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Frequency of marathon saddle sessions

How often do you head out planning to hang at least 6 hours at a time?

  • Never

    Votes: 3 6.8%

  • Almost never

    Votes: 6 13.6%

  • Sometimes

    Votes: 20 45.5%

  • Almost always

    Votes: 14 31.8%

  • Always

    Votes: 1 2.3%
  • Total voters
    44
elk yinzer

elk yinzer

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
2,942
Location
State College, PA
Keeping with all the polls lately....

Frequently when comfort related discussions occur here, I end up wondering how many people are pulling marathon sits. For this purpose we'll consider 6+ hours.

When it comes to comfort that is a big deciding factor for me. I can post up after work for 3 hours or so and go pretty minimalist, no problemo making some sacrifices. The most minimalist setups I can understand from that lens. But when it gets into late October all through the rut, I basically go to the woods every morning prepared to potentially stay out all day, and that takes a little more gear than a quick hunt on either side of dawn/dusk.

The reason I defined 6 hours is I rarely end up pulling dark-to-dark in the same tree, but I usually stay at least until 1 or 2 PM, then quickly relocate to an evening spot. I'll even do morning/midday/evening spots, but the short of it is during the rut I try to be in a tree whenever I can and that compounds into some long days resulting in a lot less willingness to sacrifice comfort compared to shorter early season hunts.
 
Last year I had approximately 10 or 11, 6+hr sits, I guess that constitutes "Sometimes" in the whole picture of 50+ hunts
 
I do a lot of 6+ hour sits throughout the season. I like to get in really early and stay til at least noon, get down for a quick lunch and head back out. Even in the early season I am getting in well before dark so I am set up and ready to go well in advance. During the rut I won't leave the woods, I may not sit all day but I will get down and move quickly to a new area and set right back up. I guess I run a pretty minimalist setup but I never find myself uncomfortable. After hunting in a saddle for several years I guess I'm just used to it.
 
I'll sit all day starting the last few days of October if I have the time and will continue that through the rut. I'll also sit all day during gun season. Having a small child has put a damper on my number of all day sits. I used to do at least 10 a season.
 
I almost always plan on at least a 6+ hour hunt. The only exception is for those after work quickies, or hunts with my dad.

I'd say I easily put 20+ 6 hour or more sits in the woods last year. Probabably closer to 30.
 
Typical sits for me are between 4-5 hrs. I take my vacation during hunting season (every Friday in October and the first 18 days of November) so I have a little more time available in the woods. A typical vacation time frame hunt is to sit til 11:30 in the morning then head back to camp for a quick bite to eat. I then relocate to a different spot to sit between 2:00 PM and dark. If the deer are really active I'll stay longer.

During the work week my hunts are shorter. I try to slide out from work around 4:00 and can be settled in the tree by 4:45-5:00. That gives me 2-3 hours depending on how late into October we're talking.

During the rifle season when the hunting pressure is high I typically sit all day. I've killed a lot of deer under these conditions between 10:00AM and 2:00PM as hunters move out of the woods and back in around the lunch hour.
 
I'd say about 30% of my sits last year were 6+hours. The years previous were more. Last year I targeted certain spots at certain times, or tried to at least. And found I managed time poorly as well so I had fewer days that allowed the longer sits. That has changed this year. Already got a bunch of wood chopped for the winter.
 
I would say in proportion to the amount of hunting I get in in a season, I probably hunt fewer 6+ hr hunts than I did 10 yrs ago. That being said last year I sat the saddle 4 days in a row from dark to dark. There is no way I could have done that in a tree stand. The saddle is the most comfortable way to be in a tree, in my opinion. Maybe in the future the saddle will allow me to do more longer sits........ now if I can just convince the wife.
 
ZERO hunts more than 4 hours, most are under 2. I hunt the black hole of trophy bucks called North Carolina. Trickle rut over a 3 month period, so the juice is not worth the squeeze here. If I go out of state, may change that.

John H., Hickory, NC

Keep your nose to the wind, and your eyes along the skyline.
 
I probably average 25 all day sits a season. Two years ago I sat 16 days in a roe before I was able to fill my tag. I shoot a-lot of nice deer midday so I think there is definitely an advantage to sitting all day. One of the big things for me is it limits ground disturbance cross tracks in half. Every time you walk in or out you risk spooking deer and the track you walk in and exit on could potentially spoke deer even after you leave. I posted something titled "entry exit strategies" that talks about police dogs and track life related to odor.

For me its a numbers game. lets say you have a 5 day vacation:
5 morning hunts + 5 evening hunts = 10 hunts with 20 chances to spoke deer in and out with 20 entry/exit tracks for the deer to find

or the all day approach

5 morning hunts + 5 midday hunts + 5 evening hunts = 15 hunts with 10 chances to spoke deer and only 10 entry/exit tracks

Depending on how much land you have to hunt sitting all day puts less overall pressure on the property.
 
Almost every morning sit is 6+ hours for me, I like to be set up at least an hour before sunrise and usually stay put until 11 or 12. I grab a quick lunch and get back out to an evening spot as quickly as possible. Early season can be a bit shorter sits since I try to get my kids out as much as possible before the weather gets miserable for them.
 
For 3/4 of the season, I prepare to sit 6 hours almost every time I hunt. Most hunts end up being shorter because I kill, wind is off, something not related to my hunt (a buddy kills), and most commonly - I didn’t do my job to get deer in front of me, so I’m off to scout.

Two scenarios are different - I’m IN a bedding area, with deer all around me at all times, and The rut is obviously a different ball game. Those end up being 6-10 sits a year. The rest of the year I’m walking more than sitting
 
I almost always plan on 6+ hour hunts, shift positions for the later half. This year will be different, trying the minimalist approach. Previously was carrying a 30 pound rig plus another 15-20 pounds of gear, food, water. Was quite an effort to get into a tree without reaking of sweat. So, hoping these saddles truly are more comfortable. I try to maximize my time hunting because I typically only get about a dozen hunts in a season.
 
Bwhana said:
ZERO hunts more than 4 hours, most are under 2. I hunt the black hole of trophy bucks called North Carolina. Trickle rut over a 3 month period, so the juice is not worth the squeeze here. If I go out of state, may change that.

John H., Hickory, NC

Keep your nose to the wind, and your eyes along the skyline.
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Same here in Alabama. I used to do more all day sits when I was young and dumb. I remember several times sitting dark to dark and not even seeing a deer. If you’re gonna be dumb, you better be tough.
 
Bama_Xander said:
Same here in Alabama. I used to do more all day sits when I was young and dumb. I remember several times sitting dark to dark and not even seeing a deer. If you’re gonna be dumb, you better be tough.
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You would miss out on some prime rut time here in the North.
There is a lot of buck movement during mid day where I hunt.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I only get to hunt weekends because my hunting grounds are an hour and 45 minutes away. I hunt just about every weekend and I get there well before first light, sit til about noon or so depending on what's going on, head to the truck for lunch, go right back out to another spot and sit til dark most of the time. During what is believed to be the rut (North Carolina) that year, I'll stay put all day most of the time.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
You would miss out on some prime rut time here in the North.
There is a lot of buck movement during mid day where I hunt.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
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When I hunted Illinois mid-November last year I did all day hunts. I would usually have two separate trees but be in the field all day. And I will on occasion do one in the deep South if I see heavy rut activity, but those days are few and far between with our trickle rut.
 
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