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Any trad guys here?

I've always been trad with the exception of one year when I blew out a shoulder.... over 4 decades. I did but a matthews Triax this year but not for hunting..... yet
 
I used to hunt on limbs, no nothing holding me to the tree. Then I used a sling of some kind...can’t remember the name but they use to advertise in the back of Bowhunter magazine,. Then I went to a Treesuit when they first came out. I went back and forth from that and climbers until I just got a Kestral. Very superior in every way from anything like it in my opinion. I shoot a Jim Jones Firefly longbow. No issues hunting or shooting.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, hopefully more will pour in. Sounds like i need to just pull the trigger on a kestril!
 
Compound for the first couple of decades. Long bow then a Robertson recurve for the last couple of decades. The Robertson is sweeeeet!!

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mtn_goat said:
Hi all, new guy here to the forum. Any trad guys here....and more specifically any trad guys hunting out of saddles? If so, hows that working for you?

Thanks, Nathan
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It's about time you joined on here Nathan! I figured an old mtn goat like yourself would've been tinkering in saddles. Holler at me next time you're around my area I'll let you try my saddle stuff out buddy

- L.G.


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Oh and you will see how much a saddle will benefit you in the mountains ,I still use a trophyline tree saddle and have taken a few with my compound but just the last 2 yrs been taking my longbow out more instead ..passed alot of smaller bucks but haven't taken a shot out of it yet with trad gear...ive been tossing around to get a kestrel also
 
ckossuth said:
I have got to try some ILF Border Hex 7.5's one of these days! I love the super recurves! My Dryads are similar with the perceived "let off", but not quite the same caliber of the Borders. Nice Bear!
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I have been shooting the Dryad acs’s for several years. They have taken a pounding and still shoot great! Just kinda loud. On a metal riser.
 
Wirrex said:
I have been shooting the Dryad acs’s for several years. They have taken a pounding and still shoot great! Just kinda loud. On a metal riser.
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I’ve got mine quite now on my WF 19 riser. Took a little figuring these limbs out as they are different from anything I’ve ever used. Set my brace height to 8 1/4”, added some Velcro loop padding on the ends, made my string silencers out of three 2” pieces of gutted paracord (two tan with one black in the middle for each end). I also built a thicker DF97 16 strand string for it. I had been using 12 strand skinny strings with all of my other limbs. It’s very quite now and I’m shooting a light 8.5 gpp arrow for 3D.

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I have mine set up nearly identical. I have had a couple shots on the same deer over the years so maybe it isn’t all that loud.




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Mtnbuck said:
Oh and you will see how much a saddle will benefit you in the mountains ,I still use a trophyline tree saddle and have taken a few with my compound but just the last 2 yrs been taking my longbow out more instead ..passed alot of smaller bucks but haven't taken a shot out of it yet with trad gear...ive been tossing around to get a kestrel also
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Ive had a Trophyline treesaddle myself that i hunted out of when i shot compounds but sold it a few years ago. Wanting to revisit the idea though and check out the Kestrel myself.
 
Nathan, for me the saddle was made for trad. hunting. I've been hunting trad for over 30 years. Currently with a Black Widow 60" recurve at 55lbs. With the exception of some ground hunting with snow camo during late season, especially to fill the freezer, I feel hunting out of a saddle type set up is the quietest, quickest, just plain bestest way to go. My back never gets sore, and shots can be made at just about every angle possible. Ive mentioned on here before, if your able to make up a dozen or more flu flu arrows, or I guess you could buy a dozen judos for your regular arrows then get a dozen golf balls.( you could always ask Huck for some he's got an in with all the big boys) Climb up with your saddle and throw the balls in different directions and distances and shoot. I do this all summer long. Not only do you get lots of practice climbing up and down, which helps to make the process fast and easy during the actual hunting times, but you learn that you really can get away with some really good shot angles, and how to do it with the least amount of noise and movement. If you decide to use a platform, like I do, let me know and I can pm you a video.
 
Been hunting with recurves on and off for the last 25 years. Currently shooting a bw pma 50@27. Sweet shooting bow. When snow melts and shed season ends I'm gonna start experminting with the kestrel shooting recurves.
 
I sold my compound in 1992 and haven't regretted it for a second. I bought Brackenbury Drifter back then but I've since bought a 60" Allegheny Mountain Recurve, made by a local guy...Bill Kerner. I actually helped him make my bow. 55# @28" but I'm drowning about 27" (52#). I love the thing. I shoot Grizzly Stik Sitka with 150 grain single bevel Samarai.

I did have a Trophy Line saddle and I shot fine out of it with my stick bow, except for shooting on the right side of the tree (I'm a right handed shooter). I just can't seem to keep my form together when I shoot on that side of the tree trunk. But every other shot situation is good. I shoot just as well in the saddle as I do on the ground or out of a fixed stand.

The tether never bothered me. I did sell the TL, but my Kestrel is due to be delivered here this Friday. I don't think I ever gave the TL a fair chance, so I never got comfortable in it. I hunted without knee pads and crappy foot rests, I had a very short bridge, and I think I attached the tether too high (well up above my head). Even with a high tether, the strap didn't bother me. A lower tether, which I intend to try with the Kestrel, will be even less of an issue of the tether in the way.
I'm determined to spend whatever time and effort I need to get the Kestrel the way I need it. I'm not sure if I'll quit all of my hang-on hunting, but I really would like to become a "mostly saddle guy".
 
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