Saddle Hunting

[jpuckett]

Curious to see if any of you guys have switched over to a saddle. I switched this year and I’m really glad I did. Gonna prep trees in the off season for shooting lanes and not gonna hang a single stand unless my old man needs one hung. The ability to have the tree between me and the deer has been awesome.


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[sconnieVLP]

I picked up a saddle last fall but didn’t hunt with it until this season, wanted to make sure I had plenty of practice with it both setting up and shooting before I actually put it to use.

In general I like it, particularly with the way I have had to hunt this year constantly changing locations to avoid pressure from other hunters. Not carrying a stand when I’m scouting my my way in for a hang and hunt has been great.

For all-day sits I still use a lock-on, I’m just not to the point where I can do a saddle that long yet. My longest saddle sit is about 6 hours and that was longer than I liked. The other part I need to get better at in the saddle is staying still, I catch myself swaying or moving around way more than I do in a lock on.

Need to keep practicing shooting from it, especially in awkward positions where I don’t have a lot of time to adjust between the deer coming in and me having to get the shot off.

 

[DangerRanger]

I only hunt out of older tree facing stands for that reason. My buddy has a saddle and I just tried it out last weekend and think it might be in my future especially for public

 

[jpuckett]

Takes time to get used to it, I’ve had better luck on the longer sits if I made sure to bring knee pads and transition from leaning to sitting, once an hour or so.


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[Kdye01]

I just got rid of mine. Used it for 2 years and decided to go back to lock ons. The LWCG .5 isn’t much heavier than using a saddle and goes up just as fast for me.

In the end of saddle hunting, I found myself just standing on the platform more than sitting in the saddle.

I did like saddle hunting, I just prefer the lock on.

If you want some sticks I have some EWO ultralight sticks in the classifieds. I also liked the tethrd skelator sticks. The are quick to hang and bite really well on the tree

Good luck!

 

[DWinVA]

Only a saddle for me the past few seasons. Do a search there are several threads on here about saddle hunting. Enjoy.

God Bless.

 

[BRoth82]

I picked up a used saddle after last season and used it for the first time this year. So nice being able to be on the backside of the tree and use that to fide your movements.

And not to mention that it's a lot lighter than the stand and safety harness I was using.

I did upgrade my platform to a Tethrd predator xl and with my size 11 boots it's very comfortable.

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

Been saddle hunting for two years and this year switched to one sticking instead of sticks and a platform. Total package weighs four lbs and I can get to 30 feet if I want to. Still use a lock on sometimes but I sure love being mobile and that light.

 

[Long Cut]

For bowhunting I prefer lock ons

For rifle hunting I believe saddles are “better” for longer 100+ yard shots- you can c-clamp off the tree or use your tether.

Both have their place. If only 1 I choose the loc on.

My .02

 

[speedyjay400]

I'm looking to get a saddle set up and start pronto...mainly plan on using it for shotgun/rifle season ...hoping to be able to get almost 360 coverage depend8ng on location ....does anyone find it troublesome at all to swing firearm around with ropes in the way ?

 

[Kdye01]

I'm looking to get a saddle set up and start pronto...mainly plan on using it for shotgun/rifle season ...hoping to be able to get almost 360 coverage depend8ng on location ....does anyone find it troublesome at all to swing firearm around with ropes in the way ?

No issues. Just practice dry firing a lot before you get in a saddle with live rounds. Use the ropes and tree as props to shoot off of.

 

[Macintosh]

I'm looking to get a saddle set up and start pronto...mainly plan on using it for shotgun/rifle season ...hoping to be able to get almost 360 coverage depend8ng on location ....does anyone find it troublesome at all to swing firearm around with ropes in the way ?

Certainly it's much easier than swinging a bow across your bridge and tether. You may find that the 100-degrees (or whatever) directly behind you, you have no rest and therefore significantly less stable than shots in front of you where you can rest off the bridge, tree, etc to a large degree. But it works. I'm not certain this is significantly different than a stand, but you can do it.

I feel like saddles are going in two directions. The ultralight/minimalist direction with one-sticking, platform integrated into the climbing stick, etc. And also a comfort/versatility direction with larger platforms or tiny loc-on stands that allow you to stand or hang (or sit) as you want. You probably have to feel that out for yourself what approach jives best with your own style and location. I really only use for archery hunting for the most part, I still use a couple loc-ons that I will leave fixed for a week or three at a time, but generally use the saddle for a hang and hunt or scouting. I dont think there is any question that a stand is more comfortable--becasue you can always use it as a saddle, but with more room and the option to sit if you want. I try to never sit longer than 2 or 3 hours max, it just gets to be a grind, so to me the difference is more about weight and bulk for a hang and hunt, bulk being equally important to me as weight.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Been saddle hunting since 2018.

Not going back, even use it on fixed stands at home. Really like the versatility and safety aspect of it. I will still occasionally use my Summit climber, but use the saddle as my harness. I use my one-stick rope and madrock setup with the climber as it’s another level of safety getting to the ground if a catastrophic failure were to occur.

Killed a lot of deer and pigs from it the last few years.


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[jpuckett]

I agree, I feel like even on my farm at home I really like the aspect of never hunt the same tree twice. I love the power of “the first sit” in a stand…. And this feels like that every time. I plan on using the end of Jan and Feb to scout and prep a ton of trees and shooting lanes on my property. So next year I can be even more versatile with where I’m hanging from.

Also it fits my ADHD personality better hahaha


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[satchamo]

I don’t understand saddles. For me they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. A light weight hang on a 3 sticks with an aider is hardly difficult to pack and hang. And a climber is easier than all the above…

Also all the hunstafluencers having chubs over saddles have turned me off from ever even considering their use….

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I don’t understand saddles. For me they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. A light weight hang on a 3 sticks with an aider is hardly difficult to pack and hang. And a climber is easier than all the above…

Also all the hunstafluencers having chubs over saddles have turned me off from ever even considering their use….

To each their own.

A big thing for me is that a hang-on and climber generally have a larger profile and hunting in the Southeast, where there's nasty pine thickets everywhere, and generally where the deer want to bed, the saddle set up just works better with a slimmer profile. I'm 6'2" and around 245 lbs of twisted steel and sex appeal. I need all the help I can get to eliminate noise walking through the woods.

Also, given that I'm hunting in a lot of pines, facing the tree and being up against the trunk help with reducing the sky-lining profile. Ideally, with any tree, I try to find forked trunks to nestle in between, but doesn't always work out.

I still use my climber occasionally, but not nearly as much if I'm going into an area blind, particularly on public.

 

[rtkbowhunter]

Full disclosure. I have never used a saddle.

I don’t understand saddles. For me they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. A light weight hang on a 3 sticks with an aider is hardly difficult to pack and hang. And a climber is easier than all the above…

Also all the hunstafluencers having chubs over saddles have turned me off from ever even considering their use….

Agreed. My Black Lightening Loc-On and 3 Lone Wolf sticks weighs about 12lbs straps right to my pack. With the added loop on the bottom stick I can get upwards of 18'. There's not a tree I can't get in. Plus I can sit or take a pi$$ with ease.

To each their own.

A big thing for me is that a hang-on and climber generally have a larger profile and hunting in the Southeast, where there's nasty pine thickets everywhere, and generally where the deer want to bed, the saddle set up just works better with a slimmer profile. I'm 6'2" and around 245 lbs of twisted steel and sex appeal. I need all the help I can get to eliminate noise walking through the woods.

Also, given that I'm hunting in a lot of pines, facing the tree and being up against the trunk help with reducing the sky-lining profile. Ideally, with any tree, I try to find forked trunks to nestle in between, but doesn't always work out.

I still use my climber occasionally, but not nearly as much if I'm going into an area blind, particularly on public.

See the profile thing I just don't get. Your sticking out at a 20 degree angle. With my seat up, I can scrunch up against the tree and enjoy almost 360 degree shooting. As far as noise, I used to use a Loggy (God rest its soul) and was quiet enough with it that I could climb or descend with deer 50-60 yards away and never spook them. I miss that stand.

 

[Bearwhisky]

I don’t understand saddles. For me they’re solving a problem that doesn’t exist. A light weight hang on a 3 sticks with an aider is hardly difficult to pack and hang. And a climber is easier than all the above…

Also all the hunstafluencers having chubs over saddles have turned me off from ever even considering their use….

I think a climber is the most comfortable but i dont think i hunted a tree all year that i could have used one in. Ive had a saddle since before they were popular, along with hang ons. I prefer a hang on for my private land presets all day long, but I wear my saddle in them instead of a harness. Nice to be able to switch positions for all day sits. I keep telling myself Im going to use a mobile hang on more but carrying in and setting up a saddle set up vs a hang on is way quieter, easier, faster, and more efficient for me. Another huge factor is having my tree strap with my bow and all my stuff right in front of me against the tree.


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[Luked]

I picked up a saddle set up this year and hunted more from the saddle than I did the lock on.
My main thing was there is a lot of public ground around me and the saddle and sticks work well. But will be changing some things around this year before next season.
One thing I want to work on is One Sticking and rapelling for my climbing method. The part of my system that I dont like is the sticks I am using.

On our private ground its great just because I can use the normal Scre in steps like I have always used and I jsut take the platform and saddle in and out all the time.

 

[KHNC]

First started saddle hunting using a Guidos Web back in 2010. Now using a CRUZR and CRUZR LITE platform. I still use lock-ons as well. Lots of presets for the saddle on my farm tho.