Anybody gone back to mobile stands?

[Topdog]

My first commercially made tree stand was in 1992, I had a new neighbor who had just moved up from Long Island to Upstate NY, he had disposable income and gave me that stand, I didn’t have disposable income, Alumi Lock AL50 I believe, it weighed nothing and was tiny, I cut the safety harness up and made back pack straps for it, I had a $5 fanny pack strapped to it with 12 of the cheapest screw in steps you could buy, my bow pull up rope was old bailing twine, I killed everything that moved with that setup for many years, the tips on the screw ins were just about gone when I got done with that stuff, I killed the biggest buck on the road that year with my new free stand and one button buck with my bow, I had to walk to where I hunted from home. By the next year, half this town had AL 50 stands strapped on… it’s funny how that stuff works…

 

[parkersdad]

I use a beast stand. But I wouldn't think twice about grabbing a LWCG either.

I currently own two JX3 Hybrid’s, a lone wolf alpha, a Lone Wolf sit and climb, a Lone Wolf hand climber, a loc on wind walker and backpack, and a summit viper. The problem with having so many stands is trying to figure out which one to use that week.


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[Vtbow]

I hunted with an original windwalker for many years prior to learning about "saddle" hunting. 5 LW mini sticks side stacked(which i still don't know why more people don't do it) Funny thing is, I've always wore a RCH and had a tether with a prussik fir adjustment. I'd stand, lean, sit, whatever. Pretty much was doing what everyone is now calling "hybrid". I've hunted out of a saddle for almost 5 years now...and pretty much every style in that period.

I find the WW with the pack and RCH paired with my woodpecker drill and 8 bolts to be the most solid, versatile and reliable setup I've ever used. And, if I end up hunting from the ground, it doesnt suck toting it around the woods all day. Small tree on the edge of a marsh I just want to get 5ft up in, standard 18' setup, even setup un a natural ground blind, or blow down...it all works.

There was a time I kept trying to reinvent the wheel for no reason(i still do the same with camping shelters), but I have come 90% full circle. I'm still a gear head, but I evaluate and think A LOT before I buy these days. It's all time in the woods for me know , and I don't want tobe spending the night before going through gear, repacking bags, etc. I want to grab a system and go, regardless of where I go and weather. There is a lot of value in the WW setup and being able to do that.

 

[Aeds151]

Climbed a mountain with my Titan SD yesterday. Zipped up a pine and had my spread already set up attached to rail (bow holder, water bottle/holder, bow hauler spool/reel and everything else (call, snacks, first aid, kill kit, dry shirt, hand gun all in surplus field pouch/pack on side ready to go. Took a nice long nap after that haul if you know what I mean.


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[KYHunter]

I don't even mind having lots of nice things, lol.

Would I trade some of them for time afield...if it were so simple, yes...but that's not a thing.

Frankly, the pinnacle of deer hunting adventure to me would entail a single lengthly stretch of tracking deer on snow on big public w/ rifle or flintlock in hand. Family and friends in camp, better still. No stand or chair necessary.

But I make the most of my current patchwork of odds and ends and weekend hunts on smaller lots, primarily bowhunting. The .5 isn't the best tool for every scenario I encounter, but it's very good almost all the time.

Well said sir. Our pinnacles sound about the same as well

 

[KYHunter]

I mentioned early about a picture. Stand with 4 Shikars w/aiders, saddle and ropes. Bag under seat has stick straps, pruners, gear hanger, pull up rope and 2 versa straps.
Easily removable Eberlestock bow-bucket rounds off the setup for long walks

 

[KYHunter]

 

[Nutterbuster]

Would I trade some of them for time afield...if it were so simple, yes...but that's not a thing.

I'm extremely fortunate that deliberate intent has miraculously lined up with random events beyond my control and I now more or less can make the call to make time, or make money.

It was a living hell for me working jobs where, regardless of whether or not there was something for you to do, you were locked in to your time or you risked not just this pay period's compensation, but future ones. They were cool paying me to do literally nothing, but I had to sit there and do nothing.

I get that most people are stuck there and are more or less happy about it. I guess if you have to put in the time to make the money, and you're making beyond what you need to live...it makes more sense to spend the surplus.

Just talking about it is making me depressed.

 

[Plebe]

I'm extremely fortunate that deliberate intent has miraculously lined up with random events beyond my control and I now more or less can make the call to make time, or make money.

It was a living hell for me working jobs where, regardless of whether or not there was something for you to do, you were locked in to your time or you risked not just this pay period's compensation, but future ones. They were cool paying me to do literally nothing, but I had to sit there and do nothing.

I get that most people are stuck there and are more or less happy about it. I guess if you have to put in the time to make the money, and you're making beyond what you need to live...it makes more sense to spend the surplus.

Just talking about it is making me depressed.

Don't waste the time you got being depressed. You're the guy that can have a lot of fun in 72 hrs.

Some people love their work. Some people love their other responsibilities. Sometimes those things are simply put, necessary.

We're on the forum because we all love hunting.

It's cool you've got a largely open book on that last point.

But...I bet a new hunting gear purchase could cure that creeping depression. Why not a .5, or similar

 

[BuffaloBill]

I keep talking about getting a hand climber and lock on, but in reality my solution to encountering a hunting spot that I cant hunt with a saddle or from the ground is simple.

Hunt somewhere else.

There are literally millions of places I can deer hunt. Millions more places I can hunt for fowl and small game and turkey and predators. Still millions more places where I can catch fish.

I've moved on from the scarcity mindset. I don't need more crap so I can do a thing. I need more time to do the things, and money=time. The less money I spend, the more time I have

Hock some stuff. Then you’re just trading time for time. That’s how I usually justify buying something more on the expensive side.

 

[Nutterbuster]

Yeah, I've drifted off on a tangent.

I will say that I believe the new offerings definitely call into question the superiority of saddles, especially since saddle setups often jump the shark. It blows my mind when I see people wirh 20+lb saddle setups. Back bands, knee pads, a way up the tree, a separate way down the tree, a 2nd linemans rope, etc.

If you move around a lot and walk a lot, saddles make sense. If you don't, I think there's not much advantage outside of the signal they send. Most hunters probably can get by fine with something else.

Tree selection is a wash. Sometimes a stand will be better, sometimes a saddle will be better. Whichever you have, you can probably make stuff happen. Safety I believe is more up to the individual using the tool than the tool, so that's a wash.

 

[Nohvah]

#1stk4lyfe #easternwoods #ultimateplatform #cruzrxc

 

[okccj]

I think this is a personal choice, like many, if not most, things in life.
Personally, I enjoy the act of hunting hanging from the tree in a saddle and I feel safer hunting from saddle compared to a hang-on.

Deer were killed before either method and will be killed with whatever the next generation hunting style is.

 

[Jeremy_D]

This is my 4th year in a saddle. I love everything about it but If I cant figure out how to get my knees more comfortable being smashed into the tree Im going to look at a stand next year.

 

[Bogle]

I use both. Truthfully, I use what ever I think I need to, to kill a deer. I find a LocOn more versatile, andi like being able to simply lift my bow up and shoot while sitting, However, I hunt out of a saddle most of them time as I like having the tree between myself and the deer.

 

[parkersdad]

Playing devils advocate. For the guys saying, they went back to a tree stand, if you hunted from a JX3 Hybrid and had no knee pressure would you come back to a saddle?


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[KYHunter]

Playing devils advocate. For the guys saying, they went back to a tree stand, if you hunted from a JX3 Hybrid and had no knee pressure would you come back to a saddle?


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Never tried a JX3 but it wasn’t the knee pressure that sent me back to the treestand

 

[Vtbow]

Playing devils advocate. For the guys saying, they went back to a tree stand, if you hunted from a JX3 Hybrid and had no knee pressure would you come back to a saddle?


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Thats my current saddle I own paired with my windwalker....

 

[parkersdad]

Thats my current saddle I own paired with my windwalker....

Do you still use the hybrid or do you prefer the Windwalker?


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[Aeds151]

Playing devils advocate. For the guys saying, they went back to a tree stand, if you hunted from a JX3 Hybrid and had no knee pressure would you come back to a saddle?


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I have a jx3 as well. Only keeping it for hanging at ground level during gun rut. I have owned for 2 prior seasons and out of all the hang ons, climbers, rch/fleece, aero hunter flex, tethrd mantis, the jx3 is the only one i cant for the life of me shoot a bow from and has been my biggest let down gear so far. Im too stubborn to give it up though.


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