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How did you get started with saddle hunting?

Well my journey has been expensive to say the least. I started with buying a quietkat ambush to go back into the area I was hunting...my closest stand location is 3 miles from the parking lot. I would tie my cart on the back and place all my gear, pack, twisted timber treestand, climbing sticks on the back and place my crossbow on my back and ride out. It was nuts trying to get all my gear through the brush. So I started looking. Fast foward to last year...I found the tetherd site...did some research and did the plunge. One tethered predator stand, saddle, and then one kestrel and then one flex later I'm done. Sold all my stands, the earlier saddles and only kept the flex. I don't want to count up what I've spent.
 
I was driving down the freeway after listening to a john eberhart podcast. I looked over and saw a truck lined with deer prints and an a saddlehunter hanging from a tree. Then I saw tethrd and came into realization that that was the company they were just talking about. Turns out Ernie was bombin down the freeway in his truck. Little did I know tethrd was blowing up in his basement about 20 minutes from my house. I was sold. I ordered a complete kit and couldn't be happier.

It was cool to meet ernie and val and see behind the scenes. They work their tails off and have ALOT going on. Seeing their operation gave me even more respect for tethrd. Big shout out to Mikey...you dont hear his name much but hes probably packed up 95% of the orders everyone has. He does a phenomenal job managing all the product.
 
I'd heard about saddle hunting from my dad who knew who John Eberhart was. I thought "Well the tactics are obviously brilliant but I'm not gonna hunt with that goofie saddle thing on, that thing looks ridiculous. It's probably not safe, you're facing the tree. How would you shoot out of it? Stupid!" Kept hunting out of my ladder stand and long story short I spooked a nice buck away because my ladder stand moved when I was going to pull back on him. I said F*** TREE STANDS! Lugging around this stupid climber and setting up the stupid hang on. I was just done. I thought back to that Eberhart guy my dad had mentioned in passing.

Listened to a few podcasts, watched a few videos on how you shoot out of it, how safe it was etc. I was blown away at how mobile it could be and I was sold. Bought one in January, this is my first season hunting out of one and it's been great so far. It would be better if I bag a buck out of it.
 
I thought I was original and told my buddy I had an idea to hunt out of an arborist saddle. He said "why don't you just buy a used throphyline saddle?" That was about 6 years ago, from there to here has been quite the journey.
 
Eberhart’s books turned me on to a saddle when I decided I was going to hunt mature animals. I hated every aspect of my summit except the comfort. Bought a used greens mid season. Played with it and strap-on steps as a climbing system for the remainder of the season. Read everything I could here. Got an evo the following offseason and when opening day of the 15’ season came and I had a system figured out I officially joined saddlehunter.


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Pretty much like everyone else, got tired of hauling a climber through brush and setting up multiple stands in different properties, only to have some stolen by thieves (yes even on private land). Man dad was listening to me bitch one day and he said why don't you try and find something more portable than your climber which led me to saddles and that's all she wrote. Never going back.
 
I hired a tree removal service to drop a few big oaks in my backyard. They were way too big for me to deal with on my own without killing my neighbors. I watched the guys climb up and down the trees like it was nothing. As I was watching, I thought "I need to get one of those harnesses for hunting." When searching for arborist harnesses on the internet I came across this site. I researched all my options and ordered a Kestrel. Haven;t lugged a climber or sat in in a ladder stand since.
 
I haven't started yet. I guess that's where all of you on this forum come in.
 
Watched some of Eberhart's videos on scent control and through that learned about saddle hunting for the first time. I knew right away it fit my husband and my hunting style. (I was packing a big summit last year.) Never thought I'd have a saddle by this season but I'm so glad. We sold all of our stands. I love this style of hunting, not looking back.

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Mine's a back and forth story. Frustrated with a noisy home assembled Total Shooting Systems (TSS) climber with just a strap you wrapped around the tree for the "hand climber" part In the mid to late 1980's, I went to a hunting show with my cousin and we both purchased an Advantage Sporting Products climbing/harness system. Like a said in one of my previous posts, this was my first harness/swiss seat type system and although I used it, even then I didn't like having to drill all the holes in the tree to get up and down and back out. I went on to hang-ons (Loc-On LEM's) and home made stands and then I tried and liked the TreeSuits when they came out but climbing systems were still pretty heavy and noisy and by that time the better climbing tree stands started to come out... Summit's, Ole Man's, API's etc. and then my buddy acquired a nice piece of private property and we went to ladder stands and shooting houses. However, after several years we started to notice the bigger bucks were getting less and less day oriented so I wanted to start hunting other properties and state land to keep the pressure off. I didn't want to lug my Summit Viper around so I started researching tree slings and I had purchased Eberhart's book when it first came out and videos and so I thought I'd finally start looking into that type of system again. I think I referenced the Anderson Tree Sling or something like that and I eventually came upon this site. I don't know why I didn't just start hunting using the TreeSuit again it just never really occurred to me. Plus, since the evolution seemed to warp light years ahead in a few short years and all of the DIY people and mods, I wanted to jump back into this and I ordered a Mantis last year. Anyway, I'm really thankful for this site and all of you who contribute your knowledge and experiences. Truly amazing stuff to make hunting from trees quicker, easier and safer than ever before... and the tech. is still evolving. I just read a post the other day of a gentleman designing hunting pants with an integrated saddle. I make the TSS climber sound bad but really it was ahead of its time. Does anyone remember the TSS "Quadraflex" bow that they came out with? I lusted after that bow so bad when I was a teen bowhunter but couldn't afford it and my Parents would have killed me for buying a bow that expensive then. Wow was that bow ahead of its time though. I believe they had the first "split limbs" on a machined riser that was rubber coated. Surely I digress back into memory lane. But bar none, the equipment coming out now is so far ahead of the junk from the past with some exceptions (Bitzenburger Fletching Jigs) Easton Aluminum XX75 arrows, many trad bows etc. Sorry for the long winded response!!
 
Saw an ad in a hunting magazine years ago for the trophyline that first sparked my interest and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Did some research but the idea faded pretty quickly and just kept hunting with my millennium treestands. Fast forward to 2016 when I decided to go back to school for machining and right around the same time fatefully discovered DIY Sportsman on youtube. Watching videos online and now having access and the knowledge to make a lot of this cool stuff on my own really lit the fire. Been hunting out of a saddle for 4 seasons now and have had more success with it than the last decade combined!
 
Natural progression for me. I hunted private with a rifle when I came of age and could hunt on my own. Then public with a rifle. Then I went to Afghanistan and came back and realized a bow would extend my season by about 3 months.

Once I got a bow I went all public. Then I had a ladder stand stolen. So I started carrying a climber in and back out again. That sucked.

So I switched to a hang on stand with sticks. One trip in with a 25+ lb hang on and sticks that were 4-6 lbs a piece sucked, so I'd hang a stand and take the bottom two sticks out with me.

But then I'm stuck in one tree....

I actually took the net seat off my saddle and used a rock climbing harness with it around 2 years ago when I went through a high angle rescue school for the military. I thought for a brief minute I actually INVENTED saddle hunting. Then I started googling, found the sit drag. Realized I'm stumbled onto an old idea and here we are! Now I run an H2 and single stick and rappel down. I really feel like I'd still be using crappy sticks and hang ons if I hadn't been through that course and then found this site.
 
In the 70s I DIY climbing stands out of aluminum storm doors. I don’t know how I am alive today, never the first thought for safety. Last year I went to riding a bike on public. Carrying a Summit Viper on my back and my pack on the bike rack. The straps would dig into my shoulders ever time I hit anything. There had to be a better way to hunt public. YouTube was a great resource to learn new ideas. I’m not going to mention anyone in particular. I must have watched them all dozens of times. Everyone kept referring to this site. I started visiting and enjoyed all the threads. I did not join for a long time, but finally jumped in. My saddle hunting experience so far this season is Great. I will not go back to a climber or other method. My wife bought me my Summit one Christmas. Although it may not be used I could never part with it. Thanks Saddle Hunters!
 
A few years ago I had purchased some property surrounded by Shawnee Wilderness Area. I had 2 fixed tree stands and a Loggy Bayou climber. After watching on several occasions, Deer slipping across from my property crossing a gravel road that separates my property from the SWA, I decided that I needed to hunt the "Public Land" SWA that was available to me because I suspected that is where the bedding area is for these bucks. My climber is way to heavy and cumbersome to hike these mountains as they are fairly steep as many of you know. I started searching for lightweight climbers and somehow stumbled into saddle hunting. Watched a lot of Youtube vids and found SH.com. I just purchased the WEI Run N' Gun 10 step package, and completed the mod of the sit drag just last night. Next weekend it's on baby! It's going to be a hunt/scout excursion. If I have success I will report to y'all. Good Luck to all this season!
 
When I was young I hunted presets and got tired of seeing deer but not being able to get to them. Saved money and bought a climber, which was definitely better. However, after joining the Air Force I had to start hunting public and I quickly learned to head deep, which Sucked!! Moved to a Millenium lock on and some Muddy Pros, and that sucked even more, sold those at a huge loss, and the ln realized maybe a guy who is 145 lbs isn’t meant to lug 30+ lbs worth of crap around. Had the third kid and kinda got out of hunting for a few seasons. Between three girls, the Air Force (my wife and I are both enlisted, so they get us twice over), and my other hobby (long distance running), I faded away from the stand. Now my youngest is 4 and this year I told my wife I felt like I was missing something, just didn’t feel whole, kinda like I had lost something when I stopped hunting. That day she told me to get the stuff (literally everything, I had sold all my bows including my target rigs) and go get some deers (she insists there needs to be an s on the end) meat. I think I ordered my mantis and everything either that day or the day after. I passed on four deer so far this year, and am almost regretting it now as I haven’t seen much in the last week.

-Chuck
 
I cussed my summit viper that last time I took it out. I killed my back when sitting in it and having to lug it back out of the woods. So when I saw videos on the kestrel, I got one, used it a few times , I am not going back to a hang on again.
 
I got back into hunting after being out of it for almost 10 years.

Setup one ladder stand, which was very difficult given I don't have an ATV or anything and had to carry the thing out there over 1/2 a mile. Started doing some research on other options and just came across saddle hunting.

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My brother and hunting partner passed away and he always wanted to try it. So I figured I’d try it. I wasn’t expecting too much out of it. Turns out I won’t be hunting in stands anymore.
 
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I went to a yard sale and found a boson chair and thought this could work for hunting out of!! Researched about what I needed found saddlehunter.com and down the rabbit hole we continue to go!!!!!! Best thing I have done for my bad back! It is hard to beat my first saddle made out of the boson chair but my GW and fleece saddle get their fair share of use!!!
 
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