Protactical said:
The only problem with bears and guns is that there are lots of situations where handguns aren't allowed, like bow hunting season, or all over Canada.
If youre deliberately going after big brown bears with a knife, you probably shouldnt be allowed to near sharp objects anyway.
Protactical makes a good point that I can relate to. Im an archery hunter and in my state of Arizona were not allowed to carry a firearm of any kind (including a pistol even if we have a CCW) during a bow hunting season while we have an archery tag in our possession.
Several years ago I had a close encounter with a bear sow with two cubs. I did all the right things, I backed away making myself look as big and menacing as I could while shouting all the obscenities I could think of. She sent both cubs up a tree and began to follow me to the tree line. Once I knew I didnt have to worry about falling over a deadfall, I picked up the pace (backwards) a little. All I had was my bow with all my arrows in a quiver and a folding knife in my pack. Fortunately, she held her ground at the tree line but it left me knowing I shouldnt be so foolish as not to have something besides my good communication skills to rely on if I ever end up under one.
When I got home, I started to look at knives that would fit the bill. Ive always been a survivalist and to be honest a SAK will take care of almost anything needed along those lines but I wanted something I could also use as a small hatchet for shelter construction and making tools and traps.
I didnt think much of any of the K Bars because theyre all so thin. I haunted knife shops for a while and finally I ordered the Ontario Marine Raider. This thing is an awesome tool but it weighs more than my favorite bush pistol (4 S&W M-19) so I didnt always bring it. A few months later I ordered the Ontario Taskforce. Its significantly smaller and just as sturdy but it has those dumb @$$ serrations on it. For the last several years, thats the one Ive taken with me. I had a friend sew a sheath on the bottom of my favorite pack so I can grab it easily when I have the pack on. I think if they made that knife without the serrations, it would be perfect.
From my experience, the Ontario knives are a super bargain. Im thinking of ordering the Quartermaster next. They make 3 different models of this, the SP17, the FF17 and the P3. I like the idea of a steel pommel so itll be either the FF17 of the P3.
