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New to this.... Favorite Climbing Method???

DeadEndStreet

DeadEndStreet

New Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2018
Messages
19
Hey everyone! Newbie here from NJ. I've hunted primarily out of a climber my whole life but after watching nearly all of the DIYsportsman's, G2's and Bobby's videos on youtube, I decided to take the plunge and get into saddle hunting. I just ordered a Kestrel, and can't wait to get it in the mail.

That being said, I'm trying to decide on what method to use for climbing. I know there are a ton of threads and videos on this topic, and I've read through so many of them, but I wanted introduce myself and hear everyone's favorite method in one place.

So far I'm leaning toward a set of 12 WE stepps. I like the idea of having steps and a platform all in one, more for financial reasons than weight or bulk (I'm used to carrying around a Summit Goliath). I was thinking that it'd be smart to start with them and maybe invest in a platform down the road when I don't have to feel so guilty about spending so much all at once.

I'd love to hear from you experienced saddle hunters out there. What method of climbing do you feel puts you in the best position to have a successful hunt? Do you prefer WE stepps or sticks, spurs, or some other method?

Any input is really appreciated! Glad to become member on the forum. Good luck this season!

-Derek
 
Welcome DeadEndDerek.

Like you, I am excited to leave that big stand at the house and be free with a saddle.

As a new saddle hunter, I had the idea of using WE steps but while attending SaddlePaloosa in February, I decided that bolts or sticks would be my first climbing methods.

So far, I have purchased lots of grade 8 3/8" x 6" bolts, a single Lone Wolf stick and a 3 pack of Hawk Heliums sticks. I have a portable drill that I have pre-set several trees for bolts and I also have an EZ Kut Hand Drill and bit on order.

Huck also has a sweet climbing method using a tether and the top portion of a LW Hand Climber.

Enjoy your new adventure. Here is to perfect hangs and a very Bloody Fall 2018. :)
 
DeadEndStreet said:
Hey everyone! Newbie here from NJ. I've hunted primarily out of a climber my whole life but after watching nearly all of the DIYsportsman's, G2's and Bobby's videos on youtube, I decided to take the plunge and get into saddle hunting. I just ordered a Kestrel, and can't wait to get it in the mail.

That being said, I'm trying to decide on what method to use for climbing. I know there are a ton of threads and videos on this topic, and I've read through so many of them, but I wanted introduce myself and hear everyone's favorite method in one place.

So far I'm leaning toward a set of 12 WE stepps. I like the idea of having steps and a platform all in one, more for financial reasons than weight or bulk (I'm used to carrying around a Summit Goliath). I was thinking that it'd be smart to start with them and maybe invest in a platform down the road when I don't have to feel so guilty about spending so much all at once.

I'd love to hear from you experienced saddle hunters out there. What method of climbing do you feel puts you in the best position to have a successful hunt? Do you prefer WE stepps or sticks, spurs, or some other method?

Any input is really appreciated! Glad to become member on the forum. Good luck this season!

-Derek
Click to expand...


Welcome to the forum. Im a newbie too, so I don’t have a lot of wisdom to pass along...

I have opted for Lonewolf sticks and will probably use the one stick method like in the video posted by @Cain. I REALLY like the WE stepps but decided against them because I hunt a lot of pine trees. I have heard that the stepps aren’t great with bark that sluffs off like our pines here in the south. When you cam them over, as the loose bark comes off, it will loosen the stepp and result in having to tighten and cam over again.

If I’m incorrect on my assessment of the WE stepps, someone please correct me.
 
I own a set of WE stepps and you're right about the pines. I've noticed though I've gotten better with using them on pine trees. Just like all climbing methods it takes practice.

I'll be using the WE stepps if I'm hunting trees with lots of limbs or if I'm going to leave them overnight. Otherwise I'll be using the one stick climbing method.
 
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Tjraley2 said:
Welcome to the forum. Im a newbie too, so I don’t have a lot of wisdom to pass along...

I have opted for Lonewolf sticks and will probably use the one stick method like in the video posted by @Cain. I REALLY like the WE stepps but decided against them because I hunt a lot of pine trees. I have heard that the stepps aren’t great with bark that sluffs off like our pines here in the south. When you cam them over, as the loose bark comes off, it will loosen the stepp and result in having to tighten and cam over again.

If I’m incorrect on my assessment of the WE stepps, someone please correct me.
Click to expand...
I can get the WE stepps rock solid on a pine. I just have to get the steps a little tighter to the tree before I cam it over. The only problem I’ve seen with pines is the steps dig so deep into them that pine sap will be everywhere.
 
I'm in the same boat as I got my kestrel a couple of weeks ago. There are a lot of options because there are so many different situations. I am considering the WE steps as well but with fewer steps along with the aider to make things lighter. I have a hand climber I have been thinking of using in the meantime but year one for me will be a lot of learning as I don't have it all figured out right now.

Seeing that money is a factor in all this, it may take me some time to achieve my ideal climbing method but I know I can at least get in a tree this year and give myself a chance to hunt and learn.

My reasons for moving to the tree saddle are to reduce bulk, weight, more shooting/hunting options and be safer. My climbing method as best I can will follow these guidelines as well.
 
Welcome to the site! I thInk many of us tinker with different climbing methods. I’m not sure what your comfortable with. I guess if I was starting out & didn’t want a huge learning curve, I would get a set of sticks. Easy to hang, you could always mod them later on if you find your needs of style changes. I’ve had my lone wolf sticks for years & like them but also have we stepps & spurs....... depends on what your feeling. The other vote for sticks is you can use the top of your stick in conjunction with a ring of steps at hunting height for an easy platform.
 
Tjraley2 said:
Welcome to the forum. Im a newbie too, so I don’t have a lot of wisdom to pass along...

I have opted for Lonewolf sticks and will probably use the one stick method like in the video posted by @Cain. I REALLY like the WE stepps but decided against them because I hunt a lot of pine trees. I have heard that the stepps aren’t great with bark that sluffs off like our pines here in the south. When you cam them over, as the loose bark comes off, it will loosen the stepp and result in having to tighten and cam over again.

If I’m incorrect on my assessment of the WE stepps, someone please correct me.
Click to expand...


I watched Cain's video about that. I thought it was a great idea. My only concern about that method is climbing up a tree with a bunch of branches. I know you could easily take the tree tether off and put it above the branch, but it just seems like a lot of work that might even negate the benefits of the one stick method. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that, or if it really isn't as much work as I'm thinking it is. I could stick to trees without a ton of branches but then I'm basically climbing the same trees I could in a climber, unless I go with smaller diameter trees which I do plan on trying.

I rarely hunt out of pines so the bark issue for the WE stepps isn't a big deal for me. A quick side note, but does anyone use Spurs to climb pines or is that not a good idea?
 
DeadEndStreet said:
A quick side note, but does anyone use Spurs to climb pines or is that not a good idea?
Click to expand...

I live in Tuckerton so I hunt mostly Bass River and Wharton State Forest. Usually hunt pine trees because I like to tuck myself in between branches to break up my outline. This will be my first year using spurs but I have done some test climbs on pine trees. Repeated climbs on the same tree and sap would definitely be a problem. My plan is to climb a tree once. If I decide to hunt it again, I'll leave a length of paracord in the tree so I can pull a climbing rope up and SRT it. You definitely want tree gaffs vs pole gaffs and you have to go slow because that Jersey pine bark is so damn noisy.
 
My climbing preferences in order

1. Bolts for presets (where legal)

2. Spurs for run and gun (where legal)

3 modified hawk Helium sticks with aiders

And even though I don’t use it yet, I’m going to add in Wild Edge Stepps using the Knaider/swaider method because I really need to get this one down.

Here is Pete’s video on his Knaider/swaider method. Slick as can be, and uses MUCH less than 12 steps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sticks are the easiest with the fastest learning curve. I prefer to use sticks and a lone wolf hand climber seat for most of my sets on public land! On private land I srt up the trees on preset spots!
 
Welcome @DeadEndStreet. My dad's family is from burlington county and I grew up in Monmouth County. I'm up north nowadays.
 
DeadEndStreet said:
I'm in Burlington county. Center of the state. Basically 45 mins east of Philly.
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Welcome dead end street.. im in shamong new to saddle hunting last year... i never go back to treestands .. pm me u want to meet up i can show you what i know.. i have some hawk heilums climbing stcks fs if want to give sticks a try .... i use bolts for climbing ... pinebarrens
 
Welcome. Favorite climbing method is anything preset. Then climbing sticks. I just hate carrying sticks so I carry wild edge stepps instead. I wouldn’t carry 12 wild edge stepps unless I needed to get over 30 feet. 10 is about as many as I would want to carry.
 
I’m thinking of using my lone wolf hand climber seat as a platform. Do you add any straps or is it stable enough without?
 
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