welcome 20ftup! I just started saddle hunting late last season so I don't have much experience so far. I like to experiment and be creative though so I’ll share my experience so far.
I hunt public land in PA like you, but I'm further south. I live between Harrisburg and Allentown not far from the Cabela's... you might know where that is being a hunter from PA. I too use a Summit treestand and have since I was around 19 (before that I used other inexpensive climbers or homemade climbers). I still like my Summit a lot, but having more tree options was appealing. I also was looking to reduce weight if practical, but primarily I was frustrated with trying to sneak through tight areas with the stand on my back because it catches on so many things. I found the saddle method from reading one of Eberhart's books, although I had an uncle years ago that bought one at a sports show. He never used it much so I completely forgot about it.
Eberhart talked a lot about getting trees ready in advance and leaving the steps in the tree. I think this would be ideal, but you need to buy a lot of steps and you aren't supposed to use screw in stuff on public land. Strap steps could possibly be left, but that is more dangerous since ropes or straps are subject to decay and animals chewing. So I came up with the idea of rope climbing and found some info on this site about others doing it. I used youtube, etc. to figure out a plan. I started trying to keep the budget low, but looking back I spent anyway in the long run... piece by piece. I’ve run into several challenges so far.
- Carrying 80’ of climbing rope, the saddle, and misc. climbing gear still adds up for weight and gear. The big benefit remaining is that it’s less clumsy when packed properly which makes it easier to carry. I’ve also recently seen a method of getting the rope into the tree using only one length which theoretically will half the amount of climbing rope that I need to carry. I’m excited about this.
- I still spend some time selecting a tree since for rope climbing, I’m looking for a branch at the right height. Using the saddle is a lot more flexible for options, but it doesn’t go away completely.
- I use paracord as a throw line with a throw weight on the end (one of the areas I saved money initially and then just bought a throw weight). It is usually fairly challenging to get the line where you want it. Not just because I’m trying to throw up into the tree 30 or more feet, but also because there are a lot of small branches in the way. Of course, once you get the paracord in the tree, I leave it there so the tree is already to go for the hunt. Practice and experience will improve things, I’m sure, but I did find it more challenging than I initially expected. Because of this, I also purchased a 3 pack of the lone wolf climbing sticks. That isn’t enough to get me as high as I like, but I think I’ll add 2 rope steps to the bottom of each for more height. I may not need to do that though since I think the sticks will get me high enough to finish the toss of a paracord throw line and I’ll just climb with the rope after that. This is my theory anyway since I want to avoid the need to always carry climbing sticks… they aren’t that much lighter or less bulky than my Summit although I suppose they will probably be somewhat easier to carry.
- A “platform” has been challenging. I started with angle aluminum that I had on hand. I had a machine shop shear it into 2” wide pieces and add slots for a strap. I was trying to avoid buying the discontinued Ameristep strap on steps, but still mimic that idea. I slid rubber over the aluminum angles to quiet them. The problems were that they give quite a bit… can likely improve with some modification… and the rubber ended up squeaking on my boots… again I think I can modify. Regardless, I wasn’t overly happy with them in any way so I’m still looking. I decided to spring for an XOP platform to try this year. A member Ernie on here makes a kit that he sells and others have done similar things. Basically it’s an XOP lightweight seat modified to fasten to the tree and form a small platform for your feet. I didn’t like the idea at first because of weight and bulk. I’m going to try though. Some have also added one to the top of their climbing sticks, but I still hope to avoid taking climbing sticks on most hunts.
Shooting takes practice, but I’m using a crossbow these days so that is much easier than a vertical bow. It’s a bit challenging to cock for multiple shots, but that’s uncommon except when I’m practicing. I was really excited about the idea of saddle hunting when I first read about it and starting looking into it. My excitement has tempered some because I’ve had a few more challenges than I anticipated, but I think it will continue to grow on me. There is also the cool factor. It also helps push me to keep trying to lose extra pounds and stay in better shape since it’s far more challenging than simply hunting out of a climber. At least, I think it is. Of course, hunting from a climber is no picnic for some people either. I basically have never hunted deer from the ground so hunting out of a tree has always been the norm for me and the transition to a saddle wasn’t too bad. In many ways it actually feels safer. I’ve only sat for a few hours at a time so far. I do think that an all-day sit would be much more difficult in the saddle than in my Summit.
