Not high enough?

[Jrain904]

I tried saddle hunting for two seasons, needless to say I LOVED the comfort and packability. With that being said I’ve never been busted by so many deer in my entire hunting life. I’m talking about being busted with sight, not scent. I was busted drawing my bow, leaning around tree to aim my bow, and even once (by what would have been my PB buck at 20 yards) being completely still while a deer was passing beside me waiting for a nice quartering away shot. I’m wondering if most of you SUCCESSFUL saddle guys climb like 20 or 30 foot up in a tree? I always end up no higher than 15 foot and usually a little less. I climb with 3 mini beast sticks. I personally don’t care to be any higher than that. It got me wondering if successful saddle hunting around SPOOKY deer needs to be done at extreme height.

For some perspective I have been hunting from a LW assault hang on for years and have not been busted by sight nearly as often as I was in the saddleI just feel that in a lock on you are more a “part” of the tree with no sky lining and if a deer is anywhere from straight in front to almost behind me on my left I make entirely less movement drawing my bow and shooting compared to the saddle. Heck I have stood up and turned around on a weak side shot and not been busted in my lock on.

Anyways what’s your opinion on saddle hunting heigh? How has your experience been comparing being busted by sight in a saddle vs a lock on? Thanks!

Image for fun:

 

[Robert loper]

Doesnt matter how you hunt or what you use to hunt with. You always have to be in some sort of cover.

 

[Hunt1997]

I agree cover is the key. I find sitting into the tree is most helpful.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Look at the look that velociraptor (chicken) is giving you! Last of the dinosaurs!

I do think height plays a big factor in getting away with movement. Last fall, when I was starting out in the saddle I had 3 lone wolf sticks and an aider and I tried to make it work. I got busted a couple of times for movement. I was only able to get about 15 feet with that set up. After about the third time I promptly bought a 4th stick and the issue went away. I was now able to get an honest 20 feet to my ring of steps.

Now I have ditched the sticks and hunt 2TC and routinely go 22 to 28 feet to my ring of steps. I haven't been busted at all doing 2TC unless you count a doe seeing me climb down in the dark and busting out.

Height is something I believed in even prior to saddle hunting. I used to go up to 30 feet in my lone wolf assault 2 hand climber. The later in the season it gets, the barer the woods get, and the cover disappears. I also like to climb trees at least as wide as my shoulders.

 

[LtMoe66]

I rarely go higher than 18ft. In early season I’m as low as 10-12ft. I usually alway have some cover behind me to breakup outline. I usually always have the tree between me and where I think deer are coming from or just off to the side so I can shoot in a sitting position. I rarely lean except to stretch a little. Don’t know how much more you could become part of the tree when you’re basically straddling it. I could see getting picked off while leaning and shifting often. I killed 6 deer this year out of a saddle and had 5x’s that pass by without being busted. I also always try to set up more for a crosswind. So deer usually are always upwind. Even when they pass and get a good distance past me so keeps other deer off alert. Believe me it doesn’t work all the time but definitely has increased my chances. Good luck. Height isn’t everything being still is more important along with wind!!

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Are you hunting FL WMA’s? Pine trees especially pine rows,I like to be up much higher 25’ to 35’ due to the lack of cover. Oak hammocks by comparison I rarely get higher than 18’ because the canopy is so low and green that if I get to high my shooting lanes will be way too limited

 

[NMSbowhunter]

The picture below shows a set I got busted in by a doe while using 3 sticks. Drawn above the sticks setup is where I climbed to this season using 2TC. The 3 sticks with aider weighted about 10 to 11 pounds and got me 15 feet (and busted). The 2TC set up weighs 2 pounds and got me 28 feet.

In hill country, in a lot of the spots I hunt, I have to get high up the tree just to be at eye level with the deer. That is where a big diameter tree shines, I can get completely behind the trunk.

 

[Westdesign03]

This is the exact problem I’ve been having with a saddle since day 1. I also seem to get picked off less in a hang on in comparison. I’m still interested in saddle hunting but only have so much time to put into hunting, so I’m finding it hard to stick with a method that gets me picked off twice as often. Also hunt in a low deer density area so shot opportunities are few and far between. Maybe I’m just not doing something right. Or not willing to do what it takes to do the saddle thing the right way. Also don’t like heights so usually don’t get any higher than 16-18’. Anyway, may give it another go next season. Have to think about it more and see if I can/want to put more $ into it I guess.

 

[Bigterp]

It’s wild, I rarely get picked off….. I’m sometimes in crazy little trees too… I try to find the best cover closest to the spot I want to shoot to & become part of it. I wish I could give some amazing advice on the trick, but the only time I’m higher than 20’ is onesticking , & sometimes as low as 8’ just depends.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Its more about cover and not skylining yourself. If you can avoid being on the outside trees along a field edge. One or two in is better.

 

[BTaylor]

I hunt as low as available cover will allow but seldom go over 20'. In the last 3 season of primarily saddle hunting I have been picked off once. Just a few weeks ago I got picked off hunting from a hang-on stand. One of the 4 does inside 20 yards caught me making an uber small move with the bow to position for a shot. Late season just gets difficult. I can not recall a single deer picking me off while in a saddle but if at all possible I will either be in a multi-trunk tree or one with good back cover based on where I expect deer movement to be. Other than that work on moving like a growing turnip when the deer is in line of sight and when their view is blocked move like greased lightening to get in position. I mean guys are killin deer sitting on the ground in half a beach chair leaned up against a tree, the saddle isnt the problem.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I rarely get picked off any more like I used to in my hang ons and climber. I like bigger trees that I can hide behind and I like to find trees with smaller trees in front of them. I'll hang just below the top of smaller tree what ever height that may be and am able to use it for cover but shoot right over the top of it. I have 5 trees that I can think of like this and have never been picked in any of them. They range from 14 to 20 ish feet high. Pine and hemlock work the best for the screening tree because they provide cover all season long.

 

[Shapeshifter]

Hunting hight has very little to do with it. You should worry more about finding trees that have alot cover around them. If the cover is at 12 feet then hunt at that hight and so on. Also alway try and position your tree between you and where you expect the deer to come from. Lastly their in no better camouflage then slow deliberate movement. Deer have been getting killed from the ground as well as low stand heights ever since we started hunting deer out of trees .

 

[Jrain904]

@Fl Canopy Stalker not too much trouble being busted in the thick swamps here in FL but It’s hard to find much cover in country like this I hunt in WV. The trees are rarely thicker than a volleyball at height and the steady inclines make it hard not to be skylined by deer. To add to it the deer are almost always at eye level or even above you at some point as they pass you. Can’t really tell I this photo but it’s very steep here and the top of the mountain is just behind me at around 30 yards.

 

[1simplemann]

I tried saddle hunting for two seasons, needless to say I LOVED the comfort and packability. With that being said I’ve never been busted by so many deer in my entire hunting life. I’m talking about being busted with sight, not scent. I was busted drawing my bow, leaning around tree to aim my bow, and even once (by what would have been my PB buck at 20 yards) being completely still while a deer was passing beside me waiting for a nice quartering away shot. I’m wondering if most of you SUCCESSFUL saddle guys climb like 20 or 30 foot up in a tree? I always end up no higher than 15 foot and usually a little less. I climb with 3 mini beast sticks. I personally don’t care to be any higher than that. It got me wondering if successful saddle hunting around SPOOKY deer needs to be done at extreme height.

For some perspective I have been hunting from a LW assault hang on for years and have not been busted by sight nearly as often as I was in the saddleI just feel that in a lock on you are more a “part” of the tree with no sky lining and if a deer is anywhere from straight in front to almost behind me on my left I make entirely less movement drawing my bow and shooting compared to the saddle. Heck I have stood up and turned around on a weak side shot and not been busted in my lock on.

Anyways what’s your opinion on saddle hunting heigh? How has your experience been comparing being busted by sight in a saddle vs a lock on? Thanks!

Image for fun:
View attachment 81089

The rate that you get picked off at is directly proportional to the height you are hunting. 15' is a rarity for me. Your gonna get picked! Unless you are a statue. I'm 20 to 22' routinely. Occasionally higher. I've been 30'. You can do a dance up there and they won't see you. You can get away w/ a lot. I Hardly get picked off at normal hunting height but it happens occasionally especially if I'm rushing. However I always try to have some sort of back cover and I regularly wear snow camo even when there is no snow

 

[Bigterp]

@Fl Canopy Stalker not too much trouble being busted in the thick swamps here in FL but It’s hard to find much cover in country like this I hunt in WV. The trees are rarely thicker than a volleyball at height and the steady inclines make it hard not to be skylined by deer. To add to it the deer are almost always at eye level or even above you at some point as they pass you. Can’t really tell I this photo but it’s very steep here and the top of the mountain is just behind me at around 30 yards.
View attachment 81095

I’ll try to take a couple pictures from the ground of a couple similar setups I have. Late season zero leaves steep terrain, all still doable. I won’t try to get way into the weeds describing with out the visuals on those. But this one spot I moved 5yds over to a hickory that had a small beech growing in front of it. It gave excellent front cover had 3 holes to shoot through. I also had a 9-10” oak growing about 2’ away so almost a double, something nearby to break up my silhouette. There’s only 1 spot a deer could approach from a visually pick me off & would probably already have an arrow through them if they did….. I enjoy the process, you’ve got nothing but time while you’re in that tree, decide if there’s anyway to make your ambush better. I hunted that same tree 6 times & killed 2 deer at 20-28yds. One had a clue but couldn’t quite adjust in time & already made the mistake…..
Btw no idea what the tree you were in looked like, but all sign being equal I’d be in this tree…..

 

[John 35]

I typically sit and straddle the tree for comfort while just waiting. Any time I have deer near me I like to stand up on my platform and lean into the tree so my entire body is flush with the tree leaving no gap. I don’t think in terms of the types of trees I’d like to hunt because I’m trying to find the best spot not the best tree. Of course I understand why guys like to hunt certain kinds of trees but I usually don’t have that luxury and have to work with what’s available.

 

[Tim0712]

I’ve found around my area that skyline cover is key. If I can’t get it and it the only usable tree I’ll go 30 feet to better my chances but that’s never a gaurantee. I have pre sets that are 15-17’ and I have presets that are 30’ I gotta admit I think I’ve been equally busted at both heights. It’s not many occurances of being busted but some deer just know. I have a preset in a briar patch that has questionable cover because there’s so little trees. Given the 10 foot briars I have bolts for the first 15 feet to get me out of the crap and then the tree gets funky so I one stick the remaining 15 feet. I had 7 does come in one night and the head of the group stopped under me and followed the bolts straight up as if I was in a ladder stand. Thankfully I had enough back cover to break up my silhouette but she was still a little in easy and I ended up getting busted by another mature doe (that came in the other direction who I never saw) as I was reaching for my bow. But they still didn’t truly know what was going on and lingered out around 40 yards in thicket until the sun started setting and moved back in. I was stuck in that tree in the dark for hours waiting for them to leave

 

[tailgunner]

Its rare to not find cover here.when timber is wide open i like to be high and off to the side of the travel rout trails.so they dont face in my direction on the way by

 

[drew13]

If you can’t get high, make sure you have good cover. Deer eyes are not structured like ours - the pupil is horizontal so that they have great peripheral vision to the sides to detect threats on the ground. Their peripheral vision is not as good at detecting things above them. If you are high enough, out of their peripheral vision, then you can get away with more movement. If you cannot get high enough, for whatever reason, then make sure you have good cover.