• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

newby

mark

mark

New Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2014
Messages
25
Location
north carolina
new to the saddle hunting . i have been looking at the aero hunter going to colorado in september elk hunting will this be the trick. the pre order cut off is sunday and i dont know anyone who hunts with a saddle. thoughts and opinions welcome
 
Welcome to the site!

I have never hunted out west so I can't specifically answer that but the saddle is a great mobile solution. If you go out there and take a day to scout and pre set a couple of trees you can be setup in minutes during your hunt. If you hunt on the fly and use sticks like the lone wolf sticks you can be setup in a tree in short order. If you do any deer hunting I obviously would strongly recommend a saddle for that type of hunting as well.

Hopefully someone else has some experience hunting elk out of the saddle and can help you out.
 
thanks for the reply I do bowhunt deer here in nc and Iwill be trying this system looks very cool a lot to learn on moving around a tree. I will be reading the forums on platforms.
 
Great! My best advice is give the system a chance. It may take a little while to get used to because it is so different than anything you have hunted out of before. Once you get used to it you will never go back :cool:
 
ok I have preordered my evolution . cant wait to try it out . I was looking at ideas for platforms and was wondering if anyone had built one with aluminum steps and 2 inch strap I cut a few out today I will weld them up this week and see if they might work I don't see why they wouldn't . I also seen a person on ebay selling 6 plastic steps for 140.00 really ? must be some nice plastic . let me know what kind of platforms you've worked with . thanks
 
Are you going to make your own aluminum steps? We'd love to see some pics. Dennis made his own aluminum step and then got a new job and hasn't had too much time to work on refining it. :(

Unfortunately the plastic steps you saw on ebay are the best method out there right now for a strap on platform and they go for 20+ dollars a step because they aren't made anymore. There was also some aluminum steps that were similar, I have 3 of them, but I have not seen many of them out there. Most people put them on a ratchet strap to cinch it down on the tree. I have been looking at over center buckles to use instead of a ratchet and am going to be posting a video shortly (I'm just trying to work out my video camera situation guys, I'm sorry I've filmed it twice but the audio is horrible).

If you are able to use screw in steps I strongly recommend them for any pre-set trees. I have a video posted of how I setup a tree with screw in steps and another one in the works explaining my process.
 
hey chris I live in Yadkinville nc west of Winston salem member of ncba also measure for pope & young . where are you?
 
im trying to come up with a platform that will not harm the trees my aluminum steps are a little to light already bent two . so back to the drawing board . red squirrel you mentioned you had some aluminum steps would like to see a pic of them. how are the over the top cams? I was using the 2" straps that safety harnesses come with they do tend to slide down a bit but will bite once they seat . weight is a huge factor for me for I tend on using this in Colorado when I elk hunt . here at home the screw in steps are a no brainer and I have plenty.
 
Good luck with your design. Definetily share what you come up with. Here is a pic of the aluminum step I have.

This is the over center buckle that I am using http://boxertiedown.com/wholesale/-c-3_19/2-x-1980-lbs-over-center-buckle-p-96. I am working on a video of it, just having tons of trouble with my audio but hopefully I'll get that up soon. It is a 2 inch buckle but I am using it on a 1 inch strap without any problems so far. It is very light and I am a huge fan of it so far. There is little to no sliding. I just take a step or 2 on each step to seat it down.
 

Attachments

  • strap on aluminum step.JPG
    strap on aluminum step.JPG
    33.8 KB · Views: 397
does this step have a manufacture? I welded up a steel step right now it way 8 oz but im going to tweak on it some . the tig seems to kill the strength on the aluminium . so I decided to play with 3/4 steel with a 60 wall so far no failure bounced on it real good. 6" in length with a 2" slot and 4" step at 80 degree angle or so. ok so how do I load a pic?
 
I think the step was made by ameristep but I don't remember, and they are not made anymore.

To load a pic you can upload to a photo sharing site and then click the Img icon above the box you are entering this text and past the link. You can also upload it as an attachment located below the box you enter text. You choose the file and then add the file.
 
are you using 4 or 6 steps for your platform? so far I believe my steps are going to work fine . need to play with straps
 
I have only used it just off the ground so far in testing but every time I have I am thrilled with how well it works. I think I have all of my audio problems worked out and am actually just going out to try to get my over center buckle video done, so hopefully it will be edited and up by the end of the weekend so you guys can see what it looks like in action. I also hope to try to find a day in the next couple weeks after I get my new Evolution to go out and test the new saddle and over center buckle out one night in the woods watching wildlife.
 
customtiedowns/com has better shipping rates than boxer ordered 2 2" over center . still trying to up load pic of step keeps saying my file is to big .can I send this from my iphone? not to tech savy
 
I know the shipping rates from boxer tie downs sucked, but I love how light the buckle is.

Did you order a buckle on a strap from customtiedowns? I haven't ordered any from there so I am not sure what their buckle is like.

If you are on the tapatalk app on the iphone I believe you can upload a photo straight through the app. If you email the photo to yourself from the iphone you should be able to send it as a smaller size like medium and then upload it to the site on the computer. (That is how I usually get them posted when I take a pic from my iphone)
 
my buckle I ordered does not have a strap but ive got a friend that is a saddle maker that can sew anything. I will stay with a 2" strap it doesn't let my steps rock the 1" just doesn't have enough support for me.
 
mark said:
my buckle I ordered does not have a strap but ive got a friend that is a saddle maker that can sew anything. I will stay with a 2" strap it doesn't let my steps rock the 1" just doesn't have enough support for me.
Click to expand...

You are using a 2" strap on your custom steps right? My ameristeps won't fit a 2" strap, but I understand what you're saying about the stability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top