Saddle Tree Setup Discussion

[SNIPERBBB]

talking about bad winds...

spot behind my house where I take one or two every year is a classic example of a "bad wind" setup. I have no way to hunt the place where I can get downwind of the deer. But...I have a spot where I can hunt parrellel to the wind so its not blowing into the approach of the deer unless it comes out of the north at all. So if you can get to spots like this where you dont have to cross the approaches/bedding areas on the way to the stand site, you can still hunt bad winds.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I have several "real strong" spots that are only good for an easterly wind direction. A couple are due to how I need to approach the spot and some are just laid out such that the evening thermals will certainly draw that way. I only go into those spots (and any other post I'm for that matter) when the wind in favorable for them.

@Silvio has repetitively made the case that bucks are more susceptible to being taken on east winds due to their relative rarity and the bucks not having sets for east breezes. I've attached a link to a podcast with @Silvio by Exodus Outdoor Gear. It's a bit of a long podcast but I found it interesting. There's also an abbreviated version if the first is too long.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

worst part of saddle hunting....only thing I don't like really.....is that your 6 is not covered by the tree so deer can sneak up on you in that direction and see you itching your nose because you didn't see them coming....when i'm set up on wet/quiet days where a deer could approach my 6 it is kind of stressful......i sometimes bring a small plastic mirror or wear a rower's cap mirror on my hat

do we need saddle mirrors or those glass that had rear view mirrors on them?

 

[woodsdog2]

I too think this is an interesting thread. Kudo's to the OP for posting it. I like to see how other guys approach different scenarios. I too also prefer a crosswind scenario.

I have a few questions. Not sure what you mean by "capture" the movement. Deer movement or Your movement? also crowding to the east? Do you mean Your body position on the tree or the tree position to the trail? Are you RH or LH?

Also on different note are you having much success on that "almost" bad wind?. The reason I ask is that I found some spots w/ tons of sign where I'm going to have to do this. Cutting it really close on a N wind but that's the only wind that we often get here that will work. Any kind of east wind will work but we rarely get it in the fall.

I’m thinking of a particular area but I wrote that trying to apply it to several areas. My answer to your most primary question regarding the almost bad wind is: “The jury is still out.”

Season before last I had started to set up in several of my spots with the wind almost bad and had more overall bigger buck sightings. One shooter came in at just past last legal shooting light still pre rut and I thought for sure he was going to wind me. He came from the south, in a gorge/ravine where they bed, on a north-northeasterly wind. He stopped to my east at about 6 yards. I used to always not hunt that unless the wind was coming from the south (from the ridge) but never saw anything big early season on a pattern of movement in that spot before I started using a “bad” wind.

“Crowding” to the east in that last post is due to a steep ravine and a highway that converge. The draw/ravine runs north ~south the highway runs east~west. Basically that “corner” where the ravine and highway meet is what I snugging up to to capture as much movement from bed to feed as possible. The deer mostly move to the west of that steep ravine/ highway convergence.Last season, I had a small forky follow the plan but the bigguns weren’t complying. I hope this makes sense.

 

[woodsdog2]

And I’ll add to my last post that when the apples are dropping I have a few pics of a very nice wide shooter on multiple days heading from bed to feed to those apples and the corn/ag fields with enough shooting light left on a tail wind. So coming from the north on a northerly wind.

So I sigh and scratch my head…….

 

[raisins]

do we need saddle mirrors or those glass that had rear view mirrors on them?

actually, @Nutterbuster told me about a hat mirror, and I use it sometimes when I think I have a high chance of being snuck up on by a deer

it's one that rowers use to look behind them, sounds goofy but it's cheap and works

https://www.amazon.com/Coxmate-Sculler-Mirror-for-Rowing/dp/B01HMLF0PO

I've mod'd it so that I can use a larger binder clip to easily move it from hat to hat....as is you have to really push it on there....the binder clip improves it

 

[tailgunner]

So dope....i mean my dudes already said it all.boyne is a pimp at this

 

[woodsdog2]

And I’ll add to my last post that when the apples are dropping I have a few pics of a very nice wide shooter on multiple days heading from bed to feed to those apples and the corn/ag fields with enough shooting light left on a tail wind. So coming from the north on a northerly wind.

So I sigh and scratch my head…….

To add to this post, I almost connected with that wide shooter the year before last hitting the apples coming from the north on a northerly wind, while the apples were still dropping. I sat up on a step ladder in a corn field that runs about 25 to 50 yards from the wooded edge that buck was following to the apples. As I said he bedded on private across the road from where I hunt from the north. At last light he and a tall spiker were running together a lot early season(we can’t hunt until Oct.1st.). He didn’t care which way the wind was from but a cold front set in and it was making them hit food earlier in my opinion. Anyway, he used a lane along a public spot between the woods and cultivated grape rows to get to the apples. All the apples and ag are to the south so he would head south along that lane for about a hundred yards and it then opens up to a small grass field triangle and then the corn. I figured he would hit the apples, then the grass then the corn. Nope! The day I planned the ambush he came along that same lane from the north between the grape rows and the public woods line, hit the apples and continued southerly to that grassy triangle. I was waiting about 50 yards away in my stepladder in the corn. I had circled around everything and came from the south to take advantage of the northerly, northeasterly wind. The sun was low in the western sky to my back as I was facing east. First came the tall spiker them that wide shooter. My plan worked! I started to get real excited….. of course instead of heading west to continue to feed in the grass and the corn like the other deer, he follows his stupid spiker buddy back into the woods directly to the east and away from me. Grrr! Almost!!

 

[Weldabeast]

I love it when I can find big live oaks that branch out low to the ground in an area with high deer sign...9 times outta 10 u can get into the crotch and u don't need any type of platform or ROS. I know this is kinda a regional thing but maybe others have similar shaped trees where they live.... When I'm on the ground looking at a potential spot to climb up to I'm looking at a couple things. in no particular order..... first is if I'm gonna have good cover. I move around way to much so I want as much cover as I can get without being too obstructed. If u can cut then cut u out a hole to hide. I can't cut so don't carry nibblers...if I can't break it by hand then I have various lengths of rope I can throw over limbs and tie them back. Second is which way the lean is going and where that lean is gonna make me land when rappelling down at the end of the sit. This kinda dictates how I'm gonna climb the tree. I might have to climb down a certain distance before rappelling or I may have to rotate a certain direction while going up or down. I really like it when I'm able to use branches as "ROS"... Set the platform at the same level as a branch or 2 allowing u to have lots of foot/standing options. Another thing that I keep in mind that isn't necessarily a make or break on a tree but try to keep the suns direction in mind....that perfect tree isn't so perfect as u getting roasted and blinded by the sun. I have kicked myself in the butt a couple times as I'm getting cooked and I would have been fine if I had just set up a different tree 20yds away....luckily it's real easy to relocate with saddle gear. The last deer I killed was with my bow in a palm tree and I was maybe 10 feet off the ground. Good cover and slow movements

 

[Weldabeast]

U can see the sun glint off a broadhead at 100 yards

 

[MattMan81]

So dope....i mean my dudes already said it all.boyne is a pimp at this

If he wasn't hunting northern Michigan looking for a "big" deer. No doubt He would be downing some nice ones every year.

 

[1simplemann]

I’m thinking of a particular area but I wrote that trying to apply it to several areas. My answer to your most primary question regarding the almost bad wind is: “The jury is still out.”

Season before last I had started to set up in several of my spots with the wind almost bad and had more overall bigger buck sightings. One shooter came in at just past last legal shooting light still pre rut and I thought for sure he was going to wind me. He came from the south, in a gorge/ravine where they bed, on a north-northeasterly wind. He stopped to my east at about 6 yards. I used to always not hunt that unless the wind was coming from the south (from the ridge) but never saw anything big early season on a pattern of movement in that spot before I started using a “bad” wind.

“Crowding” to the east in that last post is due to a steep ravine and a highway that converge. The draw/ravine runs north ~south the highway runs east~west. Basically that “corner” where the ravine and highway meet is what I snugging up to to capture as much movement from bed to feed as possible. The deer mostly move to the west of that steep ravine/ highway convergence.Last season, I had a small forky follow the plan but the bigguns weren’t complying. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the clarification. Now it makes sense. Did he ever bust you?

 

[tailgunner]

U can see the sun glint off a broadhead at 100 yards

Cant see 100 yards in western oregon



But lots of branches to climb up stand on and cover you off to the side of the trails of course.

 

[1simplemann]

I love it when I can find big live oaks that branch out low to the ground in an area with high deer sign...9 times outta 10 u can get into the crotch and u don't need any type of platform or ROS. I know this is kinda a regional thing but maybe others have similar shaped trees where they live.... When I'm on the ground looking at a potential spot to climb up to I'm looking at a couple things. in no particular order..... first is if I'm gonna have good cover. I move around way to much so I want as much cover as I can get without being too obstructed. If u can cut then cut u out a hole to hide. I can't cut so don't carry nibblers...if I can't break it by hand then I have various lengths of rope I can throw over limbs and tie them back. Second is which way the lean is going and where that lean is gonna make me land when rappelling down at the end of the sit. This kinda dictates how I'm gonna climb the tree. I might have to climb down a certain distance before rappelling or I may have to rotate a certain direction while going up or down. I really like it when I'm able to use branches as "ROS"... Set the platform at the same level as a branch or 2 allowing u to have lots of foot/standing options. Another thing that I keep in mind that isn't necessarily a make or break on a tree but try to keep the suns direction in mind....that perfect tree isn't so perfect as u getting roasted and blinded by the sun. I have kicked myself in the butt a couple times as I'm getting cooked and I would have been fine if I had just set up a different tree 20yds away....luckily it's real easy to relocate with saddle gear. The last deer I killed was with my bow in a palm tree and I was maybe 10 feet off the ground. Good cover and slow movementsView attachment 101984

I find it interesting the disparity between the regions guys hunt. For me, shade would never be a a consideration. Also the your tree selection options are completely different. I would never consider hunting 10' high but if that all you got then you have to make it work. You mention leaners and how you would descend and that is also not a consideration for me. However how tree lean is. I like hunting leaning trees. Very comfy for me. Several years a found this sneaky little funnel that I never knew about. Been all around there but never actually stepped there. It was a dip or "saddle" in long brush lined dune w/ trees. One one side was bedding area that deer like to use when its windy. I picked out a tree. A leaner. Great cover. A slam dunk strong side shot 17 yds from where 3 trails intersected. Also great observation tree. Perfect right? Wrong! I set up one Nov AM. Lot of activity. However because of the lean, I was forced to set up on the high side. My 6 was at one of the approach trails. I was focused a bunch of deer activity out in a meadow out in front of me 100-200 yds away instead of focusing on my kill area to my right. Anyway, I look down to my right and there is a big doe. Never heard or saw her coming. She didn't know what I was but she definitely saw my head movement but she didn't bolt. Good cover saved me. I look behind her and there was a big old buck at 35 yds. She was at 20yds. She was little skittish so she wandered off to 60-75 yds and bedded down in that bedding area. She took him with her. He bedded next to her for the next hour. The whole time she stared at me. Her eyes could have burned a hole through me. She had me pegged. After an hour, a big half rack buck came from the W. The 2 bucks fought and the half rack won! However after it was all over, all the deer left the area. That encounter was what led me to start rethinking how I position myself in a tree. The main trails Deer could come from were W, NE, and S. I had my back to the NE. The "Field of play" was mostly behind me. I was so focused on that leaning tree, with great cover and that strong side shot that I never considered the other 2 trees 5 yds away. Less cover but at least facing the right direction so I could monitor deer movement. Now I try to keep the "Field of play in front of me.

 

[Weldabeast]

The lean during the hunt isn't the issue.... Rappelling down and having to land with sticks going up ur butt is the issue hahahaha....try to never pee off the low side of a leaner....I've giving myself a golden shower or 2 rappelling down thru some leaves I watered earlier hahahaha

 

[Weldabeast]

Cant see 100 yards in western oregon



But lots of branches to climb up stand on and cover you off to the side of the trails of course.View attachment 101990

I definitely did not think u were gonna post that same old boring pic again as soon as I posted.....hahaha

And if u think I'm being serious about the sun shining off a broadhead u just obviously ain't no lone wolf

 

[kbetts]

I'm not worried about my 6 position. It's not hard to take a peak every now and then. I slide the tether to my right which allows more range of motion to the back side. As you can see, a platform can limit your motion. That's why I prefer the ROS.

I'm not climbing anything like a @tailgunner tree. Looks nearly impossible to shoot through.

 

[woodsdog2]

Thanks for the clarification. Now it makes sense. Did he ever bust you?

I’m not sure. If he did bust me, it wasn’t because of the wind, it was due to my egress from the spot after last light. Seeing nothing and having everything else go by me without spooking I waited and waited and then as I finally climbed down and was packing up……. I hear a very slight and subtle blow and then the very faint sounds of a deer walking off. From the suspected location where the bucks come to enter the property I’m hunting……….

 

[BTaylor]

I'm not worried about my 6 position. It's not hard to take a peak every now and then. I slide the tether to my right which allows more range of motion to the back side. As you can see, a platform can limit your motion. That's why I prefer the ROS.

I'm not climbing anything like a @tailgunner tree. Looks nearly impossible to shoot through.

How high are you in that pic?

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I love it when I can find big live oaks that branch out low to the ground in an area with high deer sign...9 times outta 10 u can get into the crotch and u don't need any type of platform or ROS. I know this is kinda a regional thing but maybe others have similar shaped trees where they live.... When I'm on the ground looking at a potential spot to climb up to I'm looking at a couple things. in no particular order..... first is if I'm gonna have good cover. I move around way to much so I want as much cover as I can get without being too obstructed. If u can cut then cut u out a hole to hide. I can't cut so don't carry nibblers...if I can't break it by hand then I have various lengths of rope I can throw over limbs and tie them back. Second is which way the lean is going and where that lean is gonna make me land when rappelling down at the end of the sit. This kinda dictates how I'm gonna climb the tree. I might have to climb down a certain distance before rappelling or I may have to rotate a certain direction while going up or down. I really like it when I'm able to use branches as "ROS"... Set the platform at the same level as a branch or 2 allowing u to have lots of foot/standing options. Another thing that I keep in mind that isn't necessarily a make or break on a tree but try to keep the suns direction in mind....that perfect tree isn't so perfect as u getting roasted and blinded by the sun. I have kicked myself in the butt a couple times as I'm getting cooked and I would have been fine if I had just set up a different tree 20yds away....luckily it's real easy to relocate with saddle gear. The last deer I killed was with my bow in a palm tree and I was maybe 10 feet off the ground. Good cover and slow movementsView attachment 101984

This reminds of my younger days hunting in the late 70's or early 80's. There were no tree stands available and we sat in trees we could climb. Trees that had large crotchs to get into were coveted, not only for the cover but for the relative "comfort" they afforded. For us though they seemed to be beech more so than oaks.

My first deer with a bow I was 6 feet up standing on the top of a cut tree stump nestled back into the remaining two trunks. While I prefer to be up there around the 20-30ft height to improve my visibility and shot clearance if possible, I'll readily give that up in favor of best available cover. One of the areas I hunt was select cut about 6 years ago. Climbable trees are spaced pretty open with about 10 yd radii around them and thick beech scrub growing in the gaps. Most of these trees are simply "telephone poles" and getting up very far turns me into a transformer on one of them. However, If I climb just to the top of the beech scrub, 8-10 ft, I can blend my lower body into it while still being able to shoot over it into the trails that weave through the cut.