• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Hello from MN

Jay_Disarray

Jay_Disarray

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
1,950
Location
MN
Hey all. Long time deer hunter, but just got into archery again this year after a 20 yr hiatus.

I picked up a climbing stand to get used to being up in trees, as I'm not too fond of heights. I wanted to be able get above the brush and have better shooting lanes, but I'm not a fan of carrying my old 40lb climber into the woods everywhere. Looking into lightweight alternatives I've discovered saddle hunting.
Looking forward to getting into it, as it's a bit confusing to a novice climber.
 
It is confusing at first. The first year I just stayed really close to the ground and soaked up all of the knowledge on this forum. Welcome from Northwest Wisconsin.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Welcome from Louisiana! You will probably find the answer to all your questions recorded in the vast information on this site. If not just ask. Be safe and good luck this season.
 
Jay_Disarray said:
Hey all. Long time deer hunter, but just got into archery again this year after a 20 yr hiatus.

I picked up a climbing stand to get used to being up in trees, as I'm not too fond of heights. I wanted to be able get above the brush and have better shooting lanes, but I'm not a fan of carrying my old 40lb climber into the woods everywhere. Looking into lightweight alternatives I've discovered saddle hunting.
Looking forward to getting into it, as it's a bit confusing to a novice climber.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of great youtube videos out there put out by DIY Sportsman, G2 Outdoors, Nutterbuster, Catman Outdoors, Boudreaux Boswell, Flinginairos, BowhunterTV.com, Mark Dohring, Tethrd Nation, Wild Edge all of these videos will give you great insight and many other I highly recommend watching them and definitely stay on this forum. Review the search function for specific topics you have. There is a bit of a learning curve for sure but my personal suggestion is to decide on a saddle system first and get it then start practicing. Since you've used a climbing stand in the past you understand that there is a process to follow to ensure your safety. Same thing with saddle hunting. Once you get a system down stay consistent with that until you feel pretty comfortable then expand into the endless possibilities of saddlehunting. Good luck.
 
Jay_Disarray said:
Hey all. Long time deer hunter, but just got into archery again this year after a 20 yr hiatus.

I picked up a climbing stand to get used to being up in trees, as I'm not too fond of heights. I wanted to be able get above the brush and have better shooting lanes, but I'm not a fan of carrying my old 40lb climber into the woods everywhere. Looking into lightweight alternatives I've discovered saddle hunting.
Looking forward to getting into it, as it's a bit confusing to a novice climber.
Click to expand...
The blessing (and the curse) of saddle hunting is that your "stand" is a 1-3 pound collection of fabric that you wear. Unlike a climber it doesn't get you up a tree, and unlike a hang-on stand it doesn't commit you to a bulky package that you would just strap sticks to for more bulk and weight. It essentially disappears and frees (or commits) you to find and choose the best way up the tree for you.

You can always go with sonething like climbing sticks, but they're still bulky. I like strap on squirrelsteps, or bolts where legal (search for info on treehopper) as they pack down to a small, non-clangy, non-tangly package and get me to say 20 ft for about 5.5 pounds for a bag of steps, of 2 pounds for a bag of grade8 bolts. A squirrelstep ring of steps platform is another under 2 pounds that packs to the size of a fist.

I like individual step climbing methods for a couple of reasons. You're always "working" (attaching a step or drilling a bolt) at a comfortable height. You choose your spacing of steps to suit you. I feel they're among the safest methods - easy to keep a high and tight lmb or even better tether while climbing. If in the worse case you slip or something breaks - you're positioned for your lineman belt to kick in, and you're a lot less hung out to dry than if a stick kicks out or slides down (has happened to a couple. Of guys recently).

Overall done right the safest and lightest elevated hunting technique.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top