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First hunt from kestrel going down in VA

kelly.jayp

kelly.jayp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
Messages
1,473
Location
Charlotte, NC area
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Took my time this morning- had a 2 1/2 hour drive from NC and the walk in to the spot I wanted to hunt took another hour - thick brush and steep ridge to get to creek then walked the creek between 2 ridges to a pinch point. Used the Stepps and aider and am ready for hanging rest of the day. Got good and sweaty in the 60* temps despite taking my time. Been wanting to hunt this spot for 3 years and have a system now that lets me. Irony is I'm only at this lease one more month but new lease will be even better for saddle hunting. It's been a quiet start but I'm hanging from a tree and hoping something comes down to get a drink from the creek.


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@kelly.jayp curious how many stepps did you use with aider and how high did you get? I realized that the last 2 stepps I rather put at a normal distance... but 6 with aider seems like I am between 20-23 feet each time. I am not really pushing the limits tho, rather be climbing comfortably.
 
Jefferson10940 said:
@kelly.jayp curious how many stepps did you use with aider and how high did you get? I realized that the last 2 stepps I rather put at a normal distance... but 6 with aider seems like I am between 20-23 feet each time. I am not really pushing the limits tho, rather be climbing comfortably.
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I went very conservative as it was first real use and I wanted to get a feel for spacing- and wanted to get down in dark without too much adventure LOL. Have 8 Stepps then a 3 stepp platform above that - my feet are at 21-22' high I'm sure I can get more as I get comfortable


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The biggest thing about getting down, since you are stepping into the aider and honestly you wont be too sure when it will engage so to speak, you need to make sure your linemans belt is as low as you can get it on the tree with still being effective if you fall. But trust me you do not want to have all your weigh on the aider with other foot still on stepp with having the LB maxed out (so you cant move down anymore). You get stuck and it is frustrating position to get your self out of! Good luck hunting!
 
Jefferson10940 said:
The biggest thing about getting down, since you are stepping into the aider and honestly you wont be too sure when it will engage so to speak, you need to make sure your linemans belt is as low as you can get it on the tree with still being effective if you fall. But trust me you do not want to have all your weigh on the aider with other foot still on stepp with having the LB maxed out (so you cant move down anymore). You get stuck and it is frustrating position to get your self out of! Good luck hunting!
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I will know in about 6 hours . Thanks for the tip!


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kelly.jayp said:
I will know in about 6 hours
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. Thanks for the tip!
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I struggled using the aider coming down after dark. I couldn't find it to step into it. I tried putting it on my foot first and keeping tension while I let my foot down but struggled with that also. Last night I discovered that if I squat down as low as I can on the step I am standing on and move my LB down as far as I can, I can grab the step in front of me and just use my arms to let my feet down to the next step. It was WAY easier for me, I was down the tree in a matter of minutes.
 
Had no issues getting down but I didn't have the Stepps too far apart. Hunt was a bust but still had a good first run today. Spent 8 1/2 hours in the saddle and felt fine - dozed off a couple times actually. I got to practice a few things like putting on a rain jacket and taking a piss . Definitely have some tweaks in mind - want to shorten the bridge a bit more and get rid of the bulky knots. I felt like my turn radius was limited with two figure eights on a bight. May go back to re-read the webbing bridge thread and see if that is a better option for me. All in all crappy deer hunting but success nonetheless


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kelly.jayp said:
Had no issues getting down but I didn't have the Stepps too far apart. Hunt was a bust but still had a good first run today. Spent 8 1/2 hours in the saddle and felt fine - dozed off a couple times actually. I got to practice a few things like putting on a rain jacket and taking a piss . Definitely have some tweaks in mind - want to shorten the bridge a bit more and get rid of the bulky knots. I felt like my turn radius was limited with two figure eights on a bight. May go back to re-read the webbing bridge thread and see if that is a better option for me. All in all crappy deer hunting but success nonetheless


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Click to expand...
You can tie the figure 8's tighter than they typically come.
 
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