A friend in North Dakota had a special early season Elk permit and was kind enough to give me some feedback on a White River Hunter. While I like to do field testing whenever I can, it’s not every day you get to take an Elk, so thanks to Jacob for filling us in.
The Hunter isn’t the biggest tool in the White River ‘tool box‘ but it was interesting to hear how it performed on an animal the size of an Elk. Measuring 8.5″ OAL with a 3.5″ CPM S35VN blade, the weight comes in at a trim 4.3 ounces. Blade thickness is around .130″ with a Rockwell hardness of 58-60. I’m a big fan of the CPM Steels and find them to be great performers. It’s good to hear from the field what other folks think of the knife and the steel performance.
Game used on – North Dakota bull elk.
“Knife was extremely sharp to begin with and held up remarkably well. Never had to stop and sharpen in the course of skinning the entire animal. The Elk was a large bull with an extreme amount of back fat (1 ½ to 2 inches) that would have dulled a lesser knife. Knife lost some edge over the course of the job but was still able to cut well at the end. All and all a great knife, have no doubt that it would be superb for all types of game especially smaller game like deer. While using it on the elk I couldn’t help but think “I could do 3-4 deer with this without taking out a steel.”
I asked Jacob a couple of questions to get a feel of knives he’d previously used and how the White River Hunter compared.
1. Is it a knife you would see yourself using in the future for deer or antelope? I’d use the hell out of it on deer and antelope
2. Does it compare favorably with other knives your using? Its better than the knives I’ve used in the past.
3. What brand knife do you prefer or compare it to? I’d have to look and see but I’m not sure I’ve used a knife of this quality before. I’ve used some outdoor edges in the past but what I liked about this knife was it was pretty universal, on a deer or antelope i wouldn’t have to go to a saw for the sternum it would do the job.
It’s always good to get feedback on knives that actually end up getting used in the field. A knife can look nice, feel good, cut paper and cardboard like a razor but it’s when you actually put it to the purpose it was designed for….then we learn something. And by the way, congrats on a nice trophy!!!