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New Saddle Hunter

N

NE_OH_BuckChaser

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2022
Messages
4
Good afternoon, Im brand new in the game of saddle hunting. I was wondering if there is anyone on here from NorthEast Ohio that wouldnt mind meeting up and giving me some pointers. Im looking at starting to put together a setup this spring and have it put together before next season. I've never used climbing sticks before or have any experience with saddles. I currently hunt my families 40 acres with ladder stands but theres access to a lot of public land around here that I want to dip my toes into.
 
Welcome from the tip of the mitt (aka "That state up north" :tearsofjoy: ).

There's a ton of information here and the community is generally really willing to help so ask any questions you may have. The search function also works pretty well if you have a specific topic in mind.

The one recommendation that inevitably pops up for new saddle guys is to try to hold off on buying if you can until you see if you are able to attend one of the saddle hunter meetups that generally occur starting in the spring. Not all saddles are created equal and not everyone finds comfort in the same brands/styles. Getting together with other saddle hunters gives you a chance to try a variety of saddles first hand and discuss with others who've tried different climbing methods what works and doesn't for them. The attached link may lead you to a potential meet up or two a bit later in the year, maybe in Ohio or western PA. Good luck on your saddle journey!

 
Welcome from S.E. Michigan.
Lots of guys in the Southern Mi, and Northern Ohio Area. Like @boyne bowhunter said. Meet ups are a great place to try out stuff.
If you can't find one close enough, it doesn't take much to generate your own. Just pick a date and location and see if anyone is available. If you post it now for April/may I bet you will get a hand full of guys to show up. If it's not to far I will consider. Pick a state park or neutral public area and call it out. Saddle hunters love saddles and talking hunting.
 
NE_OH_BuckChaser said:
Good afternoon, Im brand new in the game of saddle hunting. I was wondering if there is anyone on here from NorthEast Ohio that wouldnt mind meeting up and giving me some pointers. Im looking at starting to put together a setup this spring and have it put together before next season. I've never used climbing sticks before or have any experience with saddles. I currently hunt my families 40 acres with ladder stands but theres access to a lot of public land around here that I want to dip my toes into.
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Welcome from Virginia Beach! You are coming to the saddle community when it is at it’s zenith. Tons of saddles, tons of gear, so many choices….that it can quickly become overwhelming. Don’t worry though, everyone on here is an expert and will be willing to tell you EXACTLY what you need lol. Seriously, great thing about this site is that people are willing to answer the same questions over and over so don’t think you are the first with a question. That said, another great thing is the searchable threads. You can get up to speed lickety split if you are just willing to spend a little time reading. Take your time, buy quality gear up front and you will never go wrong because you will be able to sell it for almost what you paid for it if you decide to go a different direction. Good Luck!
 
@boyne bowhunter @2Sloe @MattMan81 I really appreciate the feedback guys! I have hit the search bar a few times and did some late night reading the last two evenings on some things. There has been a ton of great info and it has become a little overwhelming with so much reading and videos out there.. Im in no rush on purchasing any gear since the season is coming to an end but I do want to pick up something in the late spring so I have a few months to get my practice in...

In your guys personal opinion, whats the most important thing you look for.. is it weight? platform size? saddle comfort?
 
The most important thing to look for is….how YOU hunt. That should help you determine the attributes that are most important to you. Picking a saddle, frankly IMO will be the easy part. Many good choices now…some better than others, but with a little reading it won’t take long to identify the most comfortable of the bunch. Picking a climbing method will be more of a challenge and that’s really where what’s important to you will come into play. Every climbing method has advantages and disadvantages. You just need to be able to identify which method offers the most advantages that you desire, while minimizing disadvantages. I’m old, but like to get away from the crowd so lightweight was key for me, also like to hunt high..er, also like to be able to pick a tree in the dark and climb, so One-sticking was a really good fit for me. May be something different for you based on how you hunt. You will probably spend more time fretting over how you will climb the tree, rather than what you sit in while in the tree. Never hurts to keep adding additional methods to your bag for specific situations also. But that’s part of the journey….and you can always change!
 
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NE_OH_BuckChaser said:
@boyne bowhunter @2Sloe @MattMan81 I really appreciate the feedback guys! I have hit the search bar a few times and did some late night reading the last two evenings on some things. There has been a ton of great info and it has become a little overwhelming with so much reading and videos out there.. Im in no rush on purchasing any gear since the season is coming to an end but I do want to pick up something in the late spring so I have a few months to get my practice in...

In your guys personal opinion, whats the most important thing you look for.. is it weight? platform size? saddle comfort?
Click to expand...
This is a question where again, if you ask 10 people you'll get ten different answers. For me the most important aspect I'm looking for is compactness and quietness. For me, weight is a secondary consideration. If I had a climbing system that weighed 25lbs but I could carry silently in my pocket I'd use it.

Comfort is also important though, I want to be able to stay still for long periods of time so that's where comfort comes in. The comfort thing is tricky though. Everybody is different and I've discovered that saddles I found comfortable have been described by others on here as medieval torture devices. :tearsofjoy: That's why I would recommend trying a few out if you can before dropping the coin for one.
 
NE_OH_BuckChaser said:
@boyne bowhunter @2Sloe @MattMan81 I really appreciate the feedback guys! I have hit the search bar a few times and did some late night reading the last two evenings on some things. There has been a ton of great info and it has become a little overwhelming with so much reading and videos out there.. Im in no rush on purchasing any gear since the season is coming to an end but I do want to pick up something in the late spring so I have a few months to get my practice in...

In your guys personal opinion, whats the most important thing you look for.. is it weight? platform size? saddle comfort?
Click to expand...
If your on private. Pre sets are a good choice of some kind. I primarily hunt private and Been getting more and more into presets. You can have lots of options, and pick the right one for the conditions. Depending on the trees, and if you want to drill holes in them. I have been moving toward DRT climbing more and plan to set some more pre sets this spring. Make sure your method is down for getting the rope over the limb in the am. Sucks if you break your preset line or you can't get it over the limb. (I know a guy)
I still one stick some as well. But prefer the preset for the AM. I also like to be in the funky big trees. So rope climbing is the best choice for me. But your property and where you hunt on it may be something completely different. You can use your ladder stands to get quickly up the first 15 feet or so and if you want to get a little higher it's pretty easy to do. If you move out to public. The table is wide open. Your gonna have to try some stuff and see what works for you. Saddles are all different to everyone. Pick up some used ones on here to try. Also note you can return most of them if you don't like it right away.
What ever you pick and try, you will surely try something else the next season or add another option.
 
MattMan81 said:
If your on private. Pre sets are a good choice of some kind. I primarily hunt private and Been getting more and more into presets. You can have lots of options, and pick the right one for the conditions. Depending on the trees, and if you want to drill holes in them. I have been moving toward DRT climbing more and plan to set some more pre sets this spring. Make sure your method is down for getting the rope over the limb in the am. Sucks if you break your preset line or you can't get it over the limb. (I know a guy)
I still one stick some as well. But prefer the preset for the AM. I also like to be in the funky big trees. So rope climbing is the best choice for me. But your property and where you hunt on it may be something completely different. You can use your ladder stands to get quickly up the first 15 feet or so and if you want to get a little higher it's pretty easy to do. If you move out to public. The table is wide open. Your gonna have to try some stuff and see what works for you. Saddles are all different to everyone. Pick up some used ones on here to try. Also note you can return most of them if you don't like it right away.
What ever you pick and try, you will surely try something else the next season or add another option.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, I have 3 pre set ladder stands and currently building an enclosed blind that I can hunt no matter what the wind is doing that day. Theres been a few times that I've needed to be in specific places and I couldnt because I dont have the proper gear to jump in any tree I need. Thats just one of my goals for learning the saddle game. On top of the multiple hundreds of acres of public land that I can hunt all within 45 minutes of driving.
 
Welcome! You're absolutely on the right track. I hunt both private and public land. On one of the private parcels I hunt, we have four ladder stands and three shooting houses but the deer key in on them quickly if they're over hunted. Having a mobile setup to get up a tree like a one stick or 2TC or sticks and a saddle helps you keep them guessing. On public parcels, you can scout, scout, hunt with everything on your back. It is a bit of paradigm shift..... my one buddy who owns the largest parcel I hunt on and is also a firearms hunter, still doesn't understand the benefit of having your entire setup on your back. This keeps your property from being pressured in the same places all the time. But he's slowly starting to come around to it. I explain, it not only is the stand or saddle location itself but also the access and exit from the property. With a mobile setup, you're going in and leaving in different parts of the property as well so pressure isn't always focused in the same areas. Deer react to this pressure quickly and the benefits of keeping mobile cannot be overstated in my opinion. And another benefit I've noticed now is that my "static" or pre-set setups are becoming more productive again!!!!
 
woodsdog2 said:
Welcome! You're absolutely on the right track. I hunt both private and public land. On one of the private parcels I hunt, we have four ladder stands and three shooting houses but the deer key in on them quickly if they're over hunted. Having a mobile setup to get up a tree like a one stick or 2TC or sticks and a saddle helps you keep them guessing. On public parcels, you can scout, scout, hunt with everything on your back. It is a bit of paradigm shift..... my one buddy who owns the largest parcel I hunt on and is also a firearms hunter, still doesn't understand the benefit of having your entire setup on your back. This keeps your property from being pressured in the same places all the time. But he's slowly starting to come around to it. I explain, it not only is the stand or saddle location itself but also the access and exit from the property. With a mobile setup, you're going in and leaving in different parts of the property as well so pressure isn't always focused in the same areas. Deer react to this pressure quickly and the benefits of keeping mobile cannot be overstated in my opinion. And another benefit I've noticed now is that my "static" or pre-set setups are becoming more productive again!!!!
Click to expand...

This right here is exactly why I want a mobile setup for hunting our private land. We have a few mature bucks that wont come by our pressured areas until at least an hour after dark and two hours before sunrise. We have three ladder stands and im building a shooting house right now for next season but I want the option to jump in a tree when the wind is right and we know the direction of movement they are taking coming in and going out of our feeders. More tools in the tool belt is always the best option.
 
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