back country saw

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Nov 25, 2016
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Utah
Wondering what back packers haul in to cut head off trophy animal?
I carry a sven-saw for cutting wood and trees out of the way for processing the animal when in bad areas. I used this to cut the head off the elk, but it bent a lot of the teeth on it.

I am looking for a small light weight saw for back pack hunting if any one has ideas?
Thx
 

Davebuech

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May 16, 2016
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Rocky Mountains (SLV) Colorado
IMO, you only need a saw when taking just the antlers attached to the skull cap. That or two hatchets. The head can be disjointed with a knife if taking the whole thing along with the cape.

I carry a SOG folding saw with a bone blade for that purpose. There is also a wood blade if the need to cut small branches arises.
 

EasilyExcited

Lil-Rokslider
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Jan 20, 2016
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wyoming saw is pretty handy for cutting firewood and also comes with a bone blade. it is heavier then the sven but i like mine so far
 

5MilesBack

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Like said above, you don't need a saw for just removing the head. But for capping the skull the WY saw or something similar is the best. Those folding saws (the ones where the blade folds into the handle) are crap for that job.
 
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New Mexico
get the neck meat off, find the articulation between the base of the skull and first vertebra and work your knife in there, bending the head away from the cut as you make it to open the cut. Once you get one side, twist the head to open it up and the other side comes off easier. Probably want a stout-bladed knife, not a Havalon or similar because I tend to end up twisting the knife and would worry about snapping a blade.
 
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I'll just say that I took a folding Silky Gomboy and 2 blades to AK a year ago. I used the medium tooth blade for wood cutting. I switched out to a fine-tooth blade for bone cutting. I actually used the saw to cut directly through the brow palms on fresh moose shed antlers I found. No damage to the blade, teeth etc.
 

LaGriz

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New Iberia,LA
Check out Camofire.com,

They have a folding Wicked saw that is similar to the Silky product that is both reasonable in price and pretty light weight. If you run a floorless shelter/stove combo you might wish to have a true wood cutting saw with a longer blade if you can justify more weight and size. If you just need it for breaking down an animal you might want to go in a more Spartan or minimalist direction.
 
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Whisky

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I'll just say that I took a folding Silky Gomboy and 2 blades to AK a year ago. I used the medium tooth blade for wood cutting. I switched out to a fine-tooth blade for bone cutting. I actually used the saw to cut directly through the brow palms on fresh moose shed antlers I found. No damage to the blade, teeth etc.

What model ??
 
OP
mfllood3800
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I have the Wyoming saw, but don't pack that along with me- you guys carry this in your pack ?
 

rayporter

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arkansas or ohio
i just use the wood blade. it had done 2 moose -2 bou and a lot of elk and fire wood before i changed the blade. mine is the 21 incher..
i can not imagine wrestling with a 6 in saw trying to cap one out.
 

Tag_Soup

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Nov 8, 2016
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Middleton, Idaho
I stopped packing a saw after I learned how to fully cape the skull. Once that is done, it isn't all that difficult to remove the lower jaw and all the soft meat on it. That drops a very significant amount of weight and I don't have to worry about screwing up the cap.

Before doing it this way, I used to carry a cheap aluminum handle keyhole saw that worked OK and was super cheap and lightweight.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
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Missoula, MT
Like said above, you don't need a saw for just removing the head. But for capping the skull the WY saw or something similar is the best. Those folding saws (the ones where the blade folds into the handle) are crap for that job.

Yep, I've tried several folding blade saws in an attempt to save weight, but they have all broken on me. I keep going back to the Wyoming Saw, but I don't pack it while hunting. I leave it at the truck, then throw it in my pack for the return trip to the kill site after getting the first load out.
 
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