First hunting season, recommendations.

medvedqc said:
did you tried Tyto handle with 70a kind blade?
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I like #21s, can torque on them more than the 60a due to them being shorter, and a good tough point on them as far as scalpels go. Also cheap, at around $8 a pack delivered on Amazon. Used 60’s a good deal too, I just found I used the 21s more.

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Don't bother spending good money on a knife. Can't even tell you how many times I've accidentally left my knife behind on a log or rock, or got snagged on a branch and taken out of my pocket, dropped and not found, I think by now I've gone through more than 10 knives. Just get something cheap, even a $2 thing from dollarama and sharpen it up good.

As for boots, I highly recommend Irish Setter Elk Tracker boots, or if you want to spend more then Scarpa Fuego's. I own both, scarpas are not insulated so I only use them for spring/fall and the elk trackers for winter. I worked as a wildland firefighter for 6 years, used the scarpa fuego's for that which beats the ever living crap out of them, definitely harsher use than any hunter will ever treat boots and even after 6 years of firefighting and 3 more years of only hunting use, all I do is replace the insole every 2 years and they are dirty but still in almost brand new condition. no tears, holes, rips, or any other signs of wear! They cost me $600 but I will 100% buy them again if I ever manage to wear mine out
 
I've had one of these for the last ten years. compact and lite to carry around all day. Great for pelvic bone and splitting a brisket. Doubles as a survival tool. Don't leave home without it.

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/139687/gerber-exo-mod-bone-saw

In terms of a knife less is more. A smaller sharper blade is best. Get a knife with a pointed tip and a good grippy handle with not to long of a blade. My wife has a gerber gator folding knife and I like using it.
 
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I guess the importance you put on your boots is obviously based on the type of hunting you do. I was surprised to hear some people don't think the boots are way more important that almost anything.
I hike into the alpine, and hike all day. My boots are more important than my knives. If I can't get there because my feet are all blistered, a knife isn't going to be used at all.
Having said that, I am also a fan of the irish setter elk trackers. They are one of my favorites.
As for knives, I have had good luck with the BUCK ergo hunter waterfowler. I like the big rubber handle and the small blade. I always carry two knives.
I have also used the old timer sharpfinger, grohmann skinner, cold steel mini pendleton too. Never did like folders, as too much fat and blood gets into the mechanism.
 
Depending on the type of hunting you fou, and how bad your feet sweat, I’ll chime in and say that you could get two pairs of boots. My feet sweat a lot and even with good wool socks I’m switching boots out daily or using the boot dryer pretty regularly.
If you are going to be hunting from a stand you’ll need different boots than a pair that will be used for walking and stalking.
Before you head out hunting with a shiny new pair of boots I will strongly suggest you break them in first. If you get a leather pair of boots waterproof the heck out of them. I’ll put a few layers of Arctic Dubbin or Mink Oil on my boots and leave them in a car in the August heat for it to soak in.

Knives can be a tricky subject. Some guys like high end custom jobs and other guys are ok with disposable dollar store tactical knives. I bounce between a homemade creation or a sub $100 knife.
I carry a bright orange Mora these days, but also have a spare in my backpack or in a coat pocket “just in case” I lost or forgot a knife somewhere.

I also always carry a multi tool just in case, although as previously stated I hate cleaning the mechanism of blood and fat. I always use a fixed blade if at all possible
 
DOUGLAS D said:
Spend your money on the best pair of boots in your budget.You won’t regret it.
Wyoming saw if you want one.
Knives come and go. If you want one to pass on to the next generation I could give you a hundred options but start at Buck or Puma and go up from there.
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THIS!!!! Best advice so far. Spend the money on good boots and take the time to break them in properly. Cheap boots at the best won't last, at the worst will ruin a trip. Nothing ruins a trip like blisters or wet and cold feet.
 
Good supportive boots that keep your feet dry are so much more important than your knife. Buy a $30 Mora that will keep an edge and treat your to a quality pair of boots.

I run an older pair of Danner Pronghorns which have been a great boot for flat land and also a pair of Hanwag GTX.
 
Oh a fellow Albertan. Here's some stuff that has worked for me for Western AB hunts:

-- Knives. Don't get romantic. Just don't. Knives are a tool. You're going to lose one, or maybe five. (Trust me, you just are.) Get a Mora as your general knife. Run a Victorinox paring knife as your kill-kit knife. No, not a joke. I got annoyed with knives one day, and asked a trapper what he used (You know, a guy who makes a living using a knife) and he pulled out a Vic. That killed the romance of knives for me. Pro-tip: Get the one with an orange handle, so that when you set it down in the grass, you can find it again. Total cost = $39, and this field knife/meat knife setup will do everything you could ever need for ANY hunting trip. Don't trip over Good Enough to chase the Perfection Unicorn.

tH04tq6.jpg


-- Kill kit. You do have one of these, right? If not, get some pillow cases, your sparkly new Vic knife, a sharpener, some flag tape, some paracord, and a couple trash bags and stuff them into a stuff sack. Pow! Kill kit. Now you're ready to cut up your meat. As you hunt more, you can improve this kit as needed. (Read: Make it lighter.) Bone saw is not needed. But if you want a saw, buy a short hacksaw blade from home depot and wrap a bit of hockey tape around the blade as a handle. Voila: ultralight bone saw for $6.

-- Boots. Spend money here. Go try boots on. However, remember that heavy boots will wear you out way faster. I've switched to full-rand + leather approach shoes, paired with heavy OR gaiters. Light on your feet, but can handle rough terrain. I believe the stat was light shoes = 3.5mph vs heavy boots at 2mph. Most of us aren't running heavy mountain boots daily, and our bodies aren't conditioned for that. I guess if you're sheep hunting with a heavy pack, well, might be time for Hanwags or something like that. But for whitetail, some decent trail runners and solid gaiters will work really well. (I can hear the pearl clutching already.)

-- Pack. What are you running for a pack? Or rather: How are you planning on getting your meat out once you've shot this critter? Early season it's hot, and there is no snow. If you're in the backcountry, you either need a horse, or a pack frame of sorts to get the meat back to your truck and into coolers quickly. If you're truck hunting, canoe hunting, there's snow on the ground (sled), or have horses, it's a bit easier. Pro-tip: Always have a pack frame in your truck.

-- Meat. If you're a new hunter, do you know how to field-dress game? If you don't (I sure didn't) and you're solo-hunting, learn the Gutless Method. Randy Newberg has a great video on this. I downloaded it and had it saved to my phone a bunch of years ago as a reference. Helpful for a new guy if you're out on a mountain with a critter down and solo don't know what to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5z3kJWbn8 (Okay to be fair, you might know what to do, but aren't quite sure how to do it. Reference your bone saw comment.)

Anyway, that's about all I can think of for now. Best advice I can give: Don't get caught up with gear. I am a recovering gear head. I wasted a lot of time and money on not-hunting. Buying gear ISN'T field time. Spend your money on tags, and gas, and get to the field. Decent boots, a decent pack, and decent binos. Everything else is secondary, especially rifles, and doesn't really matter to the hunt. (6.5x55 vs 30-06 is a rounding error. Dude, save your money and run your 6.5 for everything. The critter won't know the difference, whether that's deer, moose, elk, sheep, whatever.)
 
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hansol said:
Oh a fellow Albertan. Here's some stuff that has worked for me for Western AB hunts:

-- Knives. Don't get romantic. Just don't. Knives are a tool. You're going to lose one, or maybe five. (Trust me, you just are.) Get a Mora as your general knife. Run a Victorinox paring knife as your kill-kit knife. No, not a joke. I got annoyed with knives one day, and asked a trapper what he used (You know, a guy who makes a living using a knife) and he pulled out a Vic. That killed the romance of knives for me. Pro-tip: Get the one with an orange handle, so that when you set it down in the grass, you can find it again. Total cost = $39, and this field knife/meat knife setup will do everything you could ever need for ANY hunting trip. Don't trip over Good Enough to chase the Perfection Unicorn.

tH04tq6.jpg


-- Kill kit. You do have one of these, right? If not, get some pillow cases, your sparkly new Vic knife, a sharpener, some flag tape, some paracord, and a couple trash bags and stuff them into a stuff sack. Pow! Kill kit. Now you're ready to cut up your meat. As you hunt more, you can improve this kit as needed. (Read: Make it lighter.) Bone saw is not needed. But if you want a saw, buy a short hacksaw blade from home depot and wrap a bit of hockey tape around the blade as a handle. Voila: ultralight bone saw for $6.

-- Boots. Spend money here. Go try boots on. However, remember that heavy boots will wear you out way faster. I've switched to full-rand + leather approach shoes, paired with heavy OR gaiters. Light on your feet, but can handle rough terrain. I believe the stat was light shoes = 3.5mph vs heavy boots at 2mph. Most of us aren't running heavy mountain boots daily, and our bodies aren't conditioned for that. I guess if you're sheep hunting with a heavy pack, well, might be time for Hanwags or something like that. But for whitetail, some decent trail runners and solid gaiters will work really well. (I can hear the pearl clutching already.)

-- Pack. What are you running for a pack? Or rather: How are you planning on getting your meat out once you've shot this critter? Early season it's hot, and there is no snow. If you're in the backcountry, you either need a horse, or a pack frame of sorts to get the meat back to your truck and into coolers quickly. If you're truck hunting, canoe hunting, there's snow on the ground (sled), or have horses, it's a bit easier. Pro-tip: Always have a pack frame in your truck.

-- Meat. If you're a new hunter, do you know how to field-dress game? If you don't (I sure didn't) and you're solo-hunting, learn the Gutless Method. Randy Newberg has a great video on this. I downloaded it and had it saved to my phone a bunch of years ago as a reference. Helpful for a new guy if you're out on a mountain with a critter down and solo don't know what to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5z3kJWbn8 (Okay to be fair, you might know what to do, but aren't quite sure how to do it. Reference your bone saw comment.)

Anyway, that's about all I can think of for now. Best advice I can give: Don't get caught up with gear. I am a recovering gear head. I wasted a lot of time and money on not-hunting. Buying gear ISN'T field time. Spend your money on tags, and gas, and get to the field. Decent boots, a decent pack, and decent binos. Everything else is secondary, especially rifles, and doesn't really matter to the hunt. (6.5x55 vs 30-06 is a rounding error. Dude, save your money and run your 6.5 for everything. The critter won't know the difference, whether that's deer, moose, elk, sheep, whatever.)
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Thank you all great info! Will be used
 
hansol said:
Oh a fellow Albertan. Here's some stuff that has worked for me for Western AB hunts:

-- Knives. Don't get romantic. Just don't. Knives are a tool. You're going to lose one, or maybe five. (Trust me, you just are.) Get a Mora as your general knife. Run a Victorinox paring knife as your kill-kit knife. No, not a joke. I got annoyed with knives one day, and asked a trapper what he used (You know, a guy who makes a living using a knife) and he pulled out a Vic. That killed the romance of knives for me. Pro-tip: Get the one with an orange handle, so that when you set it down in the grass, you can find it again. Total cost = $39, and this field knife/meat knife setup will do everything you could ever need for ANY hunting trip. Don't trip over Good Enough to chase the Perfection Unicorn.

tH04tq6.jpg


-- Kill kit. You do have one of these, right? If not, get some pillow cases, your sparkly new Vic knife, a sharpener, some flag tape, some paracord, and a couple trash bags and stuff them into a stuff sack. Pow! Kill kit. Now you're ready to cut up your meat. As you hunt more, you can improve this kit as needed. (Read: Make it lighter.) Bone saw is not needed. But if you want a saw, buy a short hacksaw blade from home depot and wrap a bit of hockey tape around the blade as a handle. Voila: ultralight bone saw for $6.

-- Boots. Spend money here. Go try boots on. However, remember that heavy boots will wear you out way faster. I've switched to full-rand + leather approach shoes, paired with heavy OR gaiters. Light on your feet, but can handle rough terrain. I believe the stat was light shoes = 3.5mph vs heavy boots at 2mph. Most of us aren't running heavy mountain boots daily, and our bodies aren't conditioned for that. I guess if you're sheep hunting with a heavy pack, well, might be time for Hanwags or something like that. But for whitetail, some decent trail runners and solid gaiters will work really well. (I can hear the pearl clutching already.)

-- Pack. What are you running for a pack? Or rather: How are you planning on getting your meat out once you've shot this critter? Early season it's hot, and there is no snow. If you're in the backcountry, you either need a horse, or a pack frame of sorts to get the meat back to your truck and into coolers quickly. If you're truck hunting, canoe hunting, there's snow on the ground (sled), or have horses, it's a bit easier. Pro-tip: Always have a pack frame in your truck.

-- Meat. If you're a new hunter, do you know how to field-dress game? If you don't (I sure didn't) and you're solo-hunting, learn the Gutless Method. Randy Newberg has a great video on this. I downloaded it and had it saved to my phone a bunch of years ago as a reference. Helpful for a new guy if you're out on a mountain with a critter down and solo don't know what to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5z3kJWbn8 (Okay to be fair, you might know what to do, but aren't quite sure how to do it. Reference your bone saw comment.)

Anyway, that's about all I can think of for now. Best advice I can give: Don't get caught up with gear. I am a recovering gear head. I wasted a lot of time and money on not-hunting. Buying gear ISN'T field time. Spend your money on tags, and gas, and get to the field. Decent boots, a decent pack, and decent binos. Everything else is secondary, especially rifles, and doesn't really matter to the hunt. (6.5x55 vs 30-06 is a rounding error. Dude, save your money and run your 6.5 for everything. The critter won't know the difference, whether that's deer, moose, elk, sheep, whatever.)
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when i guided on caribou i learnt a lot from first nation elders: they used mora knife, victorinox lamb skinner and victorinox paring knife and they used cotton pillow cases but what is the fun in that lol ...
 
why: the handle, the cutting steel? on what kind of animal you tried them?

they re working tool made for butcher not very fancy for sure but they do work ... at least on moose, caribou, bears and bisons.
 
My recommendation on a knife would be a buck 673 or 110 if yea cant do it with either of those knives take up knitting, but do not cheap out on boots , i honestly would recomend thats where the most of your budget should go as you will spend more time with them then a knife and will make your time in the field much more enjoyable
 
Deer and Elk, I don't care for it the Lamb Skinner. Granted someone who skins multiple animals a day has different skills and different preferences.

I know a guy that likes a scimitar for skinning beef, I have one of those too but it isn't my preference either. I seldom use it at all.

For deer hunting something like this would be excellent. This, a boning knife and a Victorinox serrated steak knife would certainly put a deer or elk in the freezer. The steak knives are nice because they get used on a daily basis.


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Used the same two knives for the last 40 years. A Buck 304 stock knife and a Scharade LB7. I did have a Buck Lite folder in my back pack also as it appears flimsy but it's a darn good knife. The 304 is carried on a velcro sheath I found with a tiny steel that fits beside it.
 
As I've become a middle-aged office weenie, I've been blessed with the curse of becoming broke and lazy.

$9 for a meat/skinning knife that worked just as well as my Havalon, with no garbage left over (Those dull blades you're tossing into the backcountry are trash. So is the wrapper they come in), or risking the blade popping off in the meat, seemed like the smart way to go. Lighter too. The Vic will handle elk and moose no problem.

The pillow cases were also a $9 walmart special. Used the $150 savings (vs Tag Bags) to pay for gas to get to the field.

A smart guy told me once "Copy what the locals do." When the dudes who live off this stuff are running certain gear, that's called a Clue.

medvedqc said:
when i guided on caribou i learnt a lot from first nation elders: they used mora knife, victorinox lamb skinner and victorinox paring knife and they used cotton pillow cases but what is the fun in that lol ...
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