Field Dressing A Hog? Get The Best Knife For Hogs

Posted on April 12, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Hunters Review Havalon Knives for Field Dressing
and Skinning Hogs

By Patrick Carrothers, President & CEO

field-dressing-a-hog-cropWe’ve been hearing hunters praise our Havalon knives for field dressing hogs ever since we started selling them in the fall of 2005.  This was a pleasant surprise.  We knew we had the longest-lasting surgical edges in the business.  We knew we created a great knife for field dressing and skinning deer and all the various small game animals and fur bearers.  But we didn’t have any direct experience with hunting the tough, hairy hides of hogs, bears, and mountain goats.  Our trapper customers told us our blades worked great on beaver; that was a good sign.  But would our blade edges hold up well when cutting through the tough hairy hides that are well known knife killers?

It didn’t take long before our phones started ringing.  Hunters were calling to tell us how happy they were with their Piranta for skinning hogs.  And bears, elk, moose, sheep, goats, you name it.  We started getting feedback that we could only have dreamed about.  You could hear the excitement in their voices.  You could read it between the lines of their emails.  And at every trade show more than a few guys would stop by and say “This is a great knife for skinning hogs!”  But don’t take it from me.  Here’s a few reviews from hunters in the field that may help if you’re looking for the best knife for field dressing and skinning hogs:

“How Many Times Have You Had to Change Knives in the Middle of a Job”

by Max Prasac

Max Prasac hunting wild hog

The author took this 175-lb sow with his custom .475 Linebaugh Ruger Super Redhawk in the sweltering summer heat of North Carolina.

Anyone who has skinned a wild hog knows there are few animals that will dull a knife as quickly and efficiently. Having said that, Brad, an experienced skinner, grabbed his knives (yes, plural), and I brought out my one knife, a Havalon Piranta-Edge.  I have two no-name cheap skinning knives of unknown origin that I’ve used for a very long time that hold an edge reasonably well….on deer.  Hogs are a different story.  I decided to give my new Havalon a go and handed it to Brad. He looked at the bright orange handled knife with a bit of obvious skepticism, but made the decision to humor me.

How many times have you had to change knives in the middle of a hog skinning job, with yet another couple of sharpened knives on standby? If you only have one knife, maybe you have to stop and sharpen it before finishing the job. That has happened to me more times than I care to remember. It becomes particularly tedious when you kill multiple hogs and have them lined up for skinning.

The first couple of cuts proved effortless, and Brad paused to give me a look of surprise and then a grin formed on his face. He got to work, his pace increased as did the smile on his face. He accelerated as if to prove how fast he could skin a hog with the right tools. I usually help out to speed the process up, but soon found it wasn’t necessary. I would only get in the way, and impede progress. The Havalon Piranta proved to be the right tool for the job. The only “problem” we ran into is that we skinned out the hog expecting to change blades and never got to the point where it was necessary.

Max has written for Boar Hunter and Bear Hunting magazines, and is an occasional contributor to the National Rifle Association (NRA) publications, particularly American Hunter.

“I Skinned Four Hogs with the Havalon”

by Mike Weathers

skinning knife for wild hog

Ask Mike Weathers for his favorite knife for field dressing and skinning a hog. (Not a trick question)

Last Saturday I went hog hunting with some buds and their dogs. We caught six hogs for a party they were planning that night. These were younger fellows and none of them had ever gutted a hog before.

Since I’m always hunting or fishing for something, I keep a spare skinner in the truck. One of the guys showed me this knife that looked like a scalpel, so wanting to show these guys the right way to process a wild hog, I took off. I was amazed at the sharp blade and how effortless it was to skin and clean the hog.  It usually takes a few sharpenings on one of my best knives, but not so with the Havalon. I skinned four hogs before I let one of the rookies try what I had shown them. My hands didn’t cramp up, the light weight of the knife was incredible.

*Safety Note* watch the video on how to change the blade, even after skinning 6 hogs,one of the rookies almost cut his finger off trying to replace the blade (it didn’t need changing). Great Product, can’t wait to get mine and show all my hunting buddies!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike Weathers is a hunter and new Havalon customer living in Texas.

Ready to Get the Best Field Dressing and Skinning Knife for Hogs?  Click here.

We want to hear your Havalon story!  Leave a comment; share your experience with other hunters, or let us know if you had a problem.  Thank you!

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Turkey Hunting Mistakes – Part 1

Posted on April 11, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Are You Making These 7 Turkey Hunting Mistakes?
(Part 1 of 3)

by Steve Sorensen

If you could cancel all the mistakes you’ve ever made in the turkey woods, you’d multiply the number of hero shots in you photo album by a factor of three or four. Your string of spurs and the number of gobbler beards you’ve carefully preserved would likewise multiply. But there’s one thing you’d have no more of – more about that later.

Are You Making These 7 Turkey Hunting Mistakes? Part 1, by Steve Sorensen - Image 1

Fewer mistakes means more beards and spurs.

Turkey hunters probably make more mistakes than any other hunters. And we find countless ways to make them. We make mistakes before we ever go into the woods. We make mistakes with our calls, mistakes with our shooting, mistakes with our set-ups. We can’t quit making mistakes. Turkey hunting is a game of trial and error – sometimes,
mostly error.

Here’s what we can do to avoid some of our myriad mistakes.

1.     Scouting Mistakes:

It should go without saying – you have to hunt where the gobblers are. Long ago, my successes were few and far between. I focused on places that were convenient because I had to be to work by 8:00 AM and had few vacation days. I economized on time by hunting close to my job.

It’s not that turkeys weren’t there, but there weren’t many, and I was hunting gobblers others were hunting. So, while you shouldn’t overlook the convenient places, your pre-season scouting should focus on giving yourself as many options as possible. Besides limited scouting, scouting by convenience is a big reason turkey hunters don’t connect.

Overlooking food sources is a big mistake. Leftover corn from last fall will draw turkeys. So will acorns, beech nuts, wild grapes and other mast crops. Some woods might look turkey-ish, but if food is absent, turkeys will be, too. Remember that turkey food doesn’t always look like food to you – turkeys find bugs, worms, and other invertebrates under leaf litter, and their telltale scratchings will give them away.

Another scouting mistake is to bet everything on finding vocal gobblers. You’ll be finding gobblers other hunters locate just as easily. And if they’re not far off a road, you can bet they’ll get plenty of pressure. However, make a note of those places. In the late season, the next hill or the woodlot across the road might become the new home of a wandering gobbler.

Also, look for strut zones. When we say “strut zones”, we don’t always mean specific places where gobblers strut. In some areas those are almost impossible to find. Gobbler tracks and parallel drag marks where the strutter has dragged his wingtips don’t show up in grassy meadows. So when you’re thinking “strut zones”, don’t think too literally. Think of areas with high turkey activity. You can often watch them from a distance with a good pair of 10X42 binoculars. I like the Alpen Optics “Wings” line – they’re light, bright and clear.

2.     Land Access Mistakes:  

One of the biggest mistakes turkey hunters make is to seek land access from only one or two private landowners, and keep a piece of public property in mind as a back-up. My advice is to find a couple of good pieces of public property, and learn the fastest way in. Then, knock on the doors of landowners – lots of them.

Are You Making These 7 Turkey Hunting Mistakes? Part 1, by Steve Sorensen - Image 2

Some companies with large land holdings welcome hunters.

When seeking access to private property, don’t give up easily. Don’t be shy. If you’re not knocking on at least a dozen doors, you’re not doing it right. Don’t fear rejection. Have you ever heard of a hunter arrested just because he drove up a long driveway to ask permission?

And ask more than once. Just because you were rejected last year doesn’t mean the landowner will reject you this year. He might have had a bad experience with someone else. Or that someone else never actually used the permission he had. Once the landowner is familiar with you he might give you the thumbs up.

Most hunters live near federal or state properties that hold good populations of turkeys. Don’t ignore them just because other hunters might be there. Those hunters often give up early, or sleep in, or stay home on rainy days. So, public property can be very productive.

Same goes for large tracts of land held by timber companies or oil companies, where you can get far in where few hunters go. When you’re scouting these areas, stop and talk to the guys who work on that land. They’re often willing to tell you where they see gobblers, where you can get a good map of the property, and where the best access points are.

Scouting mistakes and land access mistakes reduce your odds before the hunting even begins. In Part 2 I’ll share two more pre-season mistakes, and in Part 3 I’ll describe mistakes made during the hunt.

***

About Steve Sorensen

Steve Sorensen, Outdoor WriterAward-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

 

Click HERE to read more articles by Steve.

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Ten Reasons to Take a Kid Turkey Hunting

Posted on April 4, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Get a kid out in the woods for a spring turkey hunt, and reduce the risk of that young person becoming an indoorsman.

By Steve Sorensen

You can’t use the word “perfect’ for many things, but a youth turkey hunt is perfect.

A couple of years ago Vickie Gardner of Alpen Optics told me about her first hunt. Vickie, who calls herself “Vice President of Stuff” at the company her husband Tim founded, thought she ought to get involved in hunting if she was going to be selling riflescopes, binoculars and spotting scopes.

Ten Reasons to Take a Kid Turkey Hunting by Steve Sorensen-Image 1

Vickie Gardner of Alpen Optics knows the benefits of youth hunting.

So she asked a friend, “What’s the most addicting form of hunting you do?” He replied, “Turkey hunting.” So Vickie decided right there to go turkey hunting. She took her godson Ryan, who ended up shooting his first gobbler.

Vicki says, “The greatest part of the hunt was watching the older hunters in camp take a boy they didn’t know under their wings and encourage him.” That’s exactly what youth turkey hunting always does.

1. Encouraging Kids – That may be the number one reason why it’s the perfect way to bring new hunters into the fold. Vickie and Ryan are proof that turkey hunting will grip a person and won’t let him (or her) go. But, there are many more reasons.

2. Kids Don’t Have to Wait – When I was six I ached to go hunting, but had to wait six more long years. It was the biggest frustration I experienced as a kid. Today, many states have recognized how suitable the sport of turkey hunting is for young people, so they’ve created “mentored hunting” programs.

Ten Reasons to Take a Kid Turkey Hunting by Steve Sorensen-Image 2

Laden with dew, a spider web displays its spectacular intricacy.

3. Moment-By-Moment, In-The-Field Instruction – Pennsylvania, my home state, is a state with mentored hunting. An adult is responsible for instructing the youngster so the kid can focus with single purpose. By having this privilege early, he is less likely to take the kinds of risks later that may result in an accident, and he’s more likely to fall in love with hunting.

4. He Gets In the Game – In mentored hunting, the youth is a real hunter. The adult handles the firearm most of the time, and hands the gun to the youth and coaches him for the shot. In youth basketball or football, the coach can’t be in the game with the youth, but in hunting, he can.

5. It’s Safe – Some people ask, “Isn’t this dangerous?” No. Hunting is already one of the safest sports in America, and by introducing kids properly, under a limited scenario where they accept it as a privilege, it’s likely to end up making turkey hunting even  safer in the coming years.

6. Nice Weather – Traditional fall hunting seasons can have nasty weather, but springtime is a beautiful time to be in the woods, so the youth hunter won’t need to wear bulky, uncomfortable clothing.

Ten Reasons to Take a Kid Turkey Hunting By Steve Sorensen-Image 3

Ben Morrison with two mature Pennsylvania and New York gobblers he took on the youth day during the 2010 season.(Photo by Jason Morrison)

7. Brief Outings – Another plus is that spring gobbler hunts can be brief excursions. You can be home by mid-morning if you want, or noon-ish. The child doesn’t have to sacrifice the entire day if he or his family has other plans.

8. Lack of Competition – Many states plan special youth days before the general opener. You’re more likely to find an uneducated gobbler, and you’re less likely to be calling to a gobbler that someone else is calling.

9. Something Always Happens – The spring woods are coming alive, and there’s no better time to be a nature-snooper. The sunrise is only the start of it. Migrating songbirds, intricate spider webs – everywhere you look you’ll see something unforgettable.

10. A Lot Can Happen In A Short Time – If one gobbler beats you, it doesn’t mean the hunt is over. Keep hunting and you have a good chance of finding another gobbler that will test your skills.

To make that point, my friend Jason Morrison tells about the day when his 13-year-old son Ben became a veteran in the turkey woods. After spooking the first gobbler of the morning on Pennsylvania’s youth day, they found another, called it in, and Ben scored. The same day was also New York State’s youth day, so they headed north and Ben harvested a second gobbler.

To top it all off, Jason is a taxidermist (Buckhaven Wildlife Art), and he mounted both gobblers. Will Ben ever forget that day of father-son bonding? Not a chance.

For many kids, video games and cable television can occupy way too much time, leaving them no time to rattle around in the woods and splash along the streams. So get a kid out in the woods for a spring turkey hunt. He’ll never forget it, and it will reduce the risk of that young person becoming an indoorsman.

Make sure you have a plan before walking into the woods. Do some scouting. Find a hunting location that doesn’t involve an all-day hike. Go slowly, take it easy, and explain what you see. And if his (or her) parents don’t hunt, watch the kid come home and excitedly begin pushing his non-hunting, neutral parents to the side of the good guys.

***

About Steve Sorensen

Steve Sorensen, Outdoor WriterAward-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

***

Click here to read more blogs about Hunting with Kids.

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Hunting Ice-Out Crappies

Posted on March 30, 2012 by HavalonKnives

Early spring crappie fishing can be a “spot-and-stalk” hunt.

By Bernie Barringer

Hunting Ice-Out Crappies By Bernie Barringer Image 1

Early Spring crappie fishing can produce consistent action, nice catches, and great eaters.

If you’re like most people who live across the northern third of the USA, you get excited about the break-up of the ice that usually covers the lakes and streams in the winter. It’s a special time of the year when redwing blackbirds sing the praises of spring and the earth wakes up from a long nap.

While ice-out crappies can be easy to find, they can be hard to catch. Many an angler has found a group of crappies sunning in a shallow bay, but throw a lure into their midst and they scatter like drug addicts at the sight of a police badge. A much more stealthy approach is necessary. In fact, to be consistently successful, it needs to be more like hunting than fishing. Call it “spot-and-stalk” crappie fishing!

The spring sunshine warms shallow bays quickly, especially those with dark mud bottoms. In the right conditions, dark bottoms absorb sunlight and can warm the water as much as 8-10 degrees per day. That’s where crappies will appear first. You may find them there as soon as a week following ice-out. They’ll be sluggish at first, but much more active when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees. Find the warmest water available and the crappies will be there.

After choosing which area of which lake to fish, go on the prowl and find them. The best way is with a bow-mount electric trolling motor and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses filter the glare and help you see into the water much better.

Hunting Ice-Out Crappies By Bernie Barringer Image 2

Large specimens are vulnerable at ice-out more than at any other time of the year.

You must ease around these shallow bays in stealth mode until you see crappies. They’ll often be in loose groups right at the surface, putting the finishing touches on their pre-spawn reproductive systems by basking in the warm water.

The easier ones to catch will be near some sort of cover. Look for them around fallen trees, lily pad root wads, old reeds and bulrushes, stumps and brush. It can be difficult to move in close enough to see them without spooking them, but don’t worry. If they bolt out of the area at your approach, they’ll be back shortly. Leave the area and then move in quietly a half-hour later; when you know where they are, just get close enough to see them.

Once you’ve located a school of crappies, you have to be ready with the right bait and present it properly. Early on, it’s hard to beat a small, lively minnow. For these ice-out situations, I use a slip bobber, a small split shot sinker, and a #8 hook with a small minnow.

The key is to get the bait in position with as little disturbance as possible. Often, you must cast beyond the fish and then slowly draw your offering towards the waiting crappie. In many cases you need that minnow to be wiggling within six inches of the crappie’s nose or he won’t bite. In fact, many times I’ve placed the bait mere inches from a crappie’s face, only to see the fish reject it and move off. Or they may slowly move towards it and methodically suck it in. If your minnow is not wiggling, you’ll have little success.

Hunting Ice-Out Crappies By Bernie Barringer Image 3

Shortly after the ice leaves the surface, crappies move into shallow bays to seek warm water. Dark-bottomed bays with standingbulrushes are the best.

The slip bobber is an important component of this system. Crappies rarely feed down. They like to bite things that are right at their level or slightly above. A slip bobber allows you to move the bobber stop up or down to get the bait right at the exact level. I find myself moving it often; even moving it for each and every fish I’m targeting.

Use the smallest sinker you can while still getting the bait to sink to the level of the fish. Go too big with your sinker and the “plop” when it hits the water may spook the fish. Smaller also allows the bait to move as naturally as possible.

I use a long rod spooled with 4-pound monofilament in most cases. My favorite crappie rig for crappie hunting is a 9-foot medium action rod with a fast tip that’s actually made for steelhead fishing. In some cases, you cannot cast; you must use a pendulum-type swing of the rod tip to carefully drop your bait right in front of a fish. Often, you’re dropping the bait into an opening in the cover.

Sometimes these crappies will tuck in tight to last year’s dying reeds, which offer the vertical cover that crappies like to spawn in. But it’s hard to extract them once they’re hooked. That’s when I use a stout set-up with a non-stretch line like FireLine, and wrestle them immediately to the surface and swing them right into the boat. Don’t give them a fighting chance or they’ll tangle in the rushes and you’ll lose a large percentage.

Something about early spring crappies appeals to just about everyone. It’s some of the finest fishing fun of the year!

RECAP:

  • Find shallow, warm water with nearby cover, and approach with stealth.
  • Use a small split shot, and a #8 hook with a lively little minnow.
  • Add a slip bobber to get your bait at the same depth as the fish.
  • Drop your bait close to the fish using a long rod.
  • Don’t let the fish get into weeds.

***

About Bernie Barringer:

Bernie BarringerBernie Barringer is a lifelong angler who has competed in professional walleye tournaments. He enjoys fishing for all species and writing about his experiences for many outdoor magazines.

 

 

 Click Here to See How to Fillet Fish with a Havalon Knife

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Go Lean and Mean for Turkeys

Posted on March 27, 2012 by HavalonKnives

If you’re packing too much stuff, you’re more apt
to head for the truck early.

By Tracy Breen

As the sport of turkey hunting has grown dramatically over the last couple decades, more companies have jumped on the turkey product band wagon. If you walk into a box store or mom and pop hunting store, you’ll quickly realize that you could use a different turkey call every day for a year and never run out of new calls to try. During the year, you could try dozens of decoys, guns, vests, turkey hunting boots, gloves, face masks and a variety of other products and never use the same products two days in a row.

Go Lean and Mean for Turkeys - Image 1

Brett Barry of Zink Calls thinks being weighed down with a heavy gobbler is better than being weighed down by unnecessary gear.

As a result, most turkey hunters have more turkey gear than they will need in ten lifetimes. To justify the expense of buying all this stuff, most of us load our vests down with gadgets on opening day. We feel like a cross between a turkey commando and Agent 007. The truth is most gadgets aren’t needed and in some cases may hinder success.

In the heat of the moment when trying to decide if you should “run and gun” or stay put, a vest heavy with gadgets can create problems. Deciding which call to use when a tom is hung up is gets complicated when you’re carrying too many calls. Should you use the Double Clucker Plus, the Hot and Heavy Hen, or something else?

Maybe it’s time you pack light.

Brett Berry, a pro staff member for Zink Calls (www.zinkcalls.com), recommends bringing only a couple of calls into the woods. “I use diaphragms. They are lightweight and sound great,” Berry said. “Besides mouth calls, I usually bring a friction call of some type and a locator call. “Two or three calls are all I need most of the time.”

Zink Calls makes the Avian-X line of turkey decoys and Berry usually has a decoy with him. “Most decoys are lightweight and collapsible so it makes sense to bring a decoy. I rarely bring more than one. If I bring two or three, I take a lot of extra time to set them up and take them down. With just one, I can pull it out of the ground and be running and gunning in no time.”

When thinking about lightweight hunting, one thing most hunters overlook (myself included) is the shotgun. Some of the most popular turkey guns on the market are built to shoot 3½” shells. Bigger is better, right? That’s what we are led to believe.

Go Lean and Mean for Turkeys By Tracy Breen - Image 2

Andy McCormack recommends only as much gun as you need.

Andy McCormick, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Legacy Sports (maker of the Escort line of shotguns at www.legacysports.com) says, “I’ve talked with many gun retailers over the years who say they sell a lot of guns with 3½” chambers, but not as much 3½” ammo. That tells us that many hunters like telling their friends that they have a big gun but they prefer using 3″ shells,” McCormick said.

If you’re in the market for a new turkey gun and you want to keep weight down, consider purchasing a 3″ gun instead of its big brother. After hunting all day, a heavy gun can wear you out. Studies show that today’s high-tech 3″ turkey loads are effective at 40 yards and beyond. What more do you need?

I spend much of the fall hunting big game out west, deep in the back country. Early in my hunting career, I stuffed my backpack to the brim as I left the truck but didn’t end up using many of the things I packed. As the years went by, I started packing lighter, only bringing exactly what I needed. Packing light allows me to cover more ground.

The same can be said about turkey hunting. Sometimes you must wear out the soles of your boots to find a hot gobbler. If you are packing a lot of stuff, you’re more apt to head for the truck early. Packing light can help you cover a lot of ground in search of the longbeard of your dreams. “I love covering as much ground as I can while turkey hunting. Running and gunning is fun if I pack light. I don’t often do it if I am lugging ground blinds, a vest full of calls, and four decoys,” Berry added.

Do you want to increase your chances of success this spring? Pack light and you’ll likely be willing to walk farther, work harder and call more birds than if you bring the entire Cabela’s store with you in the woods.

Oh – one last thing. Pack a Havalon Hunting Knife. It weighs less than an extra shotgun shell.

***

Tracy Breen, Outdoor WriterAbout Tracy Breen: Tracy is a full-time outdoor writer and consultant in the outdoor industry. He works with a variety of outdoor brands and television shows including Havalon Knives and the MeatEater. Learn more at www.tracybreen.com.

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