Backcountry Elk Skull Saws

[Hawkeye]

What is everyone using for a back country saw to cut the antler skull plates off a hairy elk skull? You can't say Havalon! LOL I am trying to avoid packing the whole head out and trying to reduce the weight with a good reliable saw. I tried a hand folding saw and it left me looking for a better answer. Let's hear what you are using.

 

[Coyote Commander]

I dont pack one, but a dehorning cable/wire would probably be the ticket.

Light, rolls up tight and small, and can eat through bone FAST if you know how to run it.

Nipped a few horns off some Herefords this weekend with one in fact. Scary quick if you know what youre doing.

 

[5MilesBack]

The best I've found is a WY Saw or similar design. The folders just take for ever and wear you out more than anything. After hunting all day, then breaking an elk down and hanging the meat, the last thing I'm looking for is a chore at getting the skull cap off. However, the weight of that saw is a tradeoff. You can carry it around for your entire hunt, or leave it in the truck and just haul out the upper half of the head with the horns attached once.

 

[RustyHazen]

The Wyoming saws are hard to beat, but I don't pack it around. You're going to have to come back for another trip anyway, and supposedly we're all getting all of our meat out first, so just leave it in the truck and take it back for trip number two. That's a lot of weight to carry before you actually need it. They make short work of a skull, even if you don't get it completely skinned clean.

 

[couesbitten]

I use a Buck brand saw, bone saw on one side, wood saw on the other, has always worked well and weighs less than a pound.

 

[huntingbigsky]

I usually don't bring a saw but when I have I bring this folding hand saw. It's smaller than the Wyoming pack saw and holds its sharpness...

Bahco 396-LAP Laplander Folding Saw, 8-Inch Blade, 7 TPI

 

[bowtech3dhunter]

The Wyoming saws are hard to beat, but I don't pack it around. You're going to have to come back for another trip anyway, and supposedly we're all getting all of our meat out first, so just leave it in the truck and take it back for trip number two. That's a lot of weight to carry before you actually need it. They make short work of a skull, even if you don't get it completely skinned clean.

This is exactly what I do.

 

[gobbler1662]

Okay, I guess I am the only one here that shares your exact thoughts. I am not packing anything out that I don't need to. Meaning the head so yes I skull cap all bulls even did my 300 6x7. So yes the Wyoming saw works good but is heavy as hell. So do t take it. The gerber saw is very light but we've see failures in the locking mechanism. So for the last three or four years I've been using the outdoor edge grizz saw. It's a one piece saw no locking mechanism to worry about very light weight and works very well. The other posts about you not needing a saw or retrieving it from the truck on one of the trips out dont cut it for me. We usually have 3-4 guys in our bivy camp and try to make a one trip pack out. We are usually several miles in and can usually do it in one trip so one of us has to have a saw. Oh and those cable bone saws will have you saying all kinds of four letter words and take forever, skip those and get a good one piece saw lone wolf or outdoor edge grizz.

 

[RustyHazen]

I have to agree, there. If you have enough people to make one trip, go for it. But if not, leave it in the truck. One other note. Be careful with any "ultralight" saw. The length of the blade really does matter. Too short of a blade will have you wracking your knuckels on the antler bases, and you'll end up having to make multiple cuts from multiple sides and angles just to get through a good-sized bull. Also, avoid teeth that look too small and tightly patterned. The fat and soft tissue from even a skinned skull will fill the blade and make it almost useless. My buddy tried using a lightweight Outdoor Edge folding saw on a bull a few years ago. It literally took 1 1/2 hours to get the cap off, and his fingertips were raw from picking out tissue every few seconds. No fun at midnight, apparently.

 

[Stickslinger]

View attachment 14554

 

[5MilesBack]

On one bull, I used that lightweight Gerber Exchange a blade saw and after a LONG time of sawing and several different angles I was so fed up with it that I ended up kicking the skull cap to break it loose, and it broke in half folding the horns together. That sure made it easier carrying them out, but not exactly what I was looking for. With the WY saw it takes about 3 minutes to saw it out. But when you're hunting by yourself and carrying everything every day........you're always looking to save weight somewhere, and the saw had to go.

 

[Colby Jack]

Small Wyoming saw here. Great for collecting firewood also.

 

[gil_wy]

I just picked up an SOG folder... Fairly light but about 2" more blade. That's huge in avoiding the back breaking, dreaded and despised skull capping... I HATE that part of the process

 

[lintond]

I dont pack one, but a dehorning cable/wire would probably be the ticket.

Light, rolls up tight and small, and can eat through bone FAST if you know how to run it.

Nipped a few horns off some Herefords this weekend with one in fact. Scary quick if you know what youre doing.

This sounds like the ticket. Not sure why I haven't thought of this earlier. Used them on the ranch for lots of nifty things. Maybe one with either wood handles or loops to put sticks through would be the crudest/lightest option.

 

[Hawkeye]

Great feedback everyone. I am in the same boat as others who replied, I don't want to go back to the truck to get a saw if myself and a couple relatives can get it out in one trip. Also, in the winter time, the meat will last over night so horns and as much meat as I can haul are going out on the first trip if it is just me by myself. With that being said, I need to have somethig with me to cut off the skull cap. I am not crazy about a wire saw for the simple reason that it takes two hands to operate it and any movement in the head while I go back and forth on it could stall my progress. I did find a couple good items on the internet that are light weight and seem effective. One of them I am not ready to divulge until I find one. I don't think they are in production anymore.

Here is one option that I thought looks pretty promising- Mini Dandy Saw
http://www.amazon.com/12-Mini-Dandy-Saw-Scabbard/dp/B000B0I41Q

 

[fillthefreezer]

Great feedback everyone. I am in the same boat as others who replied, I don't want to go back to the truck to get a saw if myself and a couple relatives can get it out in one trip. Also, in the winter time, the meat will last over night so horns and as much meat as I can haul are going out on the first trip if it is just me by myself. With that being said, I need to have somethig with me to cut off the skull cap. I am not crazy about a wire saw for the simple reason that it takes two hands to operate it and any movement in the head while I go back and forth on it could stall my progress. I did find a couple good items on the internet that are light weight and seem effective. One of them I am not ready to divulge until I find one. I don't think they are in production anymore.

Here is one option that I thought looks pretty promising- Mini Dandy Saw
http://www.amazon.com/12-Mini-Dandy-Saw-Scabbard/dp/B000B0I41Q

search some of the bushcraft forums, lots of info on how to make a wire saw into a bowsaw quickly. then they work pretty well.

i still dont get everyone who praises the wyoming saw. and the gerber version, broke that in 10 min.
from here on out if i need a saw, it will be at the truck and will probably be a simple one like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007XJO48/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

even weighs less than my wyoming saw

 

[CentennialELK]

I use the Lone Wolf bone saw or a wyo pack saw, depends on what backpack I have with me. The wyopack flexes on the down stroke and kinda sucks. The Lone Wolf is much firmer. Both saws are similar to the Mini Dandy you are looking at.

 

[KMT]

This is exactly what I do.

. Same here.

 

[slim9300]

This is what I use. The 15" model is what is in my pack. My partner and I have done many elk and cut quite a few good sized blowdowns with this saw. I am not going to say it's not something that you could break but if you treat it nicely (and replace the aluminum rivets) it's going to do the job. At 9.51 ounces for the saw and both a wood and bone blade, it's pretty much the lightest comparable option out there.

http://sawvivor.com/

 

[Chucker215]

The knives of Alaska bone saw is very light and works extremely well not as good as Wyoming saw but quite a bit better than gerber folding saw it replaced