Backcountry saddle hunting setup

[travist]

Hey all, been lurking here for a while but have a question hope someone can help with.

I’m a new saddle hunter this year, and I’m planning a few public whitetail/bear archery hunts this year that I’ll be hiking in a few miles. Looking for ideas on how to pack gear in as well as quartered/deboned meat out, without multiple trips if possible.

Curious if anyone has some tested setups that have worked well for you.

 

[Beendare]

I have used a Saddle and one stick, then said heck with the one stick and brought in 3 sticks. The whole setup is under 10#, not sure on the weight exactly. Sometimes in country with the right trees, I only need a couple steps...or one stick. In some areas, I will throw the saddle, a stick and minimal gear and poke around until I find a place that works to setup but if it doesn't work out, its not like I'm hauling a bunch of extra weight around.

I'm a big guy, 6'3" 240 and get uncomfortable in a saddle for more than 2 hours.

Anyway, the best all around hunting pack I've used is the EXO
Here partially loaded with 70# of elk meat from a couple weeks ago almost exactly 6 miles from my quad. The meat shelf holds it between the pack bag and the frame with extra straps. It looks a lot better than this when fully loaded but I was solo and didn't take a bunch of pics.

 

[travist]

Awesome - congrats! I did just pick up the mystery ranch Metcalf 50 and tested it out today. I need some tweaking for sure. I have multiple sticks, but was planning to one stick with an aider. I’m comfortable with climbing, just trying to figure out the rest of my gear setup now. And don’t want to wait until I’m standing over a harvested deer to figure out the rest.

 

[travist]

I’d love to hear any other feedback you guys may have