Wow, 46 pages! That took me a minute to get through. Some great info in all those pages though. I received my JX3 Mid hunting season, 2020. I played with it in the yard one time before taking it to the woods. Hind site being 20/20 I should have spent a little more time in it, but I was pretty pumped to get it out there. Being a treestand guy for the last 30 years I found out the hard way there is a bit of a learning curve to the saddle style of hunting. No slam to the JX3, Its my first and only saddle. I'm guessing I would've been in the same boat with any saddle. Due to that learning curve and just defaulting to what I know, I haven't hunted out of it much. But every time I do I always tell myself "This thing is awesome, I should hunt from it more often".
I started reading this thread and got motivated to get back in it. I also got some great Ideas.
@kyler1945 It would've never dawned on me to strap things under the seat! Great freaking idea! Thanks to everyone else that has posted about their set up and mods as well. They really have my wheels turning on some future tinkering.
So yesterday I took some time get a few things rigged up on mine (including my field dressing kit under my seat) I hunted from it.
Again, I still have a lot to learn but I really love the safety and comfort of the JX3. Especially since my HSS harness and lifeline saved my life this season when my cables broke on one of my stands. The JX3 is well thought out and well made. You know Jon is bowhunter, and after speaking with him a couple times I realized he is a great guy to boot.
So here is my situation. I am lucky enough to be able to hunt 100% private land, and they are not large parcels. So the entire wt. discussion trying to shave a pound here or there is not an issue for me. I rarely have more than a 1/4 mile walk to get to my spots. I do know this, when I'm loaded up hiking in, The JX3 plus my gear is WAY lighter and more comfortable to pack in than any of the treestands I own, plus gear. Especially my Summit climber. Great stand but a pain to pack in.
So here is my short list on what I need to work on to go from using my JX3 a few times a season to it being my main hunting platform.
1. Shooting my bow from the hybrid. I need to spend time this off season practicing from the saddle. As I said 30 years of shooting flatfooted only goes so far compared to shooting from that saddle. This is just for my comfort and confidence level.
2. Climbing. Right now I have only hunted from it in trees preset with sticks or steps. I have some WE Stepps and an aider So I either need to practice and get more comfortable using them or, I need to get on the 1 sticking train. Mostly because the idea of repelling down seems, well, awesome. Either way I need to get that figured out.
Once our season closes here in the Buckeye state I think I am gonna make a video showing my set up and my 2 thumbs up review on the JX3 Hybrid.
Oh, and if add that headrest I saw on Jon's webpage, I will never kill another deer again, unless it wakes me up on its way in.