Moose knives?

[bigbore442001]

I attended a mandatory seminar for my Nh moose permit and one of the things that the biologist covered was that moose hide and hair are rough on knives. You'll want something that is easily sharpened like carbon steel.

For deer hunting, I carry my grandfather's 4" Kabar with the leather washer handle. I was wondering if this knife would be a bit on the small side? In addition, what would be a good, carbon steel " moose" knife? I will appreciate any replies.Thank you.

[Daveinthebush]

I have only done 2 moose so far. What they say is true about moose hide.  It is very tough and thick.  I carry two Schrade 1430T's, and a Browning KFD.  This year I added a Wyoming saw.

Also in the pack is a Lansky rough diamond stone and the knife holder just incase I need to touch the blades up.  They really don't weigh that much.

I also found that on the neck hide, the gut hooks were just about too small.  The Knifes of Alaksa series has a much larger hook and would be better.

If your alone remember some 3/16 or 1/4" rope to assist you in holding the legs apart by tying them to trees.  You probably can't roll the thing your self.  

What we did was the same as caribou. We slice down the middle of the back and skin towards the belly.  The back meat is salvaged, the legs cut off and placed in game bags.  Then we roll him back over on the hide and repeat the process.  Then the neck and head comes off. You can now easily gut the beast and remove the ribs, hind section and tender loins.

Not bad really.  Just takes time and you have to be careful not to cut yourself.  We did one in the water and trying to cut under water, by feel was a rewarding proposition for the makers of bandaids.

Do you really need carbon steel?  I think it depends on the quality of the blade, stainless or carbon and how well it is sharpened prior to the trip.  I use a 19 degree angle and the suckers are sharp.

[DakotaMike]

bigbore,
I have taken four moose in Cumberland House, Saskatchewan and have probably dressed seven. I found the task little different from skinning and dressing bull elk. Keep the blade under the skin and do not directly try to cut hair. I use an old Cold Steel Outdoorsman with a 6" blade. The blade is slightly upswept which did take some getting used to but the steel is excellent. I have dressed two moose without the need to sharpen the blade and would recommend the Cold Steel brand knives to those looking for a reasonably priced quality knife. Hopefully having said that the quality has not deteriorated in the last 7-8 years. In addition to your knife do not forget a length of good rope, it will make all the difference in the world when dressing a large animal.
dakotamike

[Naphtali]

I have not skinned or quartered a moose -- elk, yes, though. Regarding skinning and field dressing, nearly any decent knife will do so long as it's more than three inches of blade. Smaller blades may require more effort to move material, and truly long blades are nearly impossible to control.

The important thing is that you aren't in a contest to see how well your edge maintains itself. So what if you must do a quick-and-dirty sharpening part-way through the job?

I use Cold Steel Master Hunter and TwistMaster Clip Point, both with Carbon V steel. I didn't "select" the steel. I happen to like Cold Steel's grip and both blade shapes. The steel works OK, and I bought them either as factory seconds or close-outs. Hence the cost for the knives was peanuts.

Something I've thought about for years, but haven't tried, is to take one of the ultra-cheap "cut anything" scissors. These have one flat point on one of the blades.

What I'm considering is to make a knife cut entry, then slide the scissors in and go to it. I have a good-bad feeling that this will work, and simultaneously take a lot of cracker barrel pleasure from knife discussions. Is this heresy?

[Redfrog]

I have dressed several 30+ moose over the years, and the advice here is right on the money.

Bring rope. I have 3 knives with me and a diamond sharpener. I use a Puma bowie, shrade lockback [bearpaw], and a Muela with a 4inch blade with a gut hook. Bring rope. I also have a Wyoming saw. Bring rope.
It is a large job, even if you kill near a road. It's tougher if you are miles backand if the snow is more than a couple of feet deep it is tougher yet. Bring rope.

As already stated, you'll need rope to tie the legs out of the way, avoid cutting hair, try to "work from the inside out"to make things easier and have your knife last longer.

You should also bring rope.   you'll need it to hang quarters, drag quarters, or lash them to a packboard, horse, quad.or boat.

Here's one from last year. My buddy's first. He called it in himself.




This year I'm gonna try this technique. I already do this kind of thing for bears.

http://home.chaffee.net/~bugle/html/quartering_an_elk.htm

[Maine Woods]

Hi Bigbore442001 Everyones advice has been spot on, as Redfrog said avoid cutting hair as much as possible! As to knives I used a Puma skinner on one ( first) moose. Dressed and Quartered using only the Puma and a Snow and Nealy belt ax. Both sharpened using Razors Edge system. Next moose using Knives of Alaska, this was field dressed only so only one knife agin ( I had 3) Puma Bowie and skinner and others are on sale thru. Sept. at Natchez. Good luck. Oh I have done 28 Less than Redfrog :oops:

[Redfrog]

Maine Woods I didn't kill all those moose, I only killed most of them :-D  My buddies killed the rest. The other thing is I've been hunting a long, long time. :-)

I sure like the looks of the Knives of Alaska. Been thinking about getting a cub for caping. I guide as well as my own hunting so there is no shortage of wet work. How do you like the Knives of Alaska?

[Maine Woods]

Hey Redfrog  I really like the knives of Alaska my partners have the light hunter combos, these are darn near perfect for big game. I use the Muskrat/ cub bear combo, the muskrat the most for skinning. These are just amazing for there edge holding ability! We all have the rubber sure grip handles. ( Maine and Newhampshire Guides)

[Maine Woods]

Hey Bigbore What Zone did you draw?

[Dand]

I've done over 25 caribou, 5-6 sitka deer, and 4 moose - last moose just last week.

I find a good 3 to 3.5 inch folder plenty of knife for everything with possible exception of removing the hind quarter of moose.  Well sharpened stainless like Puma or Kershaw should last most of a moose and has lasted through 3 caribou for me.

I always have my old Knapp saw for the bone work.  I hear the larger version of the Wyoming saw is very good.

I always carry an old EZ Lap diamond steel and sometimes a schrage ceramic sharpener.

My current knife is a Buck Crosslock hunter with separate gut hook blade with a gold looking titanium coating.  While the knife design and blade shape are great, I CANNOT recommend the titanium coating.  The blade is sharpened on only one side and the coating is supposed to hold the edge but I get a wire edge that rolls over and chips off leaving a very rough cutting edge - I see why this feature has been discontinued.  But I like the design enough I might try to find the same design with conventional steel and standard sharpening.   The gut hook is pretty good and worked well  on the moose except near the back and mane where the hair is really long.  (We like to take off as much meat as possible before opening the body cavities.)

I always carry 1-2 spare knives in case of loss or damage to my main folding knife.  A Browning folder lives in my meat pack and I usually grab a 4.5 inch Morseth laminated fixed blade on moose hunts but usually forget to use it.

Give me soft composition or wood handles and no bone, slippery or metal ones for cold weather hunting. No fun to have your hand freeze to the handle in -10 or colder.

[bigbore442001]

I drew an any sex permit for zone B in New Hampshire. From what I understand it is a very good zone to hunt moose.