Decisions, decisions... What knives for Elk camp this year?

Of your knives pictured there I would choose The B8, Hog Muk and the Hacktive Duty.
I will be traveling to Colo. from AZ. to rifle hunt Elk in Oct. I plan on bringing my B8 for a big pack knife and will be wearing a competition finish/Black Canvas SOB for a belt knife. Waiting in camp will be the HogMuk, ScrapMuk, Boney Active Duty, and a Mountainmandu for chopping duty. ETA I should bring the B4 also, just in case I can try all these out on some meat. Intend to convert some of the hunting buddies.
Good Luck, sounds like you will have a great adventure.
 
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I process 10-12 deer per year between my kills and family members deer (whitetail).

Generally speaking I find non-coated and flat ground blades to be superior to the alternative. They just slice better and drag less.

With that in mind, I recommend the following:

B8 because it will make an excellent camp knife. There isn't a lot that knife won't do...
Hog Muk because it will work very well as a dedicated skinning knife
ELMAX because it meets the above criteria and it is as light as a feather
Trailing point Swamp rat becuase it's an excellent all purpose blade
And your choice of the smaller exmax blades for fine tasks.

As good as these will hold their edge you may need to sharpen them if you guys get covered up with game. Do you have a strop? As long as you don't let them get 'dull' a strop is a fantastic option to keep them keen.

Sounds like you guys are in for an awesome hunt! Don't forget to share pics!!!!


Good luck!

.
 
D'oh!!! :eek: How could I forget about my SYKCO Elmax 460??? (and its sweet Leatherman pouch-style sheath from Dwayne) It was already loaded in with some of my gear from past seasons. Oops...







I think these two will be very hard to beat. The 460 is the best over all fish and game knife I have ever used.
 
Yep, I will be hunting this year. We are heading up to camp on Thursday. We have been hunting the same area for about 12 years now. It is mostly BLM land, but there is one very large ranch that borders the Northern side of the area. There will be other people scattered around the area, but a lot of them only come up for opening weekend and then it clears out.
It's a great area. There are always deer and elk, and it is about 90 minutes from my house.

It sounds like you guys have a great spot :thumbup: Going into the middle should work great. If there are other people hunting the outside edges, you can let them push the animals to you :D

Good luck to you and Trav! :thumbup:

Of your knives pictured there I would choose The B8, Hog Muk and the Hacktive Duty.
I will be traveling to Colo. from AZ. to rifle hunt Elk in Oct. I plan on bringing my B8 for a big pack knife and will be wearing a competition finish/Black Canvas SOB for a belt knife. Waiting in camp will be the HogMuk, ScrapMuk, Boney Active Duty, and a Mountainmandu for chopping duty. ETA I should bring the B4 also, just in case I can try all these out on some meat. Intend to convert some of the hunting buddies.
Good Luck, sounds like you will have a great adventure.

If we could drive all the way up to camp, I'd just take 'em all, along with a chopper or two (1311, NMFSH, NMFBM, or KDSH), and just not worry about it. :D Of course, if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. ;) Good luck with your riifle hunt here! :thumbup:

BTW, you have my sympathy about the insane out-of-state license fees here... :eek: (I lived in AZ for almost 5 years, and hunted here during that time. Ouch.)

I process 10-12 deer per year between my kills and family members deer (whitetail).

Generally speaking I find non-coated and flat ground blades to be superior to the alternative. They just slice better and drag less.

With that in mind, I recommend the following:

B8 because it will make an excellent camp knife. There isn't a lot that knife won't do...
Hog Muk because it will work very well as a dedicated skinning knife
ELMAX because it meets the above criteria and it is as light as a feather
Trailing point Swamp rat becuase it's an excellent all purpose blade
And your choice of the smaller exmax blades for fine tasks.

As good as these will hold their edge you may need to sharpen them if you guys get covered up with game. Do you have a strop? As long as you don't let them get 'dull' a strop is a fantastic option to keep them keen.

Sounds like you guys are in for an awesome hunt! Don't forget to share pics!!!!


Good luck!

I'll definitely be taking a strop, a small & flat (1.5" x 3.5" x 0.25") two-sided medium/fine ceramic stone (Spyderco), and also a two-sided EZ-Lap diamond stone to cover the bases. Just in case...

It's funny, looking at these knives again today, I had separated out those exact 4 blades you mentioned along with the HACKtive Duty, thinking they'd be a perfect set. And for similar reasons. I don't care for the coated blades while processing game either. But I'd still like to take the 411 too... *sigh* :rolleyes:

I think these two will be very hard to beat. The 460 is the best over all fish and game knife I have ever used.

Yeah, the Elmax 460 IS pretty awesome! :D That's why it was already stashed in with my other hunting gear. That Trail Skinner shown with it is a one-of-a-kind Rat that I had the custom shop make for me, with the intention for it to be a good multi-purpose blade that could be used as a skinner too. :cool:
 
That Trail Skinner shown with it is a one-of-a-kind Rat that I had the custom shop make for me, with the intention for it to be a good multi-purpose blade that could be used as a skinner too. :cool:

Really enjoy seeing this YouTube video of a Kiwi processing a red tail, and it's all done with a little Mercator.
https://youtu.be/Ubxppdxfx0w

That Trail Skinner will be perfect! Bring it along. [emoji1]
 
Basic 8, hog muk, elmax hack.. Nothing skins like a muk, the basic is tglb size without the weight and some elmax is nice have around.
 
I would go with the smallest lightest weight blades. When I hunt I take a scrap yard 460 and 340. If I loose one of those I won't lose too much sleep. The Muk is the best skinner out of the bunch that you have IMO but I haven't used one to process an Elk yet. I have had my eye on one of those for a while but haven't pulled the trigger yet. What GMU are you hunting?
 
I recommend not going on the hunt. Try just camping and enjoying nature. It truly is a thrill to simply live in harmony with other sentient beings.
 
I recommend not going on the hunt. Try just camping and enjoying nature. It truly is a thrill to simply live in harmony with other sentient beings.
Not to derail the thread here, but you're derailing the thread.
No one asked your opinion on hunting in general. You could at least have stated what knifes you would bring for camping, of the presented choices.
 
I recommend not going on the hunt. Try just camping and enjoying nature. It truly is a thrill to simply live in harmony with other sentient beings.

Its called game management and needs to be done. Elk meat is very very good, and can live in harmony with the potatoes and gravy,,,


ETA: I like small skinny knives for game, so the rat. I use a culti though,,,
 
Basic 8, hog muk, elmax hack.. Nothing skins like a muk, the basic is tglb size without the weight and some elmax is nice have around.

At this point, I think the Basic 8 is a given for my large blade.

I would go with the smallest lightest weight blades. When I hunt I take a scrap yard 460 and 340. If I loose one of those I won't lose too much sleep. The Muk is the best skinner out of the bunch that you have IMO but I haven't used one to process an Elk yet. I have had my eye on one of those for a while but haven't pulled the trigger yet. What GMU are you hunting?

I also think the ScrapMax 460 has secured its spot in the lineup. I'd rather not share which GMU, as this spot is not real well-known, and I'd like to keep it that way. NW part of the state is all I'll say.

I recommend not going on the hunt. Try just camping and enjoying nature. It truly is a thrill to simply live in harmony with other sentient beings.

LMAO!!! :rolleyes: I do that ALL the time anyway. And that wasn't the question either. .. :grumpy:

If you're one of those PETA types, may I suggest that you're on absolutely the wrong type of website. :thumbdn: We have a term for you and that kind of reply here; TROLL. :mad: Please refrain from replying to one of my threads again.

If mankind followed your advice, we would be long gone by now. Maybe YOU should try getting in touch with your primal side and go hunting. You might just enjoy it... :thumbup:

Not to derail the thread here, but you're derailing the thread.
No one asked your opinion on hunting in general. You could at least have stated what knifes you would bring for camping, of the presented choices.

Troll is a troll. Look at the username. Can't expect anything else from one. :rolleyes:

Its called game management and needs to be done. Elk meat is very very good, and can live in harmony with the potatoes and gravy,,,


ETA: I like small skinny knives for game, so the rat. I use a culti though,,,

PETA types would just have us become overrun with wildlife and pests, lol. Different mindset. I don't think they understand that we as humans are the apex species on this planet. :rolleyes:

Can't wait for some Elk tenderloin! :D
 
It seems as if your decisions are made spyderphreak, good luck on your adventure and I will look forward to pics of the hunt and the camp! The worst part about coming into this thread is that I made an argument supporting the b8 which I have been on the fence about getting and this convinced me further to pull the trigger and introduced me to the scrapmax 460 which I didn't even know existed prior to coming in here..... Now I need that too
 
It seems as if your decisions are made spyderphreak, good luck on your adventure and I will look forward to pics of the hunt and the camp! The worst part about coming into this thread is that I made an argument supporting the b8 which I have been on the fence about getting and this convinced me further to pull the trigger and introduced me to the scrapmax 460 which I didn't even know existed prior to coming in here..... Now I need that too

Yeah, mostly made, but still deliberating on some. B8 is a great blade!!!

In regards to the Scrapmax 460, yeah, it has to be one of the best game/fish knives to come out of the Busse compound! HIGHLY recommended!!! :thumbup: Good luck with your search for one!
 
I will be going up to the CO mountains for archery Deer and Elk hunting in a couple weeks with my brother and a friend or two. :D My brother and I have licenses for both Deer and Elk, either sex. I fully expect we'll get our Deer, and we have good odds for getting our Elk too. Camp will likely be about a 4-5 mile hike back from the parking area, and we'll be up there for about a week (unless we have to come down with meat). I'm trying to decide which knives to take, from the group pictured.

I'll likely take one of the three on the right (7.5" - 8"), and then an additional one or maybe two from the others on the left (5.25" - just under 3"). If it were you, and you had to choose one of the three larger blades and one or two of the smaller ones, which would you take and why? We have INFI, Elmax, and SR-101 in the lineup of 6 Busse, 3 Rats, and 3 Dogs. :cool:

Right now, I'm leaning toward the Basic 8 for the "big" knife, either the Mudd Mutt (2nd from top) or Trail Skinner (middle), and the either the HACKtive Duty (3rd from bottom) or HACK Warden (bottom) for a "small" knife. That gives me INFI, SR-101, and Elmax at my disposal for processing animals. The only time I'd be carrying all three is while hiking up to camp and back, so I'm not terribly concerned about weight.

Anyway, input appreciated. TIA! :thumbup:

Edited: SYKCO Elmax 460 in the running. Almost forgot that one. About the same size as the Trail Skinner.

My opinion is that you should take two, whichever pair you think might work best for you. One small and one larger. You won't notice the extra weight and I think you will find that each size has it's forte' in the job of gutting, skinning and butchering large game. I've always used a duo like this. In my case it was a 165OT Woodsman and a 152OT Sharpfinger. The size and shape differences make the chores so much easier than trying to do it all with a one-knife-does-it-all blade. Plus it lessens the need to resharpen partway though the job. Good luck on your hunt!

ETA: I can't help you with which two to take because I have never used any of the ones pictured. And it looks as if, from the pictures, you haven't either.
 
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I recommend not going on the hunt. Try just camping and enjoying nature. It truly is a thrill to simply live in harmony with other sentient beings.

Why was in necessary for you to give your thoughts on hunting in this thread ?... I understand that some people don't enjoy or agree with hunting and that is fine. We all have different beliefs, but what people like you don't understand is that those of us that do hunt contribute more to wildlife conservation and habitat improvement, than those that just simply tell others we shouldn't hunt...

There is a lot of revenue generated by the sale of tags and licenses every year that helps some, and many of us donate time and money to help insure that wildlife will still be around for the next generations to enjoy. How much have you done for wildlife ? My guess is nothing, because most critics of hunting do nothing other than tell others they shouldn't hunt...

True hunters appreciate and respect the animals we hunt. Not everyone that goes hunting is successful. Far from it. Some of my most successful seasons were years that I didn't actually get a deer or elk...
I've been close enough to watch, listen and smell animals and still wasn't able to get a good shot. In my mind that was still a success... Most people that criticize hunting have never been that close to a deer or elk, and would probably freak out if they did. Most people that don't hunt will only be close enough to watch from a distance, or by using binoculars. That's not the same... So see, for many of us, hunting is about more than just killing an animal.

Again, I would never try and force anyone that doesn't hunt, or believe in it to change their views, and by the same token, I think comments like yours should be kept to yourself, or in a thread where people are asking for your thoughts and beliefs on hunting. Not in a thread where someone is simply asking for opinions on which knives to take on their trip...

So the next time you are out in the woods watching and enjoying the wildlife, IF you actually do, you can take a minute and thank those that have donated time, energy and $$$, because without it, there would be a lot less wildlife for you to watch and enjoy...

Sorry for the brief derailment of your thread. Now back to the subject at hand. Knives :D
 
SP, the Trail Skinner must go along!! :D Good luck on the hunt man, I can't wait to see pictures start rolling in this fall.
 
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