Back to Hang On Stand

[JSEXTON23]

Well, after 4 years of saddle hunting, I’ve decided to switch back to hunting out of a hang on next season. I have a sewing machine, and plan on sewing up a saddle at some point in the future, but for the moment I am making a change.

I have to say, it’s a weird thing. It seems so easy to allow your identity to become wrapped up in things you do. Even though all the opportunities I’ve had at deer the last 4 years has been from the ground, I’ve been a “saddlehunter”. It’s become dogma. I don’t like being dogmatic.

So, after lots of thought and analysis, I’ve decided to go back using a hang on. However, I will be taking with me lots that I’ve learned as a mobile hunter. I’ll be modifying a rch, probably sewing up a sitdrag, using my squirrel steps, and dreaming of ways to become more efficient.

I will say what has influenced my decision the most is my perceived movement in a saddle and having 2 blind spots at all times. I hunt public land exclusively, and don’t always have the luxury of knowing where deer are coming from. Having no eyes in the back of my head and a tree in front of me, I feel like I have likely missed deer walking past me. In no way am I blaming the saddle for my lack of success, but not seeing deer that are within eyesight is a huge factor. It broke my confidence and that is invaluable.

With that said, I’ll end this disparate rambling by saying I’ll still be around on this forum seeking knowledge, supporting the membership initiative, and lending my 2 cents wherever applicable.

 

[Vtbow]

Well, after 4 years of saddle hunting, I’ve decided to switch back to hunting out of a hang on next season. I have a sewing machine, and plan on sewing up a saddle at some point in the future, but for the moment I am making a change.

I have to say, it’s a weird thing. It seems so easy to allow your identity to become wrapped up in things you do. Even though all the opportunities I’ve had at deer the last 4 years has been from the ground, I’ve been a “saddlehunter”. It’s become dogma. I don’t like being dogmatic.

So, after lots of thought and analysis, I’ve decided to go back using a hang on. However, I will be taking with me lots that I’ve learned as a mobile hunter. I’ll be modifying a rch, probably sewing up a sitdrag, using my squirrel steps, and dreaming of ways to become more efficient.

I will say what has influenced my decision the most is my perceived movement in a saddle and having 2 blind spots at all times. I hunt public land exclusively, and don’t always have the luxury of knowing where deer are coming from. Having no eyes in the back of my head and a tree in front of me, I feel like I have likely missed deer walking past me. In no way am I blaming the saddle for my lack of success, but not seeing deer that are within eyesight is a huge factor. It broke my confidence and that is invaluable.

With that said, I’ll end this disparate rambling by saying I’ll still be around on this forum seeking knowledge, supporting the membership initiative, and lending my 2 cents wherever applicable.

So what stand ??

 

[JSEXTON23]

I’ve picked up a Lone Wolf Assault II. Perhaps at some point I’ll drop the coin on a Beast Stand once they come out, but I don’t know if I can justify the price for a couple pound weight penalty.

 

[Paraiso]

I have and use a climber, a hang-on and a saddle. They are only tools to give us an opportunity at deer. I have a few trees I hunt every year with a climber or a hang-on. Do what works for you in your area and keep at it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[JSEXTON23]

So what stand ??

Should I have considered something else? If that ghost had platform leveling I would have been all over it

 

[Vtbow]

Should I have considered something else? If that ghost had platform leveling I would have been all over it

It does not seat leveling, bit platform, yes.
I think you chose well. Solid quiet stand!

 

[JSEXTON23]

It does not seat leveling, bit platform, yes.
I think you chose well. Solid quiet stand!

Oh man!!! I looked at it quite a bit. Didn’t realize there was leveling! Hmmmm.... might have to sell this alpha ii I came into after getting my Assault ii.

 

[Close caller]

I’ve been saddle hunting for three years now and plan on using my lone wolf assault a lot more next season. I greatly prefer packing in and setting up my saddle but I move way too much in it. I am comfortable but I just find myself constantly moving. I’m still gonna use it when scout hunting but I plan on using my hang on lots more next year

 

[JSEXTON23]

I’ve been saddle hunting for three years now and plan on using my lone wolf assault a lot more next season. I greatly prefer packing in and setting up my saddle but I move way too much in it. I am comfortable but I just find myself constantly moving. I’m still gonna use it when scout hunting but I plan on using my hang on lots more next year

That is my experience as well. If I had to rank myb issues it would be 1. Having 2 blind spots and 2. I move too much.

My movement isn’t due to discomfort either. That’s one of the reasons I was so reluctant to switch. My saddle was way more comfortable, but it was probably such due to the fact that I had the freedom to move and relieve the cramps and stiffness experiences in stands. The other reason I was so reluctant to switch was the bulk of a treestand when compared to a platform. I don’t think it’s going to be a big issue however. And with a rch I can still face the tree on occasion and shoot more places around the tree.

 

[Bwhana]

I just read a blog by Greg Staggs along a similar thought plane, that was also a good reminder. At the end of the day, it is supposed to be about killing animals, and the stand or saddle is just a tool to get it done. Go with what works for you and kill on, there is no wrong way!

I Don't Know Who Needs to Hear This, But...

Author: Greg Staggs

www.wildedgeinc.com

 

[JSEXTON23]

I just read a blog by Greg Staggs along a similar thought plane, that was also a good reminder. At the end of the day, it is supposed to be about killing animals, and the stand or saddle is just a tool to get it done. Go with what works for you and kill on, there is no wrong way!

I Don't Know Who Needs to Hear This, But...

Author: Greg Staggs

www.wildedgeinc.com

That’s an excellent write up.

 

[Chickenhawk]

Amen! At the end of the day we are all hunters! Enjoy getting it done however it pleases you!

 

[Nutterbuster]

It has taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still in a saddle. Actually, it's taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still period! Sitting still while being aware of what's going on 360° around you is tough.

I have always gravitated towards smaller trees. On a small tree, your front view isnt blocked, and I find it very easy to turn my head and twist slightly at the waist to view directly behind me with little movement.

I can see how a big tree would make me lean towards a treestand. A big tree blocks a lot of your view from a saddle, and I have never been a "hide behind the trunk" guy. With a treestand, you put that blind spot behind you. You can't see the deer, but they can't see you either.

I personally find it easier to hunt and shoot 360° with a saddle setup. I'm fairly good at putting myself in the middle of deer. Problem with that is they could come from anywhere. I killed more deer from the 2 o'clock to 6 o'clock position this year than I did from the 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock position. I busted a coyote that snuck directly behind me, and was able to smoothly turn and shoot from my setup. Doubt I would have been able to make that move without being busted in a stand.

I say all that just to say I agree with your priorities, but have been able to make it work with a saddle in a way I don't think I could from a stand. Genuinely curious as to how you plan on eliminating blind spots with a treestand. Seems impossible to me, but I'd love to hear a fresh perspective.

You physically can't see 360° at once. That's the trade off we pay for pretty dope binocular vision and excellent depth perception. But you can cover about 190° without moving your head. The fringes are only good at picking up movement, but that's what's most important in my book. Turn your head, and now you can see 360° with a very slight movement.

Trees pose an issue. We cant see through them, so we have to look around them. Looking around something in front of you is pretty simple. Bob your head a few inches left and right. Looking around something that's behind you seems a bit tougher to me. You have to turn and bob. This is uncomfortable and requires more movement for me. You can't sustain it. So you move more and twist more. The whole time there is supposedly a deer just outside of your field of view, and you're squirming. Versus if the blind spot is in front of you, you can comfortably wait until whatever is in that blind spot steps out into view.

For me, it's much easier to be aware of my peripherals in a saddle than a treestand. No matter how I hunt, it's always in the back of my mind that a deer could be slipping past where I'm not looking. I try to always keep my head on a swivel, and am constantly looking side to side and twisting slightly to see behind me. I'm counting on the fact that I'm out of a deer's line of sight, they're moving and I'm still, and that I'm really not making that much movement. It seems to work.

You cant see everything all the time. To me a saddle facilitates the movement necessary to scan the woods. Of course, that movement may get you busted. But I'd rather be moving because I'm actively looking for deer than moving because I'm getting stiff and my butt is sore.

I do understand the clique thing. I'm just waiting for the "saddlehunterlife" stickers to start showing up on the "daddy'smoney" trucks. Sometimes the "thing" saddlehunting has become makes me want to go back to sitting on a stool.

Hunt however works. I'm not trying to keep you in a saddle or out of a treestand. I just think it's strange that you're switching for those particular reasons. I understand the movement issue more than the blind spot one.

I dunno. Thinking about this stuff sho' beats working though.

 

[JSEXTON23]

It has taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still in a saddle. Actually, it's taken me a lot of hours to get to where I can sit still period! Sitting still while being aware of what's going on 360° around you is tough.

I have always gravitated towards smaller trees. On a small tree, your front view isnt blocked, and I find it very easy to turn my head and twist slightly at the waist to view directly behind me with little movement.

I can see how a big tree would make me lean towards a treestand. A big tree blocks a lot of your view from a saddle, and I have never been a "hide behind the trunk" guy. With a treestand, you put that blind spot behind you. You can't see the deer, but they can't see you either.

I personally find it easier to hunt and shoot 360° with a saddle setup. I'm fairly good at putting myself in the middle of deer. Problem with that is they could come from anywhere. I killed more deer from the 2 o'clock to 6 o'clock position this year than I did from the 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock position. I busted a coyote that snuck directly behind me, and was able to smoothly turn and shoot from my setup. Doubt I would have been able to make that move without being busted in a stand.

I say all that just to say I agree with your priorities, but have been able to make it work with a saddle in a way I don't think I could from a stand. Genuinely curious as to how you plan on eliminating blind spots with a treestand. Seems impossible to me, but I'd love to hear a fresh perspective.

You physically can't see 360° at once. That's the trade off we pay for pretty dope binocular vision and excellent depth perception. But you can cover about 190° without moving your head. The fringes are only good at picking up movement, but that's what's most important in my book. Turn your head, and now you can see 360° with a very slight movement.

Trees pose an issue. We cant see through them, so we have to look around them. Looking around something in front of you is pretty simple. Bob your head a few inches left and right. Looking around something that's behind you seems a bit tougher to me. You have to turn and bob. This is uncomfortable and requires more movement for me. You can't sustain it. So you move more and twist more. The whole time there is supposedly a deer just outside of your field of view, and you're squirming. Versus if the blind spot is in front of you, you can comfortably wait until whatever is in that blind spot steps out into view.

For me, it's much easier to be aware of my peripherals in a saddle than a treestand. No matter how I hunt, it's always in the back of my mind that a deer could be slipping past where I'm not looking. I try to always keep my head on a swivel, and am constantly looking side to side and twisting slightly to see behind me. I'm counting on the fact that I'm out of a deer's line of sight, they're moving and I'm still, and that I'm really not making that much movement. It seems to work.

You cant see everything all the time. To me a saddle facilitates the movement necessary to scan the woods. Of course, that movement may get you busted. But I'd rather be moving because I'm actively looking for deer than moving because I'm getting stiff and my butt is sore.

I do understand the clique thing. I'm just waiting for the "saddlehunterlife" stickers to start showing up on the "daddy'smoney" trucks. Sometimes the "thing" saddlehunting has become makes me want to go back to sitting on a stool.

Hunt however works. I'm not trying to keep you in a saddle or out of a treestand. I just think it's strange that you're switching for those particular reasons. I understand the movement issue more than the blind spot one.

I dunno. Thinking about this stuff sho' beats working though.

I hear you Nutter. I think the blind spot in a tree stand is what it is. Like you said, and I've rationalized this very thing to myself, you can't see everywhere all the time. No matter what your mom used to tell you when you were a kid, she didn't have eyes in the back of her head. Now, that would be cool! That anxiety of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), is just something we have to get over.

And you may very well be right about minimal movement in a saddle to see behind you, the problem is a blind spot is still behind you and you are exposed on the back side in a saddle, and all the while, there is a blind spot in front of you as well. If I need to move in a stand to see behind me, I have some cover to make that movement. Or at least that is my thinking. I've actually been busted by a doe behind the tree while I was putting on face paint and I've been busted by deer coming from behind me as I face the tree trying to bob around it.

And shooting 360 around a tree with a stand and RCH is still very possible. That's my planned setup.

Who knows really. I might be wrong and I'm willing have the open mind to accept being wrong. The one thing I do know is that I have lost some degree of confidence. I'm still going to build a diy saddle and maybe pick up a platform in the future. Use both tools as I see fit. For now, I think a hang-on will be my method until I get fed up with packing it in. I might find, and this is the likely outcome, that is doesn't matter what method I'm using and that I just stink at hunting!

 

[btsnhos]

I use all three, my diy saddle is uncomfortable for long sits so I use it when I am venturing into the unknown. I use my lock on when I have prescouted and have a good tree setup usually with a small swamp or pond behind me, then I use my climber to find the thickest nastiest area possible and climb 40' up. They're all good for different things.

 

[elk yinzer]

I think as we continue to see more choice in mobile treestands I'll probably transition back in that direction. I'll keep the hybrid saddle setup with the ability to swing around the tree.

A legit mobile size (narrow) treestand with an integrated suspension that matches the ergonomic quality of western backpacks...I've been saying for years that's my white whale. I've been hunting this mobile public land fad since age 12 and the saddle game is great for what I do, but I miss some aspects of my treestand.

 

[EricS]

For me personally if I had to go to a hang on it would be a millennium m 100u. It’s not light but I can be still in it.

 

[Jefferson10940]

There is definitely not a hands down best way to kill deer! Use what ever you are comfortable with. With a stand you will still have the same problem of not being able to see behind you? Keep us updated on your hunts! Good luck

 

[elk yinzer]

One of the bigger factors for me is I've become picky about trees again. I got out of climbers in the first place to be able to hunt virtually any tree but now I am really selective about trying to get into a straight section of tree. The mountains I hunt trees just don't grow very straight. Yes in a saddle leaners are huntable, but that varies from somewhat handicapping to downright uncomfortable. Treestands, as long as they have a leveling adjustment, mild to moderate lean is a complete nonfactor.

 

[Cbigbear]

And shooting 360 around a tree with a stand and RCH is still very possible.

I might find, and this is the likely outcome, that is doesn't matter what method I'm using and that I just stink at hunting!

This always comes to mind when the benefit of 360 shooting is labeled as a saddle only deal.

This also comes to mind most seasons!!