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Deer Contest/Safety Concern

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Dcomer55

Dcomer55

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2020
Messages
396
Location
SW Missouri
So I, like many members on here, hunt just as much our of a light weight hang on as I do a saddle. I don't use the stand as a hybrid system either. If I'm in my stand I wear a traditional treestand safety harness. Knowing this to he the case I was hesitant to join the contest- as I have to do either do something that is highly questionable from a personal safety perspective (use a saddle as my safety harness) or lie (just take a picture with the deer and the saddle when I didn't even use it). I had considered wearing my saddle as a safety harness but after reading several posts on here and having a conversation with @Fl Canopy Stalker I decided it was not worth the risks (thanks again for taking the time to discuss the issue with me.)

Now to the point of my post, if the deer hunting contest is just for fun why not amend the rules so that deer shot without a saddle can still be entered? With the prevalence of people hunting from stands and the ground on here it doesn't make sense to force them to either lie or be punished for erring on the side of safety. If this site and its members are as safety conscious as they appear to be, which i believe they are, it seems like an easy decision to me. Either that or we just make every lie or exclude them from one of the better community building events of this site

Edit:

Tone can be hard to interpret so let me just say I'm not taking shots at anyone. I thought it was/is a fair question to ask. If that's answer is no then fine - it ain't that big of deal. I just thought it would make for a better experience, if I am in the minority then awesome - I do my best fighting with 'em all around me lol. But seriously I just wanted to ask.

@redsquirrel
 
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Dcomer55 said:
Either that or we just make every lie or exclude them from one of the better community building events of this site.
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There are lots of places in this world to find/build community.

While I hunt using a variety of strategies, I came to this site because it is called saddlehunter.com, to engage about saddle hunting.

I have taken deer from ground blinds and not entered them in the contest. Was never tempted to lie, nor felt excluded in any way in regards to the contest.

Sorry to be a contrarian to your perspective.


Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
I don't understand the question. Are you implying stands are safer than saddles? Everyone on here agrees that leaving the ground puts you at some kind of risk. We all weigh out our own risk analysis.
The safety talk has been "don't let some guy on YouTube influence you to think something is safe." To assume a tree stand is safer to me is a false security.
But ultimately this site is called saddle hunter. Not elevated hunter. I see plenty of guys who post a successful story on here hunting other ways and have not seen anyone belittle it for how they took the animal. The contest is for fun. You don't win anything other than bragging rights on a forum.
 
Dcomer55 said:
If I'm in my stand I wear a traditional treestand safety harness. Knowing this to he the case I was hesitant to join the contest- as I have to do either do something that is highly questionable from a personal safety perspective (use a saddle as my safety harness) or lie (just take a picture with the deer and the saddle when I didn't even use it).
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The either/or presented here leaves out the option to simply not enter that deer in the contest, as stated in my other reply.

If you anticipate never being in a saddle, then I suppose it is a bit peculiar to want to enter a saddle hunting deer contest on saddlehunter.com

I'm not the owner here of course, and perhaps @redsquirrel wants to expand the focus of this forum.


Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 
TNSTAAFL said:
There are lots of places in this world to find/build community.

While I hunt using a variety of strategies, I came to this site because it is called saddlehunter.com, to engage about saddle hunting.

I have taken deer from ground blinds and not entered them in the contest. Was never tempted to lie, nor felt excluded in any way in regards to the contest.

Sorry to be a contrarian to your perspective.


Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Let me try and get out ahead of this.

If the answer is no it is not any skin off my back. I just wanted to ask. Tone is hard to grasp from a message.

I'm not trying to talk down. Its just a question that I thought was fair.

I came here for the same reason you did. But turns out saddles aren't a 100% solution for me.

However, I still really enjoy this site and being a part of it. I just wanted to ask.
 
MattMan81 said:
I don't understand the question. Are you implying stands are safer than saddles? Everyone on here agrees that leaving the ground puts you at some kind of risk. We all weigh out our own risk analysis.
The safety talk has been "don't let some guy on YouTube influence you to think something is safe." To assume a tree stand is safer to me is a false security.
But ultimately this site is called saddle hunter. Not elevated hunter. I see plenty of guys who post a successful story on here hunting other ways and have not seen anyone belittle it for how they took the animal. The contest is for fun. You don't win anything other than bragging rights on a forum.
Click to expand...
I'm implying that using a saddle as a fall arrest system appears to be unsafe- as it would be used in a treestand.

A saddle used as a saddle is not what I'm talking about.
 
Dcomer55 said:
So I, like many members on here, hunt just as much our of a light weight hang on as I do a saddle. I don't use the stand as a hybrid system either. If I'm in my stand I wear a traditional treestand safety harness. Knowing this to he the case I was hesitant to join the contest- as I have to do either do something that is highly questionable from a personal safety perspective (use a saddle as my safety harness) or lie (just take a picture with the deer and the saddle when I didn't even use it). I had considered wearing my saddle as a safety harness but after reading several posts on here and having a conversation with @Fl Canopy Stalker I decided it was not worth the risks (thanks again for taking the time to discuss the issue with me.)

Now to the point of my post, if the deer hunting contest is just for fun why not amend the rules so that deer shot without a saddle can still be entered? With the prevalence of people hunting from stands and the ground on here it doesn't make sense to force them to either lie or be punished for erring on the side of safety. If this site and its members are as safety conscious as they appear to be, which i believe they are, it seems like an easy decision to me. Either that or we just make every lie or exclude them from one of the better community building events of this site.

@redsquirrel
Click to expand...
I get the sentiment but no one is forcing you to lie. As far as the contest goes you knew the rules before joining. The spirit of the contest is hanging from a saddle in the traditional way and killing a deer. I think wearing a saddle as a harness from a lock on is not congruent with the spirit of the contest. If you’re not willing to saddle hunt, I wouldn’t join the saddlehunter deer contest.

For this year I would recommend hunting from a saddle so you don’t handicap your team or see if they will let someone replace you in the contest.

There have been deer shot on the ground that were entered before but never called out and my thought is if you have to lie about the deer you killed you’re taking things way to seriously. Lying about stuff like this says a lot about a man’s (or woman’s) character.
 
This is a saddle hunting site. So it's a saddle hunting contest. I shot a deer from my windwalker 2 years ago and didn't enter it. It also omits bears and other large game. Those are the rules. If the criteria isn't something you are up for don't participate.

No one's forcing anyone to do anything. People just need to be adults and make their own decisions. If they're going to join the contest, follow the rules. It's pretty simple. Can't enter an f1 in a stock car race, or swim freestyle in a butterfly race without getting disqualified...
 
Dcomer55 said:
Let me try and get out ahead of this.

If the answer is no it is not any skin off my back. I just wanted to ask. Tone is hard to grasp from a message.

I'm not trying to talk down. Its just a question that I thought was fair.

I came here for the same reason you did. But turns out saddles aren't a 100% solution for me.

However, I still really enjoy this site and being a part of it. I just wanted to ask.
Click to expand...
I struggled with comfort with saddles for about two years. That’s not worth it to most people but I do think they can be a compact, comfortable and safe hunting method. I’m not sure how much time you put into it but maybe the contest would be the encouragement needed to figure the system out. If this doesn’t apply or you’re not interested in fooling with it anymore disregard.
 
gcr0003 said:
I get the sentiment but no one is forcing you to lie. As far as the contest goes you knew the rules before joining. The spirit of the contest is hanging from a saddle in the traditional way and killing a deer. I think wearing a saddle as a harness from a lock on is not congruent with the spirit of the contest. If you’re not willing to saddle hunt, I wouldn’t join the saddlehunter deer contest.

For this year I would recommend hunting from a saddle so you don’t handicap your team or see if they will let someone replace you in the contest.

There have been deer shot on the ground that were entered before but never called out and my thought is if you have to lie about the deer you killed you’re taking things way to seriously. Lying about stuff like this says a lot about a man’s (or woman’s) character.
Click to expand...
I thought it was a fair question. If the answer is no its no.

Didn't see harm in asking
 
Dcomer55 said:
I thought it was a fair question. If the answer is no its no.

Didn't see harm in asking
Click to expand...
Yea no harm in the question, but in the middle of the contest considerations would likely have to be made for next season not this one that’s why I suggested either using a saddle despite not loving it for your team or finding a full in if they’ll let you.
 
Dcomer55 said:
So I, like many members on here, hunt just as much our of a light weight hang on as I do a saddle. I don't use the stand as a hybrid system either. If I'm in my stand I wear a traditional treestand safety harness. Knowing this to he the case I was hesitant to join the contest- as I have to do either do something that is highly questionable from a personal safety perspective (use a saddle as my safety harness) or lie (just take a picture with the deer and the saddle when I didn't even use it). I had considered wearing my saddle as a safety harness but after reading several posts on here and having a conversation with @Fl Canopy Stalker I decided it was not worth the risks (thanks again for taking the time to discuss the issue with me.)

Now to the point of my post, if the deer hunting contest is just for fun why not amend the rules so that deer shot without a saddle can still be entered? With the prevalence of people hunting from stands and the ground on here it doesn't make sense to force them to either lie or be punished for erring on the side of safety. If this site and its members are as safety conscious as they appear to be, which i believe they are, it seems like an easy decision to me. Either that or we just make every lie or exclude them from one of the better community building events of this site.

@redsquirrel
Click to expand...
As others have already said, this is a saddle hunting site and the idea of the contest is to promote a fun competition for those hunting out of a saddle. Most certainly no one would want you to do something unsafe just to participate in the contest. A couple questions regarding hunting out of treestands has come up recently with people doing these "hybrid methods". My answers to them have been that if they feel they are "saddle hunting" where they are using the stand as a platform, then it would count, but if they are using it as a treestand it wouldn't. Ultimately the contest is for fun and in the end it is up for everyone to use the honor system.
 
Weldabeast said:
If I shoot a deer off the ground I would just not enter it in the saddle contest.... If I want to enter a deer in the contest I shoot 1 out of the saddle..... Pretty straight forward to me.. Why change things?

I wear my saddle from the truck so technically they all saddle kills

View attachment 74252
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Kinda condescending pal. I just wanted to ask. No need to turn this into archerytalk
 
iamcorey said:
I was just writing a similar post for the “imma sit on a bucket” contest.
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Yeah. Last year @Nutterbuster started a side bucket hunt challenge. A few of us entertained it for a few hunts. It was all for fun. But I don't recall it being mandatory to this site. It was for fun. Not sure anyone posted a kill. Would have to go look.
 
There is no harm in asking, I doubt anyone is upset by that… the contest is just for fun and maybe some bragging rights, so I wouldn’t worry about it. Not everyone here always hunts from a saddle either I’m sure. I personally do about 90 percent of the time… during gun season I may sit on the ground or stalk around. I would agree though, I do like the thought of keeping it to saddle harvests because that’s what brought the majority of us here to begin with. Goodluck this season!
 
redsquirrel said:
As others have already said, this is a saddle hunting site and the idea of the contest is to promote a fun competition for those hunting out of a saddle. Most certainly no one would want you to do something unsafe just to participate in the contest. A couple questions regarding hunting out of treestands has come up recently with people doing these "hybrid methods". My answers to them have been that if they feel they are "saddle hunting" where they are using the stand as a platform, then it would count, but if they are using it as a treestand it wouldn't. Ultimately the contest is for fun and in the end it is up for everyone to use the honor system.
Click to expand...
Well if thats the official answer- which is fine if it is - please lock the thread so much phone quits blwong up lol.

I appreciate you considering it and getting back to me
 
Dcomer55 said:
Well if thats the official answer- which is fine if it is - please lock the thread so much phone quits blwong up lol.

I appreciate you considering it and getting back to me
Click to expand...
No problem at all. I will lock it. Just remember it's all for fun and the points don't matter. In my 9th year in this contest I still haven't been on the winning team lol. I'm hoping this is my year!!
 
@Dcomer55 , unfortunately @redsquirrel locked this thread before I had an opportunity to see it so I'm going to use the mod powers vested in me to make a final post. :)
First, your point is well taken about there being other methods of deer take available. However this is saddlehunter.com and therefore we host a saddle contest.

That said, entering the contest isn't in anyway committing yourself to only hunting from a saddle. I would suggest hunting anyway that the situation at hand (or your mood of the day) dictates. If that means you hunt 70% by some other method and 30% from the saddle that's fine. If you're in the contest and happen to take a deer from another method post it up on the team thread stating you took it while sitting on a bucket and can't count it. The success will celebrated anyway. I've seen it many times. I've never seen anyone take any grief here for a successful hunt.

The contest is about building member camaraderie across the country, not who wins or loses. Theres literally nothing at stake. We all win by building friendships with people we've never met.
 
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