Had been doing bow season. Figured a rifle would give me better range. Public land saddle hunting in a national forest in Texas. Had a 65-70 shot today at a good buck. A lot of thick brush and trees. Had a little difficulty trying to get a good stable stop. Where as a bow does not require bracing or a rest. Is it best to do bow saddle hunting or is rifle about the same as a bow difficulty wise? Just having challenges getting them at 20-30 yards.
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Bow vs rifle?
- Thread starter bbarron
- Start date
I've shot plenty from a saddle with a gun. Just like it takes time and practice to instinctively position with a bow from a saddle, it takes a little practice to learn how to utilize the tree and your bridge/tether tether a rest.
I kind of feel like bow hunting and rifle hunting are 2 different animals. Both have their easy and difficult aspects. If I had to pick one, overall I feel like bow hunting is more difficult in general than rifle.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2023
- Messages
- 648
Try a continuous loop(Prusik) on your tether with a loop big enough to use as a rest. Fist against tree is my go to if the deer comes from where I hope it will, but that doesn’t always happen.
What he said.
everybody experiences this when they get to rifle season. during your first bow season in a saddle, you think this was meant to be. Shooting a bow from a saddle feels so natural. then rifle season comes and things feel weird. I missed several good deer with a rifle from my saddle. I now use a lightweight one hand adjustable shooting stick in the tree. it just stays attached to my gun. when I see a deer I pull my gun off the hook and the shooting stick sits on top of my boot. This way I can get a steady shot even if I cant use the tree like if the deer is behind me or too far out to one side or the other.
Would you post a picture of how you attach the stick to your gun?
I’m surprised someone hasn’t come out with a camera arm that’s outfitted for gun hunting in a saddle. And instead of mourning a camera to it, you rest your rifle on it. Maybe that is a thing already and don’t know it.
This is with a chest height tether. I'm real interested in seeing how @philsanchez76 attached a stick to the stock though. Might do that if it's better.
not sure its pic worthy. my shooting stick has a hand bracelet (I think most sticks do) and I simply loop that over the barrel. Its just so the stick doesn't accidentally drop out of the tree. This whole set up can still be pretty janky. Its just better than anything else ive tried in the tree. ive shot 10+ deer with this system over the past 2 seasons ive been using it.
Janky is my middle name sir. I'll give it a go now that you unleashed the particulars. Thank you.
I’m a ring or steps saddle hunter and given time I’ll always position myself where my stock cushioned by my off hand is resting against the tree. My hand/wrist of my shooting hand will be against the left side of my bridge. My elbow is usually touching the other side of my bridge. For me it’s about as stable as sitting or kneeling which equates to me being comfortable to 150-200 yards. There are times however when my heart rapidly accelerates and I start choking on my own slobber. It’s usually accompanied by early onset Parkinson’s at which point all bets are off even if the deer is within bow range.
samu
Active Member
Off hand with rifle I think I'm good for deer sized game out to 75yd or so and I don't need to worry about string jump or broadhead taking off due to torque. With a bow I need to be under 25yd.
Also with a rifle I have the benefit of 56mm scope that allows me to shoot well into night especially when snow falls.
In lot of situations I wouldn't bother getting up in a tree with a rifle though. Go to edge of a field with quad sticks and I can cover about 300yd in good conditions.
Also with a rifle I have the benefit of 56mm scope that allows me to shoot well into night especially when snow falls.
In lot of situations I wouldn't bother getting up in a tree with a rifle though. Go to edge of a field with quad sticks and I can cover about 300yd in good conditions.
"Allows me to shoot well into night".....that's an interesting strategy.
Hahah we are cut from the same cloth then. Nothing in our house or on any of our vehicles functions in "stock" formation. Everything has some kind of nuance or trick to it. I blame my father for this mostly and blame MacGyver partially.
Yep. I get it. MacGyver is my last name
elevatorman
Member
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2023
- Messages
- 73
Get a full size 22 and practice. It should be easy enough to make off hand no brace shots on deer to 100 yards. One thing when I shoot any gun, my focus is I'm solely hyper focused on the sights and holding the gun perfectly and not torquing the heck outta it. I'm focused solely on aiming and keeping that crosshair exactly where it needs to be until the boom comes. It takes practice but you have to mentally separate the squeezing of the trigger and anticipation of recoil from the active focus which is perfect holding still on target. Imagine yourself almost being in the military where your job is to guide the missile all the way to the target, you have to keep focused on that until it hits the target. You'll quickly realize even 7mm mags don't kick much when your not focused on the recoil.
But a 22 will make practice much cheaper
But a 22 will make practice much cheaper