Saddle hunting

[Krautzy]

Anyone on TBH hunt out of a tree saddle? i ordered mine in march and cant wait to try it out this October. Seems like a great alternative to lugging a tree stand or a climber in and out on my public land hunts. At my lease, it will probably be useless. But none the less, i think it was a great investment.

[Hammerdown15]

I do. IkemanTx and LeanMachine are also saddle hunters.

[Wood Man]

Practice in it before October. I never even heard of them till just now.

[IkemanTX]

Anyone on TBH hunt out of a tree saddle? i ordered mine in march and cant wait to try it out this October. Seems like a great alternative to lugging a tree stand or a climber in and out on my public land hunts. At my lease, it will probably be useless. But none the less, i think it was a great investment.

I think you will still find it useful on private land once you get the saddle figured out.
You could prep DOZENS and DOZENS of trees for the price of a half decent stand and just wear the saddle in each of them.

I second the recommendation for practicing shooting from the saddle. Personally, I will never go back to a normal stand.


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[bakin7005]

It's my first season. I received my Kestral Flex in early July and have been getting in some practice. It is going to be phenomenal. I've been bow hunting from a lock on for 30 years and there is no comparison in the versatility and comfort. It will soon be the go to way to bow hunt from a tree. Matter of fact....I'll probably be posting my Lone Wolf Alpha up for sale soon!!

[IkemanTX]

It's my first season. I received my Kestral Flex in early July and have been getting in some practice. It is going to be phenomenal. I've been bow hunting from a lock on for 30 years and there is no comparison in the versatility and comfort. It will soon be the got to way to bow hunt from a tree. Matter of fact....I'll probably be posting my Lone Wolf Alpha up for sale soon!!

I’m going to try gun hunting from it this year too. I think it may be dynamite for that as well.


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[acrosbyrpc]

Just ordered the Tethrd mantis. Can't wait to try it out this year!

[bakin7005]

Anyone having trouble getting on saddlehunter.com? Was down all day yesterday and no server this morning.

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[Duckologist]

I just bought a lone wolf assault last year and wish I had bought the saddle instead. I may sell the lone wolf after this season since it's too near to the opener.

[LiftAndShoot]

I fully plan on doing saddle hunting starting immediately after I get the funds together to get a safe setup going. I am extremely excited about the whole concept based on my size and the areas I hunt. Really looking forward to it and any kind of advice would be awesome.

[backwoods]

I really want to try this because it would be perfect for where I hunt, but I cant get over a safety concern:

If I am using a climbing stand, the climber itself is the first connection point to the tree. Technically, if the climber is used correctly then I dont need a secondary connection or safety device, but everyone (including myself) would consider it foolish to use a climber without a harness and safety line as a back up in case the first connection point (the climber) fails.

Even if I'm a rock climber, my hands and feet are my primary connection to the rock and my harness (the secondary connection to the rock) is meant to protect me if my hands and feet fail.

But for saddle hunting, you are relying on a single connection to the tree (one rope and a knot). There is no back up. So if that primary connection fails, you fall.

Does anyone else have this concern or is there a way to have a secondary back up connection to the tree?

[bakin7005]

Correct and maintained equipment will not fail. You can make a mistake and fall but it's not likely. Your lineman rope is always to be connected until your tree tether is properly secured to the bridge. After that you'd have to do something really stupid to fall. It's no different than a standard lock on tree stand with a safety harness. You can do something stupid and fall out of it just as easy. It's actually safer than a tree stand imo. Arborists have been doing this for years they're just not flinging darts at critters.

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[whakm]

Think I may be switching next year. Got on this boat too late for this season. Couple of the guys I hunt with swear by 'em. Just having a hard time taking that initial money hit. Any suggestions on a good set up ( make, model, gizmos' gadgets etc..)? There's a few I've looked at but honestly don't know enough about 'em so don't really know what to look for.

[Duckologist]

I really want to try this because it would be perfect for where I hunt, but I cant get over a safety concern:

If I am using a climbing stand, the climber itself is the first connection point to the tree. Technically, if the climber is used correctly then I dont need a secondary connection or safety device, but everyone (including myself) would consider it foolish to use a climber without a harness and safety line as a back up in case the first connection point (the climber) fails.

Even if I'm a rock climber, my hands and feet are my primary connection to the rock and my harness (the secondary connection to the rock) is meant to protect me if my hands and feet fail.

But for saddle hunting, you are relying on a single connection to the tree (one rope and a knot). There is no back up. So if that primary connection fails, you fall.

Does anyone else have this concern or is there a way to have a secondary back up connection to the tree?

If you're worried about having a backup you could wear your normal fall protection that you would wear in your climber or loc on and use that as well.

[Dmillerdesign]

I've been saddle hunting for a couple seasons. Been making modifications as I learn. I used a sit drag as my base and had a seamstress make the heavy duty mods to it. I have been able to put together ,my entire setup for about $200. I'm going to do a detailed write up and pics of my rig just as a reference for y'all looking into it.

I hunt family and private in E TX, public in the Sam, and private in S TX.
Give me any tree 6"-24" caliper and I'll be up and settled in 20 minutes. Can't beat that for public, there is really nothing easier or more logical than the saddle. It makes it so easy to make adjustments to your game plan.