall) but I have never found a need to carry a big Bowie, too heavy to lug, and cumbersome to work with, IMHO.

Do hunters in your area ever use those Scandanavian type knives? They worry me because of the lack of a blade guard but they probably only use them with a pull cutting stroke not a pushing stroke. I have seen pictures of them cleaning raindeer.
 
I haven't seen too many puukkos or Scandinavian type blades up here in the Yukon; the little Mora knives are popular with trappers in northern Alberta, being cheap and also very good steel. I also favor a fingerguard for cutting under difficult conditions. When it's warmer you can take more time, but when it's bitter cold you just want to get the job done. It was -25 F. by the thermometer when we were up there; with the wind chill I would guess it felt more like -40. I have hunted there when it was -40 or colder, with a wind, and that was not fun at all. Currently the Dempster Highway is around -20 with 20 to 50 mph winds.
We didn't need a bone saw, just hauled the carcasses back to the highway and loaded them up. When we got home we thawed the four 'bou for 24 hours in a heated workshop and then skinned and quartered them in comfort.
No problem with bears at this time of year -- they're either down on the coast eating salmon or hibernating up in the high country. Other times of year, we always keep our rifles loaded and nearby because bears are active and will often come to the sound of a gunshot in anticipation of a nice meal.
 
History for Dawson, Yukon Territory
on Thursday, November 10, 2005

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Daily Summary
Actual Average Record
Temperature
Mean Temperature 10 °F / -12 °C -
Max Temperature 12 °F / -11 °C - - ()
Min Temperature 1 °F / -17 °C - - ()
Degree Days
Heating Degree Days 55
Moisture
Dew Point 5 °F / -15 °C
Average Humidity 79
Maximum Humidity 92
Minimum Humidity 59
Precipitation
Precipitation 0.00 in / 0.0 cm - - ()
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure 29.48 in / 997 hPa
Wind
Wind Speed 5 mph / 7 km/h ()
Max Wind Speed 9 mph / 15 km/h
 
So what does all that mean? What are you sayin? I live almost on the shores of Lake Ontario and this time of year and especially when the snow starts to hit I can go a mile south and there could be say 1" of snow while at my house we have over a foot. Same goes with temp. In the spring and fall you can actually feel a temp. difference when hitting certain cross streets going from warmer to colder in the matter of a few hundred feet. So I see no big deal in what you are saying, whatever it may be. keepem sharp
 
Longbow, I understand "lake effect."

I lived by Lake Superior for quite a few years and experienced that effect with both snow and temperatures. And, I have also lived inland in extremely cold areas.

I was just wondering what similar meteorological effector exists in the Tombstone Valley that could cause the temp to dip 25 degrees below what it was in Dawson at the time and the wind to be 30 or 40 MPH stronger.

Just curious, that's all. I've just had a lifelong interest in weather.
 
I've never tried cutting up a deer with gloves but I have a stainless Master Hunter and must say it is an ideal design. Blade shape , handle shape, handle material all make it a favorite of mine!
 
Two things that I started doing maybe 15 years ago that I wish I'd done sooner.

I carry a little 2.75 inch Buck 444 folder for most of the work where I'm actually working inside the deer and space is tight. I find I often end up using it for most of the job and it is a bit quicker than a larger knife.

I carry a Leatherman and use the saw for the pelvic bone on a big buck.....makes it quick and easy. I've used a SAK saw for this, but I like the Leatherman a bit better.

Other than that.....I've always used a 3.75 to four-inch folding knife to gut deer. Easier to carry than a fixed-blade.

For anything that requires more, my SOG NW Ranger would be my choice. Similar in looks to your Master Hunter, it's a little heavier, has a nice grooved thumb rest, great handle material and shape and has a small serrated section that comes in handy once in a while. It's Seki made and the steel is very fine.

But this is a knife that gets very little use......maybe it will if I get around to that Elk hunt I've been promising myself.

:)
 
Dawson City is situated on the Yukon River. The Tombstone Valley, which you access via the Dempster Highway, which goes all the way up to Inuvik, NWT, is quite a bit higher. It is so windy that the Dempster Highway is frequently closed in winter due to blowing snow. We didn't have a thermometer with us, but when we came out Saturday evening and stopped at the game checking station at the junction (where the road to Tombstone intersects the road to Dawson), the game warden told us it had been -30 C. there that morning. Since the Tombstone Valley is a fair bit higher, I would assume it was even colder. We were camping in a wall tent (with an airtight wood heater), and round about 4 a.m. when I got up to, uh, visit the stars, it felt bitter cold. -30 C. translates to -22 F., which is why I'm comfortable quoting that temperature. You don't have to go far in the Yukon to experience real temperature and climatic differences.
 
Been lucky so far. A couple of years ago up in Old Crow in February I frostbit my nose -- which was the only uncovered part of me. It was -45 C. with a strong wind and the wind chill was ferocious. I thought that was bad until I met a guy in Inuvik, coming off the rigs. He said it was routinely -60 up where they were drilling.
 
Have you tried wrapping the smoother handles, Lee Valley sells green guard tape which is a huge step up over stacked leather and smooth micarta, you can also get micarta checkered readily. Cold Steel's Master Hunter gets constant praise from hunters in general. It would be interesting to have it compared to the H1 from Fallkniven which has a similar style grip, large hand filling and similar aggressive rubber, totally different blade grind though and a stainless steel.

In regards to cold, it gets -30 C here (NL) in the winter (-22 F) not rarely, no wind, and goes lower on occasion. It gets even colder in Labrador, but it is different in effect. I had family go down there to visit family and they were out in -28 C and remarked it was not cold at all. We live right next to the ocean here which seems to make it feel colder at the same temperature, the air seems to conduct heat faster.

-Cliff
 
I'll look into that green guard tape from LVT when we go south at Christmas; good suggestion.

I've eyed the H1. I have a Roselli erapuukko which appears to have almost the same blade profile, at least from the side (1/8" thick, Krupp W75 steel). It has an oversize wooden handle of Arctic birch, very handsome and highly utilitarian, as you'd expect from Roselli.

The harder rubber grip (Thermorun?) on the F1 is excellent, though perhaps not as tacky as kraton. The grip on the H1 looks like it would do fine in cold conditions, though. Maybe I'll ask Santa (What... another knife?:rolleyes: )

Humidity makes a huge difference. The deep cold in the Yukon is usually very dry which makes it somewhat more bearable. I grew up near the Great Lakes in Wisconsin and can remember the wind off Lake Michigan going right through you, so cold your teeth ached.
 
I have a H1 you can have to try out if you want, no rush on it, so you can carry it for a season and send it back next year. The tape is dirt cheap, like a couple of dollars for a roll. I have half a dozen rolls sitting around, I can send you 30 feet or so to check out if you want.

Yeah, the wind off the ocean is a killer, I have gone out in -20 C, nothing series, want gloves but nothing to complain about. The you hit a strong wind coming in over the ocean, it gets up to 100 km, and bam, that snaps you to attention.


-Cliff
 
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