I ran out to a nearby WMA over the weekend to dry-run a mobile hunt. Other than not wearing hunting clothes and not carrying my bow, I pretty much had everything I'd have for an actual hunt. I've always hunted solely on preset stands on private land, so I have no experience at all with mobile setups. I wanted to write this up for folks like me who are new to this. For the most part, I was trying to be as stealthy and quiet as possible, especially with the setup/teardown process and maneuvering in the tree.
TL;DR: I decided to remove excess "stuff" attached to Kestrel. This reinforced the amount of time/focus is required to ascend/descend safely and quietly. Bullman ring of steps really does need to be cinched down REALLY tight. Taking a leak is awkward. Probably best not to anchor on the high side of a leaning tree (likely related to mentions above about the bullman steps and peeing). Uncertain about necessity of knee pads. Repetition is needed. Practice in the dark is needed. Saddle hunting is a game changer.
Now more details...
The gear I had was:
-Kestrel kit, mostly stock but with a webbing bridge and a diy rope tender + prusik on the lineman's belt and 12' tether.
-rangefinder case hooked to the waste strap on the kestrel, used as an easy-access general accessory case.
-Summit bow hoist, attached to back of kestrel
-mesh pouch (very similar to sys hauler) tied to lineman's loop, used to hold tether
-modified API hunt'n sticks (cam buckles silenced with bike tire tube) with 2-step movable aider
-bullman ring of steps
-tenzing 1140 sling pack
-550 paracord gear strap, using 9-biner and various hooks/clips, including heroclip that I'd use for my bow
I also threw in some other accessories, like some heavy binos (would never use for hunting) and thermacell. In total, the full set of gear was right at 25 pounds.
I walked in just shy of a mile, and it's some work hauling that much weight/gear. I cinched the kestrel weight strap very tight, and it was pretty uncomfortable with all the extra weight on there. So, I'm in agreement with guys that don't like a lot of extras directly on the saddle. I wound up removing the bow hoist and rangefinder case, so those will be on my pack next time.
I used my aider as a shoulder strap to carry the sticks and that worked well, On the other side, I hooked the bullman ring of steps near the wasteband of my pack using a small nite-ize tie, and it worked fairly well. It wore comfortably, but there was a little more rattling than I'd like- very soft and infrequent the way i had those bundled and tied, but still something I plan to address somehow.
Climbing the tree was the most enlightening part of the exercise. The big takeaway was how much time and concentration it can take to do it safely and quietly. After setting my first stick from the ground, I hooked my other two sticks to each hip, which I believe was inspired by boudreaux's or bowhunter15's videos. Doing that was noisy as a climbed, though I'm nearly certain it's because the steps were hitting my bow hoist. I need to try again with the hoist removed, to confirm that the sticks weren't actually hitting each other. I also discovered the step spacing was too much on my aider, despite the fact I thought I was pretty conservative when I originally made it.
I liked using the lineman's belt with the prusik and tender, though it did bind heavily a couple times. Because of that, I've since removed a wrap on the prusik (now using 3 wraps instead of 4). I'll see what difference that makes next time.
Once I got to height (didn't push it- about 15 ft.), initially setting the bullman steps without making much noise was pretty easy, just by holding the catches on the ratchet strap. But I found out pretty quickly why everyone emphasizes how tight you need to get the strap, because the steps rotated pretty significantly. I strongly believe much of this was due to setting them on a leaning tree and some of it may be that the strap needed to stretch a bit. But, I did have to climb down a bit to tighten the strap, this time using most of my strength and making no attempt to keep the ratchet quiet.
Other than issues with the steps, this reiterated my initial impressions from prior practice sits. The ability to move around the tree is amazing. I'm definitely a sitter and not a leaner, and I liked my webbing bridge to save bulk and weight from the stock bridge (think it's around 28"). I never felt unsafe, though i'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. This was also my first time using the gear strap and heroclip. I'll just say I'm a huge fan of that setup.
I'd guess the diameter of the tree at that height was a little over 5 feet, and I couldn't go much bigger if I'm using the strap that came with the ring of steps. And if that's the case, I don't see a need for knee pads. People seem to say those are necessary for a sitter. But I was generally straddling the tree, and couldn't envision a case where I'd be comfortable with my knees on the tree, whether I had knee pads or not. I may be completely wrong in that assessment though, especially once I spend more time in the tree (hung for maybe an hour during this outing).
One mistake I believe I made was having my tether on the high side of the slightly-leaning tree I was in. The pull of gravity added some challenges when I tried moving to the other side of the tree. I also really had to battle that while taking a leak.
I found packing up and climbing down easier than going up, likely mainly because the system was fresher on my mind. Again, the most difficult part stemmed from the step spacing on my aider. Otherwise, it was relatively quick and easy while keeping quiet. I need to figure out a good option for silencing my sticks as I stack/unstack them, but even doing nothing, it's not too hard to keep quiet as long as I go slow.
But in general, I'm extremely glad I took the time to do this now. I definitely need to repeat it at least 2-3 more times before our season starts Oct. 1, and especially need to do it in the dark. I think the key will be having a solid, familiar, fully repeatable system in order to do it well.
TL;DR: I decided to remove excess "stuff" attached to Kestrel. This reinforced the amount of time/focus is required to ascend/descend safely and quietly. Bullman ring of steps really does need to be cinched down REALLY tight. Taking a leak is awkward. Probably best not to anchor on the high side of a leaning tree (likely related to mentions above about the bullman steps and peeing). Uncertain about necessity of knee pads. Repetition is needed. Practice in the dark is needed. Saddle hunting is a game changer.
Now more details...
The gear I had was:
-Kestrel kit, mostly stock but with a webbing bridge and a diy rope tender + prusik on the lineman's belt and 12' tether.
-rangefinder case hooked to the waste strap on the kestrel, used as an easy-access general accessory case.
-Summit bow hoist, attached to back of kestrel
-mesh pouch (very similar to sys hauler) tied to lineman's loop, used to hold tether
-modified API hunt'n sticks (cam buckles silenced with bike tire tube) with 2-step movable aider
-bullman ring of steps
-tenzing 1140 sling pack
-550 paracord gear strap, using 9-biner and various hooks/clips, including heroclip that I'd use for my bow
I also threw in some other accessories, like some heavy binos (would never use for hunting) and thermacell. In total, the full set of gear was right at 25 pounds.
I walked in just shy of a mile, and it's some work hauling that much weight/gear. I cinched the kestrel weight strap very tight, and it was pretty uncomfortable with all the extra weight on there. So, I'm in agreement with guys that don't like a lot of extras directly on the saddle. I wound up removing the bow hoist and rangefinder case, so those will be on my pack next time.
I used my aider as a shoulder strap to carry the sticks and that worked well, On the other side, I hooked the bullman ring of steps near the wasteband of my pack using a small nite-ize tie, and it worked fairly well. It wore comfortably, but there was a little more rattling than I'd like- very soft and infrequent the way i had those bundled and tied, but still something I plan to address somehow.
Climbing the tree was the most enlightening part of the exercise. The big takeaway was how much time and concentration it can take to do it safely and quietly. After setting my first stick from the ground, I hooked my other two sticks to each hip, which I believe was inspired by boudreaux's or bowhunter15's videos. Doing that was noisy as a climbed, though I'm nearly certain it's because the steps were hitting my bow hoist. I need to try again with the hoist removed, to confirm that the sticks weren't actually hitting each other. I also discovered the step spacing was too much on my aider, despite the fact I thought I was pretty conservative when I originally made it.
I liked using the lineman's belt with the prusik and tender, though it did bind heavily a couple times. Because of that, I've since removed a wrap on the prusik (now using 3 wraps instead of 4). I'll see what difference that makes next time.
Once I got to height (didn't push it- about 15 ft.), initially setting the bullman steps without making much noise was pretty easy, just by holding the catches on the ratchet strap. But I found out pretty quickly why everyone emphasizes how tight you need to get the strap, because the steps rotated pretty significantly. I strongly believe much of this was due to setting them on a leaning tree and some of it may be that the strap needed to stretch a bit. But, I did have to climb down a bit to tighten the strap, this time using most of my strength and making no attempt to keep the ratchet quiet.
Other than issues with the steps, this reiterated my initial impressions from prior practice sits. The ability to move around the tree is amazing. I'm definitely a sitter and not a leaner, and I liked my webbing bridge to save bulk and weight from the stock bridge (think it's around 28"). I never felt unsafe, though i'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. This was also my first time using the gear strap and heroclip. I'll just say I'm a huge fan of that setup.
I'd guess the diameter of the tree at that height was a little over 5 feet, and I couldn't go much bigger if I'm using the strap that came with the ring of steps. And if that's the case, I don't see a need for knee pads. People seem to say those are necessary for a sitter. But I was generally straddling the tree, and couldn't envision a case where I'd be comfortable with my knees on the tree, whether I had knee pads or not. I may be completely wrong in that assessment though, especially once I spend more time in the tree (hung for maybe an hour during this outing).
One mistake I believe I made was having my tether on the high side of the slightly-leaning tree I was in. The pull of gravity added some challenges when I tried moving to the other side of the tree. I also really had to battle that while taking a leak.
I found packing up and climbing down easier than going up, likely mainly because the system was fresher on my mind. Again, the most difficult part stemmed from the step spacing on my aider. Otherwise, it was relatively quick and easy while keeping quiet. I need to figure out a good option for silencing my sticks as I stack/unstack them, but even doing nothing, it's not too hard to keep quiet as long as I go slow.
But in general, I'm extremely glad I took the time to do this now. I definitely need to repeat it at least 2-3 more times before our season starts Oct. 1, and especially need to do it in the dark. I think the key will be having a solid, familiar, fully repeatable system in order to do it well.
