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Baloo the Bear gets the Saddle Bug

Tony

Tony

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
73
Location
Northern Vermont
Hey guys,

Tony here from Northern Vermont,

I am new to bow hunting and hunting in general.

I am learning how to be a mobile hunter on public land in Vermont

After being busted multiple times bow hunting from the ground, having hang-on stands stolen on public land, using a climber and stumbling around the woods in the dark, banging and clanking around with 20 lbs of metal; I new there had to be a better way.

I just ordered the new Aero-Hunter Kestrel. Hopefully the saddle, and a couple of sticks, help me put me in a position to harvest some animals.

I have been shooting my bow with my Elk River Peregrine Tower Harness on, using a petzel grillon as a rope bridge. This would be a nice set up for actual hunting, however there is a lot of metal that could possible cause some undue nose.


You guys have an awesome site, and are very generous in all the information that you provide--Thank You

I look forward to learning more from you all, and seeing if I can get into some deer this fall.
 
Welcome! I don't think you will be disappointed!
 
Welcome! I'm new to the site also, and it seems to be a great group of people here!
 
Tony, I just ordered the Kestrel as well. I'm also new to Saddle hunting since last year. I haven't attempted to shoot my compound from it, just the crossbow so far. I had gotten away from hunting for a decade or so because of my job. My son was interested in trying so I started up again. He decided to quit, but the I caught the bug again. As a result of feeling like I didn't have enough time to practice for proper proficiency with the compound, I ended up deciding to compromise with a crossbow. From there, I caught the saddle bug. I have always used climbing stands primarily the Summit. I don't mind setting it up and using. My issue is trying to sneak through tight spaces with it on my back and catching on things. I decided a saddle might be the ticket.
I started immediately trying to use a rope climbing technique (paracord pre-set in the tree to pull up the climbing rope). I've quickly found that the climbing rope along with an ascender and grigri have their own weight and gear issues. It all certainly has a learning curve which is heavily influenced by personal taste and skills. I purchased a set of Lone Wolf climbing sticks after last season that I want to experiment with. I found that getting a tree pre-set with paracord in order to use a climbing rope was no trivial matter when you are trying to achieve at least 25 feet. Even with a throw weight on the end, I spend a lot of time and make a lot of noise trying to set the paracord ahead of time. I decided the climbing sticks would aid in pre-setting if nothing else. If I like them, it could replace the rope climbing idea altogether although it sure is fun to repel down the tree when I'm finishing the hunt from a rope. I hunt almost exclusively on public land so the screw in steps aren't an option... I wish they were.
Good luck with your hunting and saddle adventures!
 
Lladnew

How do you like the Petzel grigri? I use a petzel ID for work. It's probably heavier than a grigri but it basically dumy proof and it you use it as a positioner. As far as using it for hunting, I don't know, lots of metal clanking about. So far I plan on running four hawk heliums for 10lbs and maybe a lone wolf climber seat as a standing platform- and to climb perfectly straight trees. Then set some rope steps up on the opposite sides of the platform for 369 shooting, set up a strap for my pack and bow and be in place hopeful relatively quickly and quietly.
 
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