Hunting ax – an indispensable assistant

Hunting tools – one of the main elements of the equipment of both professional and amateur hunters. The most indispensable tools of the hunter were always a knife and an ax. So, with their help you can repair equipment, restore damaged clothing, build a place to sleep, cook food, cut carcass, etc. More specific application possibilities will be considered below.

Many people close to hunting, when answering the question which tool should be taken with them, answer with a gun, knife and other devices, completely forgetting the ax, although without it no hunting will be a prepared event. This tool should be in every backpack of every hunter who aspires to become a professional in his business.

Features of the hunting ax

Axes can be different in form and purpose. There are axes for cutting meat, firewood, and also for trees. The hunting ax, in contrast to these species, is more compact, ergonomic. It is used for cutting animal carcasses.

Due to their power and convenience, they can quickly and without much effort to cut the carcass of a large animal, including bones, tendons and other difficult parts of the body. Of course, you can use more powerful tools for such a thing – for example, cleavers, but if you have to cut several animals or old, sinewy, then the hunter will have to spend more effort, since such tools are heavier and less comfortable.

Thus, the average hunting ax is about 30-40 cm long and weighs no more than 750 grams.

Hunting axes in most cases are all-metal with rubber inserts on the handles. They allow you not to slip during manipulations with them. Hard rubber often causes damage to the palm, especially calluses. Therefore, it is important that the rubber was soft. It allows you to conveniently and securely hold the ax in your hand in any weather.

If hunting takes place in winter, the hunter’s gloves should be suitable for the ax handle – with a non-slip surface. This is very important, since this can depend on the life of both the owner of the ax and his companions for such an event.

Materials used in production

The main material for this is a solid metal plate (steel). In this case, both the ax handle and the ax itself are always made of metal. This is another difference of the instrument in question from the usual household ax, in which the handle, as a rule, is wooden. Most of the manufacturers use hot-stamped steel grade 1040.

The blade can be either solid or cut-outs, notches. The latter are needed for a more convenient section of the carcass of an animal, because because of the lack of friction allow you to spend less.

Another element of any ax is rubber or plastic inserts on the handles. They are needed for convenient retention of the instrument in the hand, as well as reducing the risk of slipping the ax. This is a very important element, since an ax flying in an unknown direction is no less dangerous than a shooting gun.

Disadvantages of the hunting ax

In view of the fact that very hard parts of the animals are often treated with hunting axes, they quickly become blunted. In some cases, the blade is fragile, and the uncomfortable handle leaves the hunter much more quickly.

The above mentioned shortcomings are, rather, unprofessionalism as a producer, which does not take into account the realities of hunting, and the consumer – an illiterate or inexperienced hunter who does not know how to handle it properly. The ax should be comfortable as clothing worn during such an exciting event as hunting.

Criterias of choice

To get rid of trouble will help some simple rules for the selection of hunting axes. That’s what you should pay attention to. Glossy handle of the ax except beauty and external shine is not otherwise. Such an ax is likely to fly out of the hands during the cutting of the carcass and injures a number of standing people, rather than a positive result will be achieved.

The next rule is that the handle should not be too long, since a few strokes will require a significant amount of energy, and also, should not be too thick. If an ax is uncomfortable to hold in your hand, then this does not mean that it is substandard. This indicates that such an ax does not suit you personally, so it is worth continuing further searches.

If you still acquired a hunting ax, but soon realized that its handle is uncomfortable, then you need to apply some ingenuity. Here are just some of the ways: wrap the handle with an insulating tape so that it does not slip or in case it’s too thin. It is also possible to carry out an analogue of the limiter with an electrical tape so that the hand does not break from the ax when it sticks in the carcass of the animal.

Cutting game – this is part of the fascinating process of hunting, so you need to have a handy inventory, and an ax in this matter is by no means an exception.

Therefore, never listen to a hunter who assures you that the ax on the hunt is ballast, the best way to get rid of it is that it is not an acquisition. This is an incorrect argument. There are many reasons to take it with you, and only some of them are discussed on this page. Of course, buying an ax without the ability to handle it is just as stupid an acquisition as the absence of an ax on a professional hunt.

Non-standard ways of using

With its help you can perform a lot of other useful actions. Here are just a few of them:

make pegs with which you can securely fix the tent. If you try to perform such an operation with the help of a hunting knife, you will have to spend much more time and effort;
to chop off the branches of a tree. Young trees can be useful, for example, for a comrade who fell into a ravine or into a pond, so that he can grasp it. Also, from several trees you can tie a raft to get to the other side of the river;
The ability to use the ax as a strong lever. This possibility often helps to cope when repairing a damaged vehicle.

The above reasons to take an ax is quite enough to acquire them and never leave the house in the future.

A few words about safety

The ax, like the stick hanging on the wall, can shoot once a year. Therefore, you need to handle it carefully. Here’s how you can tell a professional hunter from an amateur. The first blade of the ax is always in the case. The amateur just did not have time to cut himself about him, for example, during the fall, but this case is not too far off.

The ax should be attached to the backpack in such a way that the blade is minimally movable. The stronger it is attached, the less likely it is that it will harm its owner. In addition, the blade can always rip the backpack, and darn it – it’s always time consuming and powerful.
In no case can you throw a hunting ax. Its structure is specially created in such a way that the probability of its fall during manipulation was minimal. Therefore, rather an ax will fly into a nearby person, rather than the target that was chosen by the hunter. There is also a great danger of throwing this ax straight into your foot. This, unfortunately, happens every year.
One of the dangers of axes, in which the detachable handle is the flight of the ax from the handle. The probability of landing directly on the top of the hunter is maximum, so this issue should be approached with all seriousness. Probably, that’s why hunting axes make all-metal. In any case, it is necessary to inspect the equipment before every hunt and after it, and not only the ax, but everything else – a backpack, a knife, a tent, shoes, clothes, etc.
The next important rule – it is not necessary for several hunters to simultaneously participate in cutting carcasses of an animal, especially, being next to each other. In this case, you can hurt your neighbor. The damage caused by such an ax is much more dangerous, since their device is aimed at causing maximum damage. To stop heavy bleeding by one’s own forces will not succeed, so the only way to stay whole is to prevent such damage.

Buying a hunting ax, pay attention, first of all, to convenience, and also, on the quality of performance. Once you have bought it, you must create all the conditions for maximum safety of his socks and exploitation. Do not use it in a state of intoxication, as this can cost you or your hunting companions life.