• 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

gl223

gl223

New Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2021
Messages
13
Location
NJ
I hope everyone is well during these crazy times. I decided to give saddle hunting a try this upcoming deer season in NJ. I have had issues with not be able to hunt areas that I would normal set a ladder stand in (some of them for years) and decided the best solution would be more mobility. I will be 65 years old soon and also have back issues and hope that being in a saddle will extend my ability to stay on stand. I look forward to gaining information and insight from those with more experience. I have been trying out the equipment and getting used to it in my yard and will be shooting some arrows from a low stand position in the near future.
Thanks, Walt
 
gl223 said:
I hope everyone is well during these crazy times. I decided to give saddle hunting a try this upcoming deer season in NJ. I have had issues with not be able to hunt areas that I would normal set a ladder stand in (some of them for years) and decided the best solution would be more mobility. I will be 65 years old soon and also have back issues and hope that being in a saddle will extend my ability to stay on stand. I look forward to gaining information and insight from those with more experience. I have been trying out the equipment and getting used to it in my yard and will be shooting some arrows from a low stand position in the near future.
Thanks, Walt
Click to expand...
Welcome, I'm 65 and had back surgery at 58, they went in and drilled into 3 vertabras to do a roto rooter to clean all the arthritis out. I'm much more comfortable in my saddle than sitting in my climber, plus I feel safer in my saddle cause I'm always connected to the tree.climbing is not easy with sticks cause I have bad knees so hopefully I'll be srt or Drt this season , good luck !!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
Welcome
55 years old in SE Pennsylvania
Have helped introduce younger and older to saddle hunting.
enjoy
 
Thanks Guys. Went up the tree today, tomorrow I will take my bow up and try to get a feel for shooting. One thing for sure, my days of going up high are over. Gonna stay lower and pick my spots with good cover and watch the wind more carefully.
 
Welcome from northern Michigan. I'll be 59 in a couple of months. I have to say moving to the saddle helped my lower back issues from sitting in a stand. Overall the saddle has rejuvenated my hunting experience. I hope it does the same for you.
 
Definitely need some more practice shooting from the saddle. I realized I was not maintaining form and the results were not good. I am sure with a little more practice and concentrating on form It will come together. I have plenty of time to get things right before next season.
 
Thanks to all for the welcome. Stay well, Happy Easter
 
gl223 said:
Definitely need some more practice shooting from the saddle. I realized I was not maintaining form and the results were not good. I am sure with a little more practice and concentrating on form It will come together. I have plenty of time to get things right before next season.
Click to expand...
I can’t sit in a normal tree stand because of back problems, for me a saddle solved that, super comfy and I can hunt elevated again. I have shot a bow for so long out of tree stands and have never had a problem so I didn’t want to take the time and learn how to shoot my bow from a saddle platform, so I use a small tree stand and saddle, hybrid approach, it works perfect for me, just keep an eye on how much slack is in your tether. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I made a platform and secured it to a tree about 2 feet off the ground so I can shoot from my saddle. I have my target down in a deep gully so the shot simulates being up higher in a tree and shooting onto flat ground. I won't have to climb up and down very far to get my arrows. Will try it out this week.
 
gl223 said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I made a platform and secured it to a tree about 2 feet off the ground so I can shoot from my saddle. I have my target down in a deep gully so the shot simulates being up higher in a tree and shooting onto flat ground. I won't have to climb up and down very far to get my arrows. Will try it out this week.
Click to expand...
You might want to re-think that strategy. Practicing your climbing/descending is almost as important as practicing your shooting skills.
 
Hello! I'm a 71 year old traditional bowhunter and build my own bows. I tried a Anderson Tree Sling years ago to hunt hard to get to place when I lived Montana, never killed anything out of it but I liked the mobile idea. Moved to Alaska 21 years ago and took up bear and moose hunting out of tree stands and now I'm ready to give saddle hunting a new try. There's so much equipment and information compared to when I was hunting with the Tree Sling years ago!
 
DroptineKrazy said:
You might want to re-think that strategy. Practicing your climbing/descending is almost as important as practicing your shooting skills.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion. I have used climbing sticks and have set platforms from them for a number of years. For me the climbing end of it is not that big of a concern. Shooting from the saddle is a lot different for me compared to shooting while sitting or standing on a stationery platform. That's why I made my set up for practice to allow me to easily hang from the saddle and shoot down hill to simulate being up higher in a tree and shooting onto more or less flat ground. In order to retrieve my arrows I can just detach my bridge and avoid repeated climbing.
 
Hi Walt,

Welcome from another NJ hunter. What area of NJ do you hunt?

David

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top