First Hunt in Saddle

[d_rek]

Hey guys just wanted to share my first hunt in the saddle.



My first time using the saddle to hunt. I came out for mid morning hunt because I wasn't comfortable banging around in the dark.

I used lone wolf sticks to get about 20 ft up. I felt I could have been just a tad quieter but overall pleased a relatively stealthy access.

I'm pretty comfortable for the most part. Worst of it is pressure on my feet from tree pegs. But it's not tht bad really. If it gets to much I just hug the tree for a bit!

Overlooking a small white oak ridge. Crop is good this year and I've got sign and deer on cam here . Good luck shoot straight !


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[d_rek]

Couple more pics



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[redsquirrel]

Good luck!

Next time when you wrap your tree strap around the tree, bring your hook under both straps (you've wrapped it around twice), that way it won't sag! You also may find it easier if you can take your quiver off. I hang mine off my backpack on the other side of the tree.

Looking good!

 

[Bigburner]

Its also pretty tough on your feet in rubber boots. I know everybody wants to be as scent free as possible but not a lot of support in those things when hunting for few hours.

 

[d_rek]

So I sat for 4 hours today. After the first 1.5 hrs I started to get pretty fidgety. Between the pressure on my feet and the saddle putting pressure on my hips there was some discomfort.

Not wearing rubber boots is not an option, as most of the places I access have standing water at some point.

I've read you want to have your saddle low on your back, basically just above your asscrack. Well I couldn't get it to sit that low and kept "sliding" down into it.

Any pointers to stay comfy?


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[Bigburner]

You have to put some time in.your body will actually adjust. So keep hunting 4+ hrs. Is a pretty long time for your first hunt. It gets easier.

 

[d_rek]

I think most of my comfort issues can easily be remedied. I just have to loosen my shoulder straps and cinch the saddle lower on my waist to help with the pressure i was feeling in my hips. I also think if I am at less of an angle when hanging it would help a lot with the pressure on my feet.

Every hunt is a learning lesson, and today was a great live run. I'm sure after a few more sits i'll be well adjusted!

 

[Matty]

Cool man! Welcome to the club!

Couple tips, (some the same as others said) take 'em or leave 'em.

-Strap height plays a big role in comfort. For me I love having the strap as high as I can get it. I hated the saddle when I used it with the strap too low. Try different strap heights until you find one you like. (also double under like redsquirrel said)

- Wearing the saddle low on your butt definitely seems to be the ticket. "Top o' the crack" sounds about right. Just remove your shoulder straps once at hunting height if it keeps riding up. Or loosen them and retighten to walk out. (play around with where you wear the saddle too, just because something works for most people, doesn't mean it's the way you like it)

- For boots. I have to cross a lot of creeks, rivers, swamps, etc too...and often use them as entry ways to keep entry and exit impact as low as possible. When I need them, I will wear chest or hip waders and bring in my regular boots....However most of the time I can get away with knee boots. So for anything that is only knee deep...I wear Cabelas Pinnacle boots. They are knee high, zipper close, waterproof and scent-lok *though mine sure have some kind of scent-locked in them lol...smells like sweaty feet....lol

They really are waterproof too I spent an entire day walking up and down a river the other day scouting for crossings and my feet stayed dry *yes I walk IN the river to cut down on scent (not surprised I do this often and this is my old pair from at least a few years ago, they look beat as hell, but operate flawlessly). (please note: like every other boot I've owned, they are not waterproof once you go over the tops, so watch the water depth.) :lol:

If you decide to get these, wait till they put them on sale. They usually go down to about $100-$120 at some point in the year.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas- ... l+Products

-Knee pads. I don't claim to lean my knees into the tree all that often, but when I do, knee pads make it so nice. I didn't notice any in your pictures. (maybe underneath pants though or I wasn't paying close enough attention) I tried regular foam ones at first (like for tile layers maybe). Didn't help. Hard shell trophyline are what I use now. Though I've seen guys mention using the military knee pads. Wish I thought of that before I spent like $40 on TL ones when I did. (though I do love them)

Quiver on or off, personal choice. Bow will hang better with it hooked to your pack like RS mentioned, but I know some people like it on the bow.

I think that's about it.

Good luck. Give it some time too. It's different and you will need a little time to adjust like BigBurner said.

 

[d_rek]

Cool man! Welcome to the club!

Couple tips, (some the same as others said) take 'em or leave 'em.

-Strap height plays a big role in comfort. For me I love having the strap as high as I can get it. I hated the saddle when I used it with the strap too low. Try different strap heights until you find one you like. (also double under like redsquirrel said)

- Wearing the saddle low on your butt definitely seems to be the ticket. "Top o' the crack" sounds about right. Just remove your shoulder straps once at hunting height if it keeps riding up. Or loosen them and retighten to walk out. (play around with where you wear the saddle too, just because something works for most people, doesn't mean it's the way you like it)

- For boots. I have to cross a lot of creeks, rivers, swamps, etc too...and often use them as entry ways to keep entry and exit impact as low as possible. When I need them, I will wear chest or hip waders and bring in my regular boots....However most of the time I can get away with knee boots. So for anything that is only knee deep...I wear Cabelas Pinnacle boots. They are knee high, zipper close, waterproof and scent-lok *though mine sure have some kind of scent-locked in them lol...smells like sweaty feet....lol

They really are waterproof too I spent an entire day walking up and down a river the other day scouting for crossings and my feet stayed dry *yes I walk IN the river to cut down on scent (not surprised I do this often and this is my old pair from at least a few years ago, they look beat as hell, but operate flawlessly). (please note: like every other boot I've owned, they are not waterproof once you go over the tops, so watch the water depth.) :lol:

If you decide to get these, wait till they put them on sale. They usually go down to about $100-$120 at some point in the year.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas- ... l+Products

-Knee pads. I don't claim to lean my knees into the tree all that often, but when I do, knee pads make it so nice. I didn't notice any in your pictures. (maybe underneath pants though or I wasn't paying close enough attention) I tried regular foam ones at first (like for tile layers maybe). Didn't help. Hard shell trophyline are what I use now. Though I've seen guys mention using the military knee pads. Wish I thought of that before I spent like $40 on TL ones when I did. (though I do love them)

Quiver on or off, personal choice. Bow will hang better with it hooked to your pack like RS mentioned, but I know some people like it on the bow.

I think that's about it.

Good luck. Give it some time too. It's different and you will need a little time to adjust like BigBurner said.

Definitely going to work on getting tied up with the strap height where i want it.

These are Lacrosse Aeroheads that replaced a pair of 5+ yr old muck boots last season that got a split in them. Super comfy, totally waterproof, love 'em. Don't plan on buying another pair of hunting boots unless i have to lol.

I do have some hardshell kneepads from Lowes I used when I was remodeling my house. I'd have to run them through the washer though because I sweat through them boys and then some. I do seem to remember them not being terrible comfortable to wear after a while. But at least I already have a pair if it becomes and issue.

To be honest i wasn't really resting my knees up against the tree too often, so i didn't experience any discomfort there. I think that was because my strap was too low and my angle was too steep. When I needed a break from 'standing' I just hugged the tree.

Quiver did come off, just after I took some pictures lol.

 

[d_rek]

Sorry when you guys say 'double under' for tying the strap what do you mean?

I was trying to remember how Boudreaux did it in his video(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3Q8cx2gvQ) but alas i wasn't able to youtube while climbing a tree and tying a treestrap lol! I think I ended up just tying it off with a simple overhand knot. It worked but as redsquirrel pointed out it sagged.

 

[Matty]

Just watched the video.

Boswell ties-in a little different than I do. When he goes over the strap and just makes an overhand knot...I continue under the part on the tree before I finish the knot and put that hook end back up under. So it's under both pieces of strap.

When I only wrap once around the tree, I just wrap that hook end around the strap twice and pull real tight.

I feel like these are terrible explanations of how I do it, lol, but it's very simple if I could show you.

Maybe Scott can explain it better, sounds like he ties it the same way I do.

Like you said, you probably won't notice the foot pain once you get strap height figured out, but I figured I'd mention the boots just in case. I hear you on not wanting new ones too especially since those are new. Everything is so expensive these days.

 

[redsquirrel]

I wear the same aerohead boots as you, and I stand on the same screw in steps, so hang in there. I have seen a lot of people complain about foot comfort, and that can definitely get to be an issue on longer sits, but I don't typically have that problem. I use those steps because they are the cheapest lol. I think foot comfort comes down to having your weight properly distributed through the entire saddle system.

For comfort, ditch the shoulder straps once you setup in the tree. They are helpful for walking in but they are just going to make the saddle ride up on you. Like Matty said, you want to get your tree strap as high as you can easily place it. Then adjust the length of your tree strap to where when you are sitting, your knees are just above making a 90 degree angle. This kinda helps the saddle cup your butt. Like Matty said again, everyone finds it to be comfortable a little differently so just fool around with it. This should be a good starting point.

I will try to remember to take a picture of how to tie the strap when I get home tonight. Here is another way I do it for my preset trees: http://www.saddlehunter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=193, see the third pic down. In this case I only wrap it around the tree once but tie it off over a tree step to keep it from sliding down.

 

[redsquirrel]

Here is how I tie off. Hopefully the images help. Let me know if you need me to explain anything further.

 

[d_rek]

Second hunt today in the saddle(more like nature watching lol). Comfort was definitely way improved by making a few slight adjustments.

First was that I tied my strap off much higher in the tree - about arms length overhead.

I did do the double under tie off which helped with sagging.

I also wore the saddle much lower on my waist. That alleviated almost all of the pressure I had felt the other day. It still tried to ride after shifting around a little bit. But overall much better.

I also didn't get as much pressure on my feet which I think was due to me not trying to sit suspended at such an obtuse angle from the tree. When my feet started t feel pressure I simply sat down s little more with my knees resting into the tree (now I know why some recommend knee pads) or straddled the tree a bit.

Overall I felt much more comfortable in my saddle... Now i just have to see some deer lol


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[WCork]

Are you setting up every time you get to your spot? Curious as to how long it takes you and if you're sweating by the time you get setup?

 

[redsquirrel]

I also wore the saddle much lower on my waist. That alleviated almost all of the pressure I had felt the other day. It still tried to ride after shifting around a little bit. But overall much better.
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Awesome! With my tree saddle I always had a problem with it sliding up occasionally and I would have to readjust. It wasn't too big of a deal.

Glad you're doing better already! Every sit will get better and better!

 

[redsquirrel]

Are you setting up every time you get to your spot? Curious as to how long it takes you and if you're sweating by the time you get setup?

I do it both ways. I have pre-set trees which I love because I just climb right up and strap in. I always use lone wolf sticks and my platform and set up on the fly. It takes me anywhere from 15-25 minutes to setup depending on the situation. If it is hot out I do break a sweat but the temps haven't been too bad here this season so it hasn't been horrible.

 

[d_rek]

Yes i've been setting up each time since I don't have any trees prepped. I've been using 4 lone wolf climbing sticks and then putting in 3 screw in tree steps and 2 bow/accessory hooks in once i'm upto hunting height.

Probably takes me 20-25 minutes from start to finish. I've been setting one stick at a time and ascending (like the guy does in that one youtube video). It's a bit challenging trying to do that silently and a good workout to boot. I think next time out i'm just going to set 1 stick at a time and go back up/down for each without the linemans belt attached.

Am I sweating? The other day when I did it ... no. But it was 52F and a windchill of 47F. Today it was 64F and sunny when I went out, and yes I was sweating.

All in all still learning how to be quiet and efficient with a mobile setup. Ideally i'd already have a tree or two prepped with screw in steps but I'd need to drop some more cash on screw in steps.

 

[g2outdoors]

You really need to look into changing your strap over to the rope method. It's so much easier and faster than the trophyline method. I use the HSS rope style line and it works like a charm. That's probably the best $20 I ever spent on hunting kit.

 

[d_rek]

You really need to look into changing your strap over to the rope method. It's so much easier and faster than the trophyline method. I use the HSS rope style line and it works like a charm. That's probably the best $20 I ever spent on hunting kit.

Nice. That does look pretty simple to use. I had also bookmarked the new tribe tree strap, which looks to be about the same thing, except $20 more expensive.

Since my trophyline treestrap is basically brand new i'll probably stick with it for a bit. And the more I use it the easier to is to get set up quickly.