??? hunter blade

A

alan013

Joined
Apr 11, 2006
Messages
21
hi all,

well, my 9mos pregnant wife has "put away" my puma skinner that was handed down to me from my grandfather. and by "put away", i mean "lost somewhere in the house". ouch... don't get me started. but she's great with child and i'm pretty easy going, so no big deal.

anywho, with bow hunting season upon us in wisconsin, i'm now in the market for a relatively cheap (less than $50) hunting model that i'm not going to feel bad about buying even after i find my puma in 5yrs. i'm looking more for a fixed blade just because i'm a sloppy field dresser;>) however, i have actually used my dad's 1 1/4" SAK to dress a deer for my sister's ex- borefiend (my dad still refuses to use the toothpick;>), so i do have that merit badge under my belt. that was an adventure/learning experience in itself.

thanks in advance for all your suggestions,

scott
 
FWIW, I had some native friends up in the NWT (Canada) who used to prefer SAKs for dressing caribou because they were so "sharp"!
 
I pretty much stopped carrying fixed blades for field dressing deer about 20 years ago. I usually carry a Case Shark Tooth lock-back or a Buck 110 on a belt sheath. But if you want a cheap fixed blade I would recommend a Mora

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

I would also recommend an old stock Schrade fixed blade, like Old Timer ( if you can find one). I also bought one of those "zipper" knives with the replaceable blades, it was cheap , but I've never used it.
 
My buddy and I tried one of those 'zipper' replaceable blades on caribou and were not impressed. A drop point was much more controllable.
 
Why don't you take a look at the Spyderco Moran model. It is available at many of the online knife stores. I just got mine and I like it a lot. It is a drop point hunter design with about a 3.5" blade.

SOG Hunter Revolver might be an interesting and functional blade. Also have this one and it will probably be with me for deer season this year along with a folder such as a SAK or Remington bullet knife.
 
As a fellow bowhunter, you might want to consider the Wally World Spyderco Native in S30V. ... for $40 bucks you find a better knife in its price range.

Good luck this season! :D
 
Why not just search for the Puma? If you like it as well as it appears you do, it would be worth the time and effort to dig through everything and locate it.
 
Phil in Alabama said:
Why not just search for the Puma? If you like it as well as it appears you do, it would be worth the time and effort to dig through everything and locate it.
Click to expand...

I am with Phil on this one, if I lost one of my hunting knives I would go bazzzzerk and tear apart wherever I thought it was. If you really love this knife, find it. Now if you still want another one that is completley understandable, plus if you loose that one you probably wont be as upset. For the price I'll go with the CS Master Hunter in CV. I like the D2 RAT3 it runs around 62.95 from knifecenter.
 
CS Master Hunter is good, but big (get the Carbon-V and don't fool with the AUS-8 version unless you're near the ocean and worry about corrosion).

Buck 110 is always a solid choice, and if you find the Puma, it'll be a great back-up blade. For fancier steels, check out Cabela's (S30V) and Bass Pro (154CM). Those'll run you a little over $50 though.

Have a look at the Buck Vanguard as well. It comes in several configurations and steels, depending on the source. I have an ATS-34 version with rubber handle that I like a great deal.

On eBay, you can still find Schrade Sharpfingers that were made in the U.S. plant. The carbon steel (like the Cold Steel Carbon V) requires a little care, but it'll cut and cut some more. Under $30 usually. That knife is a classic every hunter should own. Do not buy the newer Taylor-made (Chinese) versions.

I too am a fan of the Spyderco Moran, especially for smaller game. I own the upswept version and have carried it afield quite often. Great knife in VG-10.
 
Another vote for the Sharpfinger (original) - awesome performer. There was an even better drop point version, but that was discontinued earlier and hard to find.

The Moras, Buck 110/112 or Vanguard, and SAK's are all great.

Also consider the Grohmann #1, available in carbon and flat grind.
 
alan013, I've also field dressed and skinned a deer with a swiss army knife! Actually, it wasn't bad at all and I did have other knife choices at hand. I used to be a professional game processor (dressed, skinned, and processed game for the freezer). I carry a SAK always but my hunting knives are all fixed blades. The cleaning and sanitizing required to ensure you don't cross contaminate meat is harsh enough to keep me from subjecting any folder to it many times. I only carry fixed blades for meat processing. I have a custom semi-skinner made of BG42 that is perfect but the maker, Matt Harilstadt has taken down his website so I don't know how to contact him.

It isn't fancy or pretty but I use a Forschner Lamb Skinner -- model #40532. It is what a packing house would use and works great. Using this knife makes the job more about getting a deer or elk skinned and less about the knife.
 
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