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First season in a saddle

I

imstihlaguy

New Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2023
Messages
32
Hey guys. So my archery season starts in 2 weeks, and I couldn't be more excited bc this is my first year in a saddle.

I made my own, sort of a pleated sit drag thing with a rch. Works pretty well. I'm going to be climbing using a sort of 2TC method that I've worked and adapted, and I think as far as that goes I'll be doing pretty good.

Im looking for some advice , some pointers, anything you experienced guys wanna tell me. Advice of saddling in small parcels, also massive public land. I'll be hunting in both.

Id love to hear what you do/don't do, and advice for the guy who will be, Lord willing, shooting his first deer out of a saddle soon.

Thanks.
 
Good luck this year. I used 2TC all last season and it worked out great. As far as general advice goes, be adaptable to the deer. They change their areas and behaviors all throughout the season. Work on getting close and waiting for high percentage shots. You will get busted by deer; we all do. Use it as a learning experience and go on. The deer are going to be your best teacher.

For small parcels, once you learn them and how the deer move, you might want to consider setting up a few trees with tree bolts, if that is Ok on those parcels. Big tracts, boots on the ground scouting is your best bet. Always be finding new spots. What was good this year may be bad next.
 
Dmathews87 said:
Im sure you already are but just make sure you practicing as much as you can in the off season to develop good muscle memory and be familiar with your gear and aware of what could happen and the steps needed to reverse it. saddle hunting gets even more fun when you really know your gear and get a good system going.
Click to expand...

I second that big time. Last year was my first in a saddle and I didn't do enough in the summer to get ready. I made a lot of changes to my system during season, even switching to one stick.

If you can, I'd say the best practice would be to pack up your vehicle like you're going hunting, then pretend like you just parked or drive to a place where you can park and access a good tree, then go through your whole process of getting your stuff out of the vehicle and on your body, walking to a tree, climbing the tree, setting up, (bonus if you have a target you can set out to sling a few arrows from the tree at), then packing up and climbing down, getting back to the truck and heading home.

Doing stuff on the tree was only part of the issues I encountered. How I stowed my gear, where stuff was located on my saddle and in my pack, how I carried things through the woods, lots of tweaks and adjustments were needed to get to the point where I could basically do everything at night without a headlamp (if needed) and not walk through the woods with ropes and everything else hanging off me and getting snagged up.

Good luck this season though and have fun with it! There's no turning back now...


*Quick edit...don't underestimate how much of a headache you can get from a tangled hoist rope. I still haven't solved that one and it was one of my biggest unforeseen PITA-type issues I encountered.
 
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My 2 biggest things I could advise to do is practice in a real hunting situation with hunting seasonal clothes on somewhere out in a tree in the woods NOT IN YOUR BACK YARD, and, use all sticks not just 1. If allowed bring a target with you and move it around. shoot in several different positions ad many different distances. practice the uncomfortable ones the most, make it become a muscle memory type thing where it becomes 2nd nature to you.
Next would be to not just hunt, Hunt because a spot is worth hunting and screams " hunt here now" Don't just hunt to hunt make it educational and a fun time.
sorry my runner up would be to let it go if you screw up or if you miss. dont sweat it and tell yurself I had an oppurtunity and I learned what to do and what not to do.
And please please please be careful and safe and of course have a great season
please keep us posted on anything. You can always PM me with any questions you may have and, if I dont know it We will find someone who can.
 
My advice is to learn, and get comfortable with, multiple climbing styles/techniques. 2TC is great and I'm moving there from 1-sticking, but no one system is the best answer for every tree. Specifically, figure out how to SRT, on either a RADS setup or JRB-style Garda hitch footloop. Even with only 1 stick, climbing a tree can be noisy and awkward. If you can hang a paracord pre-set and SRT your second trip up the tree you'll (probably) be time and noise ahead. And you'll only be out a couple of bucks worth of paracord, plus 2 non-locking carabiners and a dozen or so feet of webbing.
 
I used to get hung up on the fact that I have the gear so I have to use it and would spend time looking for the right tree to climb and saddle hunt out of. You're going after deer and the saddle is just a tool to get closer to the deer. If the deer are skirting the trees and coming through a CRP field, corn field etc. plan accordingly. The animal movement will dictate the use of the saddle and don't get hung up on using it all the time just because you have it. The ultimate goal is still trying to get close enough to the target animal for an ethical shot.
 
I’ll go a bit different route with my advice.
Don’t make any changes to your setup this close to the season unless absolutely necessary. Once you have some sits behind you then you can fiddle.
Practice stillness. It’s very easy to sway/move in a saddle.
Practice with your setup in the dark, either after the sun goes down or before the sun comes up. The difficulty factor is ratcheted way up. Also do it with your gloves on. In the dark.
On your first hunt allow yourself an extra 30-60 minutes. Guarantee you’re gonna forget something or mess something up.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Be intentional and deliberate with your movements, where you place climbing apparatus, where you place your feet, your knot work, etc. One moments carelessness and we’re reading about you on Facebook.
Take notes. Think about what worked, what didn’t, what you’ll do different next time. Then when you get home implement those changes. Don’t wait or you’ll forget.
Be flexible. Don’t be afraid to jettison a method or piece of kit if it doesn’t work.
 
if you rappel or use a mechanical ascender, even though manufacturers say not to, back it up with an autoblock. 20$ piece of mind that makes me feel safer while rappelling. 2tc is way better than one sticking in my opinion. practice practice practice. shoot from your saddle at hunting height as much as possible. These are all things that I have learned and do. I climb a tree and shoot 40+ yards at my target almost every day sometimes twice in the same day.
 
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