Hey everyone,
You don't know me, but I know many of you. I have been creeping around the forums for a few months now and I wanted to share the story of how you guys unknowingly got me interested (read as: ruined forever) in saddle hunting and started along this path. Hopefully it will help those of you who are trying to get others into it (for marketing or personal reasons) understand how it can happen to your average hunter.
No-one I know or hunt with has heard of saddles and if they have, they don't take them seriously. Upon explaining the concept to my buddies, they simply can't see the light and understand how it could work. I've heard all of the arguments and mockery: too much movement, not safe, uncomfortable, etc etc etc.
I am a fairly ardent hunter and I spend a decent amount of time in the woods compared to a lot of my deer hunting peers. I have tried permanent stands, ground blinds, and mobile tree stands. I knew I wanted to be mobile if I wanted to kill the bigger deer that the other hunters on the private land I hunt aren't able to connect with. I found the Hunting Beast and Dan Infalt and my mobile bed hunting tactics began developing.
Last fall, Mark Kenyon of Wired to Hunt posted a video of his saddle hunt in Montana after discussing saddles a few times on his podcast. My interest was peaked, but I was put off by the start up cost involved and forgot about it until later in the fall. Then, randomly I stumbled upon some videos from the DIY sportsman about sitdrags and DIY saddles. Suddenly, so many of the hunters I learn from were in saddles! The Hunting Public guys were using (and loving) them regularly in the deer tour. I was starting to consider the idea more seriously and saddles were suddenly everywhere I looked.
Then, the G2 Outdoors straw broke the camel's back. I stumbled upon his Sitdrag videos and so much more in depth info about saddles on YouTube. I ended up on here browsing around and decided I wanted a DIY sitdrag to try this whole thing out. Well the I saw Greg was posting a DIY sitdrag esque saddle build! (https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/fuse-inspired-diy-saddle-build.5278/) Even better, I thought, I can get some of the extra features and can do it on the cheap by investing some time...
Well then I dove deeper and found the infamous ckossuth Ketrel Clone thread (https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/diy-kestrel-clone.5757/)
Well shoot, I thought, now I have to make that thing. So I dove into forums and videos about sewing, bought a singer 15 clone off of facebook marketplace for 40 bucks, and started gathering the materials from what I had laying around as well as ebay.
Now my own custom saddle fitted to me is built, along with matching cordura draw string dump pouches, molle webbing, and mantis style g-hooked web loops. I have been shooting targets in the yard with my bow with it for a few weeks now and playing with bridge lengths etc. It seems I am badly infected with the saddle bug now and I don't see a way back where I came from. Looks like I have to build a diy platform now and buy a lineman's belt off of tethrd.... of course I'll have to change the prusik to a distel hitch when I get it and add a tender... oh yea and I still need to make a tubular webbing aider for my climbing sticks.... and sew up a webbing accessory strap for my clipter to go on along with my zing it backpack holder...oh yea and add some elastic webbing tenders to my waistbelt and leg straps... Thanks for nothing guys!!!
I hope to post a few updates here as the year progresses of my first hunt and (hopefully) first kill from the saddle along with my impressions as a newbie. Anyway, this is how a guy who knows no-one who uses a saddle and nothing about them becomes an addict in less than a year thanks to a few internet posts and videos. Keep up the good work content creators!
You don't know me, but I know many of you. I have been creeping around the forums for a few months now and I wanted to share the story of how you guys unknowingly got me interested (read as: ruined forever) in saddle hunting and started along this path. Hopefully it will help those of you who are trying to get others into it (for marketing or personal reasons) understand how it can happen to your average hunter.
No-one I know or hunt with has heard of saddles and if they have, they don't take them seriously. Upon explaining the concept to my buddies, they simply can't see the light and understand how it could work. I've heard all of the arguments and mockery: too much movement, not safe, uncomfortable, etc etc etc.
I am a fairly ardent hunter and I spend a decent amount of time in the woods compared to a lot of my deer hunting peers. I have tried permanent stands, ground blinds, and mobile tree stands. I knew I wanted to be mobile if I wanted to kill the bigger deer that the other hunters on the private land I hunt aren't able to connect with. I found the Hunting Beast and Dan Infalt and my mobile bed hunting tactics began developing.
Last fall, Mark Kenyon of Wired to Hunt posted a video of his saddle hunt in Montana after discussing saddles a few times on his podcast. My interest was peaked, but I was put off by the start up cost involved and forgot about it until later in the fall. Then, randomly I stumbled upon some videos from the DIY sportsman about sitdrags and DIY saddles. Suddenly, so many of the hunters I learn from were in saddles! The Hunting Public guys were using (and loving) them regularly in the deer tour. I was starting to consider the idea more seriously and saddles were suddenly everywhere I looked.
Then, the G2 Outdoors straw broke the camel's back. I stumbled upon his Sitdrag videos and so much more in depth info about saddles on YouTube. I ended up on here browsing around and decided I wanted a DIY sitdrag to try this whole thing out. Well the I saw Greg was posting a DIY sitdrag esque saddle build! (https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/fuse-inspired-diy-saddle-build.5278/) Even better, I thought, I can get some of the extra features and can do it on the cheap by investing some time...
Well then I dove deeper and found the infamous ckossuth Ketrel Clone thread (https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/diy-kestrel-clone.5757/)
Well shoot, I thought, now I have to make that thing. So I dove into forums and videos about sewing, bought a singer 15 clone off of facebook marketplace for 40 bucks, and started gathering the materials from what I had laying around as well as ebay.
Now my own custom saddle fitted to me is built, along with matching cordura draw string dump pouches, molle webbing, and mantis style g-hooked web loops. I have been shooting targets in the yard with my bow with it for a few weeks now and playing with bridge lengths etc. It seems I am badly infected with the saddle bug now and I don't see a way back where I came from. Looks like I have to build a diy platform now and buy a lineman's belt off of tethrd.... of course I'll have to change the prusik to a distel hitch when I get it and add a tender... oh yea and I still need to make a tubular webbing aider for my climbing sticks.... and sew up a webbing accessory strap for my clipter to go on along with my zing it backpack holder...oh yea and add some elastic webbing tenders to my waistbelt and leg straps... Thanks for nothing guys!!!
I hope to post a few updates here as the year progresses of my first hunt and (hopefully) first kill from the saddle along with my impressions as a newbie. Anyway, this is how a guy who knows no-one who uses a saddle and nothing about them becomes an addict in less than a year thanks to a few internet posts and videos. Keep up the good work content creators!
