U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- I’ve never specifically asked the Elk Ridge crew but I assume that they made the Elk Ridge Trek Saw to help process our big game. But don’t forget, in a pinch, you could also use it to trim small branches that are in the way and blocking a shot when you’re setting in a blind. In your well-established blinds, I’m sure you have a good saw available to trim your shooting lanes well before you start hunting. But many times when I’m hunting in the mountains, I may find a spot I want to set and have to slap together a brush blind right fast. In those circumstances, you’re likely to need to trim a couple of small branches out of the way. The Elk Ridge Trek Saw can suffice in those scenarios.
Elk Ridge Trek Saw
But now let’s move on to what the Elk Ridge Trek Saw was really designed to do-help us process our game. I can think of five times you may want to use a bone saw when processing your game.
- To saw off the shanks.
- Saw off the head.
- Split the rib cage.
- Split the pelvic bone.
- To quarter out your animal if you’re in the backcountry and want to pack your meat out on horses.
Myself, I like to use my boning knife and separate the shanks at the joint. If I break them off or saw them off it leaves a rough edge that will poke through a bag. I also like to use my boning knife to hit the joint at the atlas bone to remove the head. But no doubt, learning how to hit the shank joints and atlas joint takes some skill. You have to have done quite a few to become proficient at it.
Although when hunting at the 2 Morrow Ranch a couple of weeks ago I wanted to test out the Elk Ridge Trek Saw so Westin Morrow, the guide sawed the head of my hog off. It whipped through the neck in a hot second. So, the saw works exceedingly well for what it was designed to do.
No doubt, it would slice through the sternum like hot butter if you want to open up the chest cavity. And if you’d like to cut some sections out of the rib cage so you can cook some bone-in short ribs it would work well for that too.
In some states, you can get to your animal and load it in your pickup. Where I live and hunt in Idaho, not so. Most of the time we shoot something up on top of a mountain. In those instances, you have two choices.
- Bone it out and backpack out the meat.
- Quarter it and pack it out on horses.
If you don’t let your carcass hang for at least 18 hours to go through rigor mortis before you bone it out then the meat will be tougher. But sometimes we have no choice. Like when it is too warm and the meat will spoil. Or, you’re in bear and wolf country and they’ll steal it at night.
So like in the second scenario if you use your saw and quarter it out and then pack out the quarters that will allow the meat to still be attached to the bones while it is going through rigor mortis. This way the muscles can’t shrink as much thereby preventing it from being so tough. So for hunters out West, I could see them really liking the Elk Ridge Trek Saw and it being a big hit with the guides and horse packers out here.
I couldn’t find an MSRP but did find it listed in a local store for $21.48. And as is usual, we will close with the specs.
SPECS
- 5-inch 5Cr15MoV saw blade
- 4.0-inch nylon fiber handle with black rubber overmold for a better grip
- 7.5-inches overall
- Comes with a black nylon sheath with a belt loop
- Weighs 7.42 oz.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
