Huntin with your Traditional Knives

Got another doe this past week, this time I cleaned her with the old Buck 118 shown above. I did order a new bird & trout knife (Buck 102) last week, it came in yesterdays mail. Really nice for ducks and fish, but I'm going deer hunting again this week so it'll go too. OH

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I shot both a young meat buck and a young doe this weekend in Illinois. Both were shot with my S&W 629 Classic .44 magnum at point blank range. The buck was shot at 12 yards behind the shoulder, while the doe was about to run me over and was shot quartering toward me on the point of the shoulder at about 7 yards. Each of them ran about 30 yards and piled up, dead within 10 seconds. I used the Russian fixed blade on the buck, and my new Taylor Schrade 858 stockman on the doe. Both performed perfectly!

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Old Hunter said:
315, you made me laugh with that comment - at least you had something good to eat! I’m buck hunting now (last evening and today) - all of a sudden they’re scarce! OH
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They are really scarce, especially when the cats, wolves, bears and coyotes have been having a feast lately in that part of the state. Don’t always expect to fill a tag but even rubs were almost non-existent. Still beat working though!!
 
Field dressed a 9 point buck and a doe this year with this GEC H73 fixed blade. Knife did okay, I had high expectations for this knife, and it mostly delivered. I had to sharpen it three times while processing my buck (I only had a cheap rough stone, but it was serviceable). I guess that's the benefit of 1095 - you need to keep the edge up, but it's pretty easy to do so even in less than ideal conditions. Surprisingly even with all the fat and blood and stuff and not cleaning the knife well in the field, it didn't get too much patina. I did clean it at night before I put it away though.
I really didn't like the sheath that came with the H73, so I made my own sheath before I went out this year. The pouch sheath I made was much less cumbersome up in a deer stand. I hate bulky sheaths for small knives.
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Davis, I have wondered how the GEC hunters knives performed when cleaning a deer. About the time I got interested in finding one they became hard to find. I like your selfmade sheath. For stand hunting I keep my fixed blades in my hunting pack (old flap top Buck sheaths) and I keep my Buck 110 on my hip - when I down a deer I get the fixed blade out of the pack and go to work. I agree about a fixed blade getting in the way when you are hunting from a seat! OH

Ps I thought the Acorn on a GEC knife meant it was stainless steel (maybe why it's not developed a patina from the blood? I could be wrong (memory you know!)
 
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Beautiful knife and sheath! That knife is the ideal profile for my hunting needs. Love the Chestnut and the acorn. Fine looking sheath too. Much better than the original.:thumbsup:
 
Yes, the acorn on the fixed blade is confusing, but the tube says 1095 steel and it does have some stains on the blade, just didn't show up in the photo. I have another H73 from this 2017 run in red micarta that has a heavy patina from using it on various food while camping. The chestnut feels a little more classic and goes well with my walnut stocked rifle.
I am really happy with the shape and size of the blade - it really worked well for the field dressing, and having that little finger choil/guard made me feel confident while cutting the windpipe and insides. The canoe pattern blade is extremely versatile for fish, food prep, skinning or field work. I think my ideal deer knife would be this exact same pattern/shape in a super steel...
 
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