• 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

Saddle hunting in the snow....how to keep your bow out of the snow???

A

Alaska at Heart

Active Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2023
Messages
191
Location
West Michigan
Living and hunting in west Michigan, it was sure to happen.....it snowed overnight and is supposed to continue today. When hunting preset stands or ladder stands, I use a haul rope that is set to keep my bow well above the ground while climbing up and when lowering it back down. With my climber I have a Third hand bow holder that can support my bow while ascending and descending, if so desired. But how do you keep your bow from starting and ending up laying in the snow using a saddle setup where sticks are installed on the way up and removed on the way down? I don't want frozen stuff in my cams and such to potentially mess up a shot opportunity, plus I take pretty good care of my hunting gear as a matter of practice.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
Living and hunting in west Michigan, it was sure to happen.....it snowed overnight and is supposed to continue today. When hunting preset stands or ladder stands, I use a haul rope that is set to keep my bow well above the ground while climbing up and when lowering it back down. With my climber I have a Third hand bow holder that can support my bow while ascending and descending, if so desired. But how do you keep your bow from starting and ending up laying in the snow using a saddle setup where sticks are installed on the way up and removed on the way down? I don't want frozen stuff in my cams and such to potentially mess up a shot opportunity, plus I take pretty good care of my hunting gear as a matter of practice.
Click to expand...

I'm in WV, so not nearly as much snow.

I just give it a good shake/bang/wipe with glove once in the tree if anything is on it. When climbing up, I'll lay it on some branches that were there or I placed there to keep the bow off the ground. Lowering it I won't be able to hit my makeshift branch pile very well, so I just lower it wherever I can and I figure I'm going home and I'm going to give it a good cleaning/blow it off with the air compressor and lay in the open to dry.
 
Charlevoix/Emmet county Michigan here. Winter hunting is my favorite time in the woods so I do a lot of hunting in snow conditions. I will typically pack a small area on the ground with my boots to lay the bow sight in, that's really my biggest concern. I've never had a cam problem with snow (the string rolls right through it) but I have drawn on deer only to find my sight full of snow. I also lay the bow so the quiver is up.

Then when up in the tree I'll take a couple of minutes to flick the snow out of the cams and sight. Probably the biggest thing to remember is to wipe down the arrow with your hand. Small frozen beads of water/snow stuck on the arrow will make a lot of noise as they pass over the rest when drawing.

The light fluffy snow isn't a problem at all because you can just knock/blow it away. Its the wet heavy snow that sticks to everything that'll give you fits, especially around the sight where its tough to get your fingers in there.
 
I have wrapped my crossbow/rifle in my jacket and then pulled it up when I was hunting in mud. Having your jacket off for a few minutes while you climb to height won't kill you.
 
thedutchtouch said:
Lots of good suggestions already, any one of them likely make this problem go away, but throwing out an alternative- Can you strap it to you pack instead of pulling it up? Likely doesnt have to be too elaborate to just get up/down the tree.
Click to expand...
I have clipped it to my arse while climbing before. Not the most comfortable thing but beats icy sights or icy cams.
 
My haul line is attached to my riser, rather than limbs. Bow travels up and down laying horizontal instead of upright. Helps keep tips and also cams from hitting the ground.
 
I take care of my stuff, ask anyone who's bought stuff from me lol. BUT, snow and equipment doesn't bother me... Take the time to inspect everything prior to hunting, and if possible draw the bow as well! If I don't have a pack on, I've used the Mathews SCS bowsling to keep it on my back, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
 
bowhunthard88 said:
I take care of my stuff, ask anyone who's bought stuff from me lol. BUT, snow and equipment doesn't bother me... Take the time to inspect everything prior to hunting, and if possible draw the bow as well! If I don't have a pack on, I've used the Mathews SCS bowsling to keep it on my back, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
Click to expand...
Does that SCS sling work with all of their newer models ?
 
I have a really soft bristle brush from Lowa boots that I use to clean my bow when it's dirty (usually cams....i'll run it under warm water and brush it and then blow it dry and set it in a good place to dry).

If I had a bad issue with snow and mud on my bow, I'd be tempted to pack a similar brush and use it to clean my bow off in the stand. I think I'd be set between that and making a little mat of vegetation to set the bow on when getting started to pull it up the tree.
 
Laying it in your pack of perhaps better strapping to the pack is the simplest way to go.

Depending on how big your bow is a big pillow case can use you can lay on the ground might work. Also the pillow case can double as a meat bag for packing out your meat.

In preset trees., I use my pull down rope to pull up my weapons. Simply tie the attachment point so the bow can't touch the ground it in case you drop the rope when lowering the rope, it doesn't hit the ground.
...


When dealing with snow, it will only stick to the bow if the bow is warm. So unless you barely fall out of the truck to hunt, your bow except for where you were holding it on the way in should be the only place it will stick. You can brush what gets on for bow off easily.
 
Last edited:
Secure it to your pack when you ascend/descend, clear out a spot at the base of your tree before you climb to lower back down onto when you’re done hunting, clip it onto your saddle. All have positives and negatives. I just blow the snow off mine and make sure to blow it off really well when I get home and oil it before stowing it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top