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How long have you been hunting out of a saddle?

redsquirrel

redsquirrel

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This upcoming season will be my 7th.

I've shot 6 bucks, 9 does and a bear out of the saddle. All of them have been with the bow except 1 buck, 1 doe and the bear, those were all with the muzzleloader.
 
This season will be my 8th out of an ambush saddle. I usually get 4 deer a season. I've only shot one deer in the classic saddle pose where it shows the guy hanging like on the patch. My preferred way is keeping the tree between me and the deer then just sorta leaning around for the shot. I love these things!
 
Started using the saddle style hunting almost 10 years ago, when I was in college. I needed a small light weigh tree stand to keep in my tiny little dorm room. I don't know what all I have harvested from them as I am not big on keeping track. Although I have taken a pope and young black bear and this year I was able to harvest deer with a Muzzleloader, Shotgun and bow all from my aero.

Thanks,
Boswell
 
Last season was my 32nd season hunting from a harness system. Started in 1981 with an Anderson Treesling and switched to a treesaddle in 2000 and now use a hybrid I designed that has parts from each of the two. Weighs about a pound and a half and rolls up the size of a softball. It would never pass TMA however.

John
 
My second season coming up and will never go back to a stand.i use the champion saddle from new tribe and very comfortable..last year I got a 7 pt and two does and I owe it to john Eberhart.the 3 part video series changed how I bowhunt whitetails!! Extremely informative and I would recommend it!
 
I first saw the saddle idea about a decade ago while I was in college. I looked it up and it was way to expensive for my taste so I was stupid and tried hunting in my rock climbing saddle. I figured if I can hang in it while belaying durring big wall climbs it should be ok. Not so true, the first hour was alright, although not moving in that harness was difficult. After an hour though it really got to be not enjoyable. That was the end of hunting in the harness.

Then about 3 years ago I wanted to give it a try again because I started traveling back to Wisconsin to hunt with my family over Thanksgiving. By this time the saddle was not being sold anymore and I didn't care for the other options. To make a long story short I ran across a Boatswain's Chair at West Marine. I know it's not marketed for hunting (more for sailing) but decided to give it a try. I have to say this is great. It was cheaper and more comfortable. It is a bit heavy though due to the plywood in the seat. You can remove it along with the foam pad but I don't because the rigid seat I think makes it more comfortable.

In addition to this I use a Petzl Gri-Gri belay device because it is easy to use and is self locking. I also use 2 slings from REI with a repel ring, 2 locking carabiners and a small ammount of static line to finish it all off.

Boatswain's Chair:
http://www.westmarine.com/mast-climbing ... ab-details

Gri-Gri:
http://www.rei.com/product/809263/petzl ... lay-device
 
Jajtner01 said:
I first saw the saddle idea about a decade ago while I was in college. I looked it up and it was way to expensive for my taste so I was stupid and tried hunting in my rock climbing saddle. I figured if I can hang in it while belaying durring big wall climbs it should be ok. Not so true, the first hour was alright, although not moving in that harness was difficult. After an hour though it really got to be not enjoyable. That was the end of hunting in the harness.

Then about 3 years ago I wanted to give it a try again because I started traveling back to Wisconsin to hunt with my family over Thanksgiving. By this time the saddle was not being sold anymore and I didn't care for the other options. To make a long story short I ran across a Boatswain's Chair at West Marine. I know it's not marketed for hunting (more for sailing) but decided to give it a try. I have to say this is great. It was cheaper and more comfortable. It is a bit heavy though due to the plywood in the seat. You can remove it along with the foam pad but I don't because the rigid seat I think makes it more comfortable.

In addition to this I use a Petzl Gri-Gri belay device because it is easy to use and is self locking. I also use 2 slings from REI with a repel ring, 2 locking carabiners and a small ammount of static line to finish it all off.

Boatswain's Chair:
http://www.westmarine.com/mast-climbing ... ab-details

Gri-Gri:
http://www.rei.com/product/809263/petzl ... lay-device
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that info. Its great to see you thinking outside the box :D
 
Ive bow hunted for 24 years and 4 out of the saddle now. Wish I had this thing when I started!

In all those years from a stand Ive only got 2 shots at turkeys with no kills. Ive killed 5 toms in the last 4 years with the saddle. I defiantly attribute it to the ability to hide in the tree. Shot 3 P&Y's and tons of does too. The turkeys is what I like most though as they had my number for years.
 
Rg176bnc said:
Ive bow hunted for 24 years and 4 out of the saddle now. Wish I had this thing when I started!

In all those years from a stand Ive only got 2 shots at turkeys with no kills. Ive killed 5 toms in the last 4 years with the saddle. I defiantly attribute it to the ability to hide in the tree. Shot 3 P&Y's and tons of does too. The turkeys is what I like most though as they had my number for years.
Click to expand...

Are you spring turkey hunting out of the saddle? How high up are you?

My deer spots are not open to fall turkey hunting, but I definitely agree with you, I see lots of turkeys and I have never been busted while in the saddle. Last season I had 6 gobblers walk right underneath me. They never spooked and I got them on video on my phone. Its awesome to watch them that close.
 
All in the fall. Im the President of the "Don't get too high club" lol. On the birds I would say about 17-18 feet.

Shot my buck this year at 8 yards. Im 5'8" and could reach my platform on my tippy toes. Two seasons ago I was 15ft up on a bare tree I could almost put both hands around in the wide open.

My buddy says nobody could get away with some of the stuff I do.
 
Rg176bnc said:
All in the fall. Im the President of the "Don't get too high club" lol. On the birds I would say about 17-18 feet.

Shot my buck this year at 8 yards. Im 5'8" and could reach my platform on my tippy toes. Two seasons ago I was 15ft up on a bare tree I could almost put both hands around in the wide open.

My buddy says nobody could get away with some of the stuff I do.
Click to expand...

I'll have to keep that in mind on some of my setups. I usually try to get up high, but sometimes I just can't. I feel like being higher will hide the motion of me swinging back and forth while I'm glancing 360 degrees looking for deer.
 
If I had to pin myself down to a height it would be 12 to 14. I believe treestand height is one of the most over rated things in hunting. Its really one of the least of my considerations of an ambush spot.

Any good ambush sight will get the animal even or past you before he has a chance to spot you if that makes sense. You have to stay on your toes but theres a lot of freedom of movement in a spot like that.
 
Rg176bnc said:
If I had to pin myself down to a height it would be 12 to 14. I believe treestand height is one of the most over rated things in hunting. Its really one of the least of my considerations of an ambush spot.

Any good ambush sight will get the animal even or past you before he has a chance to spot you if that makes sense. You have to stay on your toes but theres a lot of freedom of movement in a spot like that.
Click to expand...

I agree with you if you spot the deer before it spots you. But I think that being a lot lower gives deer that sneak in behind you that you do not see a chance to spot you easier if you are lower.
 
True. I hunt KS and MO. Our canopy starts a lot lower than other states for sure. I think that has a lot to do w/ my success at lower levels.
 
Rg176bnc said:
True. I hunt KS and MO. Our canopy starts a lot lower than other states for sure. I think that has a lot to do w/ my success at lower levels.
Click to expand...

You are right. There really is no set height. You have to take into account the tree and what cover is around you. A lot of the spots I hunt are open hardwoods so I have to get as high as I can to try to gain some more cover.
 
Every situation dictates itself. When I hunt pine plantations with little cover getting high helps get me out of the deer's general periphery. If you hunting hill country you have to get high enough on the leeward side of the hill to try and get above the thermal tunnel in the deer's travel route so you don't get winded. Also winter time with lack of foliage can be a chalange. I'm always amazed how deer react difernetly to your silhouette in a saddle opposed to a tree stand. The important thing is to not get sky lighted. 4 sticks usually gets me where I need to be but there always exceptions .
 
Bigburner said:
The important thing is to not get sky lighted.
Click to expand...

This is a very great point Erich, and one that I always take into consideration when choosing my setups. It is not always possible but I always try to look for a fork in a tree like in boswell's tree selection video http://www.saddlehunter.com/videos.html. If I can't find one, I try to at least setup around some branches that helps me blend in to the tree.

I know a lot of people are saying that you can put the tree between you and the deer and use that to help hide you. I agree with this to an extent. That is how I always try to setup my trees and then have the deer walk from my right to my left so I can shoot it as it comes past (I'm righty). But the deer don't always come from where you expect them to. In my opinion this is where the saddle really shines because with little effort I can quickly be in a position to shoot. I like to be high so that there is less of a chance of being spotted making this movement, and less of a chance of being spotted by an unseen deer while I am looking for them. I am not always still in my saddle. I usually sway slowly from side to side and constantly scan the woods all around me. I am trying to spot the deer and get in position before they have a chance to spot me.
 
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