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First Saddle...

W

WillK

New Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2020
Messages
4
My Phantom arrived last Thursday or Friday. It sure seems awesome! I have not climbed in it yet, but I wore it and hooked up to a tree in the yard from the ground. I can see how this could be awesome. I'm a little unsure how Ill feel shooting around the back of the tree or to the off side. That's going to take some practice for sure - I'm used to just slowly pivoting... That said, I do believe this is going to be an excellent approach to the long walk big woods spots I hunt and the swampy areas where you may have a smallish hemlock that could get you 8-10 feet up over the swale grass etc so you could shoot in safely and clear...

One area of concern I had was how funky it would be to get in and out and hook up. I'd created, in my head, a really complicated hook up process with the tether and bridge and all. And well, it's NOT. So if you are reading this and are new and thinking about it, but complexity is a worry. Let that go, it's definitely simple to put on and hook up to the tree.

Looking forward to practicing, and in particular shooting a lot out of it to get comfy on those off side shots.

Going to be a fun spring and summer!

Oh, and one interesting side note... My wife noted that saddles should market to women. She tried it, and while it seemed a little big on her much smaller 115# frame, she loved how easy it would be to get in and out compared to schlepping in and out her climber. She really liked it, based on our little ground based test, I actually think she likes it more than my initial reaction!
 
Welcome to the madness! Sounds like you’re well on your way and should be ready for the upcoming season! And believe it or not we have lots of women try the saddles out at shows and most love it! My wife definitely prefers the saddle over a stand and she feels safer in the saddle.


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I was in the same boat as you are a week ago. The first day I sat my platform up about 3’ off the ground and strapped in. After about 30 minutes or so I got my bow and started shooting at that height. Spent a couple hours out there just trying to get accustomed to the particular movements, weight shifts, and everything I could figure out with this new to me style of hunting. The very next day, I hung 1 stick, set my platform off that stick just to practice setting it off a stick in a hunting situation, and repeated the activities from the day before. 2 days after my phantom came in the mail, I carried sticks, platform and saddle in the woods, climbed to hunting height, strapped to the tree and squirrel hunted for 3+ hours. I was a little nervous, but it really is as easy as everyone said it was. I absolutely love the versatility, comfort, ease, and weight. Good luck and welcome to the madness haha
 
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