Best Spyderco for Moose: not for the squeemish

[North61]

18 months ago I posted here about using the Stretch on an 800 pound moose. I have also used the original C48 Wegner and rate it very highly.

Moose are a different challenge as the very tightly attached hide requires skinning every step of the way. The Wegner is good but the old Impala looked better. I am happy to say that my hunch was right. After working on a moose for 4 hours yesterday I can say that the impala is an excellent moose knife. As good as anything out there and Spydie cool! We also have meat for the winter. Pretty good for something that carries so nicely in your pocket.

Here are a few pictures that show the Impala in it's natural environment. For PETA folks I apologize if you find this offensive but It's how we afford to eat well in the North country.



Getting There


Filling up the 8X10 Tarp

[Mako109]

Wow, this together with your previous post makes one of the best knife reviews posted. Thanks for posting and congrats on a successful hunt.

[angusW]

We came from the West Virginia coalmines
And the Rocky Mountains and the western skies
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Sorry. Hank Williams Jr. came to mind when you mentioned how you guys can afford to eat there. Just curious if you ever used a Manix 2 or Para 2 or are those type of blades no good for skinning.

[North61]

Didn't mean to go all country on you. I do play the banjo but it's a tenor and my favourite song is a Fats Waller standard.

Lots of knives are usable. The Manix and Para both look to have a good blade shape.
The Impala has just a lovely sweep for skinning and a large enough straight section for useful meat slicing. We tend to use the gutless skinning method which means after skinning you start taking off quarters, then back strap. Only then do you gut, simply getting the guts away from the body walls to get at the tenderloins, and getting the ribs off. The Impala does it all. Other knives do too but it comes down to small increases in efficiency and style points.

The VG-10 of the Impala got just a hair duller on the hair and dirt of the bull in rut. Still usable. Didn't resharpen but will now. It's a one moose knife...not two without resharpening.

Popping the ball joint....this just pops right out when you cut the muscle and tendon holding the hip ball in the socket. Voila..a hind quarter.


The front quarters come off even easier. Simply put a bit of leverage against the front leg and cut down under the scapula....no collar bone. Cuts right off

[Evil D]

That's about as good of a review as you can ask for a knife.

What does moose taste like? Gamey?

[North61]

After this the camera crapped out so I have no pictures of removing the head, backstraps, tenderloins and ribs. Nor of the brutal carry from moose pond to freighter canoe. Nor of the calf and cow we floated by on the way home. My son and hunting partner were there.... these are the ties that bind. Hard to explain to a non-hunter.

You also get a special bond with equipment that works. The Impala and Wegner C48 have made it into the special realm of gear that works extraordinarily well.

[Fred Sanford]

Cool post on a great knife. I think it's great that you eat what you kill. What does it taste like? Beef? Deer? Like nothing else?

[North61]

That's about as good of a review as you can ask for a knife.

What does moose taste like? Gamey?

Nope,,,just shared some back-straps with the family...no game taste. Cutting up the meat today and not a hint of smell. Even the liver tastes ok. Excellent stuff.

If you keep the hide and hair away from the meat you usually escape the taste...unless it's high rut and old. The hair smells to high heaven as they roll in their musk and urine as part of the masculine display. I like gutless skinning as you get the hair out of the way and don't contaminate the meat with hair or internal juices. Done this way I have not yet had a bad tasting moose, even in the rut which is of course the easiest time to take a bull. This fella for example was more interested in getting in a fight with us than getting away. I won't walk the back country in Sept/Oct without bear spray or a fire-arm and I am actually more nervous about moose than bears during these months.

Caribou on the otherhand, in rut get so highly hormoned up that their liver can't handle it...the blood gets smelly and so does the meat. Can't eat one between late August to November to be safe. UCCK.

[North61]

Cool post on a great knife. I think it's great that you eat what you kill. What does it taste like? Beef? Deer? Like nothing else?

Texture like very lean beef...taste closer to deer than beef but I like it better than both. It doesn't taste like chicken if that helps :)

[North61]

I also have the Impala with gut hook and serrations. I can safely say that the gut hook will not work on a moose. Hide and hair is way to thick and tightly attached. On caribou it tends to ball up with hair. It might work on the lighter hair/hide of a deer or maybe..impala. Mine cuts rope very well.

The serrations? They do help when cutting through the cartilage when removing ribs but makes slicing meat/tendons much messier. The plain edge non gut hook Impala is the one to take home if you can find one.

[AKWolf]

Looks like a nice young tasty moose, all kinds of goodies to be made... :spyder:

[JD Spydo]

I always thought the Impala model was truly a super-classic that truly got lost in the shuffle. To me it's been the best hunting folder I've seen yet from the good folks at Spyderco.

I also like the Wegner model as well as the Ocelot model for skinning ( minus that Ocelot handle :rolleyes :) .

I've killed several whitetail deer so I've never personally tackled a game animal as big as a moose or elk for that matter. But why wouldn't a great fixed blade like the Moran, Temperance 1 or 2, or even the older Kumo model for that matter wouldn't be the ideal blade for skinning a moose.

This is another reason I would like to see Spyderco release that big prototype of theirs called the BISON. It was a beast of a folder with a very nice sized blade and I think it would be ideal for moose or elk.

It would also be interesting to see the Impala reintroduced in a large scale model.

[bammann45]

Thanks for the effort you put into this thread -- a really enjoyable, informative read. Well done.

[Donut]

Nice score North, good to see you are doing well.

That looks like a heck of a job to do. Judging by the clothes you are wearing it was cooler so you had a little bit of time on your side. Having good equipment must surely help.

[.357 mag]

Nice thread! Yeah.. They need to bring that knife back. I'd buy I one in a heartbeat. VG-10 is perfect for the job and I would agree with you about the guthook. There not my favorite on knives. I do like them separate for deer and hog, but I can see you point on thicker skinned game.

BTW.. Your 8x10 tarp looks like a 2x4. That's and ton of meat! Great score!

[Gerard Breuker]

Nice to see knives in real action.
How or why I have an Impala I really can't remember. Must have been an offer I couldn't refuse at the time.
Now I just need to find a recently killed moose somewhere which around here can take a while I am afraid.

[enduraguy]

Nice review! I went deer hunting several years ago with my step dad and we cleaned my kill in the field. We had his Buck fixed blade (don't recall which), my Spyderco Police (SS handle, full serrated)...and he forgot his hatchet in the truck. My Police ended up being used to hack through the pelvic bone during the cleaning. I'm sure I was lucky to not have slipped and lost a finger with my blood soaked hands, but the experience sold me on Spyderco more than I think anything else.

[Mr Blonde]

That was an impressive cutting task. I've been lucky enough to see a few Moose in the wild, and man they're so much bigger than I figured. Thanks for sharing!

[redhawk44357]

That's about as good of a review as you can ask for a knife.

What does moose taste like? Gamey?

Tastes like chicken :P

[dbcad]

Wish you good eathing North61. Appreciate your reviews :)