Well I'm just a hobby knife maker that a couple years back got set up to HT stainless at home. I figured I start out with 440C. I've had great results using it. I made myself and two other buddies "new" knives for us to take to Montana on a self guided mule deer hunt last fall. Now for the record my one buddy use to work at a deer processing place locally and knows how to use a knife. He doesn't use it as a machete and doesn't stick it in the ground between uses. Yes I've personally witnessed people do that.
We hunted walk in access only places so there was no dragging. My buddy used my 440C knife I made him just for this trip, for gutting, skinning and deboning his mule deer, his antelope, a buddies mule deer buck and doe, helped me do probably half of my whitetail using the gut less method and finally while helping a landowner skin and debone half his calf elk when he said his knife was now dull! Personally I don't know how much more you could ask for in a knife steel.
We hunted walk in access only places so there was no dragging. My buddy used my 440C knife I made him just for this trip, for gutting, skinning and deboning his mule deer, his antelope, a buddies mule deer buck and doe, helped me do probably half of my whitetail using the gut less method and finally while helping a landowner skin and debone half his calf elk when he said his knife was now dull! Personally I don't know how much more you could ask for in a knife steel.
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People have a natural urge to improve on anything they can, which usually throws a wrench in the mix
Thick stock for strength, full flat grind and distal taper to make it cut well. Tapered tang for balance. 
I knew there was something to my recollection, but could not recall that level of detail. 
