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Movement

useyourbow

useyourbow

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2020
Messages
82
How much do you move when up a tree? I am 61 and although i have figured out the saddle comfort element my legs and feet go to hurting pretty quick into the hunt.
 
useyourbow said:
How much do you move when up a tree? I am 61 and although i have figured out the saddle comfort element my legs and feet go to hurting pretty quick into the hunt.
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Im 57 and move quite a bit in saddle. I usually do afternoon hunts of 3-4 hours. One trick is to use a loc on as a platform so you can sit some. I do this on all day or long sits
 
I look around slowly first before making any bigger moves and then move slow. On crunchy days, it's easier than on the days when they sneak up on you. I have a small plastic mirror that I've brought with me before and used to look behind me prior to moving.
 
I’m in my mid fifties in age and I transition from leaning to sitting when my body tells me to. I used to lean much more than I do now but for some reason I’ve been able to get dialed in perfectly in a sitting position and can sit for quite awhile without any movement. I’ve even dozed off a little bit if I got set up real early before first light and have been very comfortable sitting. I adjust my tether height and bridge length until my knees are slightly below my butt in the sitting position. I also use knee pads and I’m telling you to me it’s more comfortable than in a tree stand.
 
I have to have a platform. I need to stand up now and then to let the blood flow.
Sitting in a saddle with my nose to the tree I seem to keep moving right and left so I can see around that dang tree. I move a whole lot less in a tree stand.
 
I'm 61 also. I find I move a lot less when I'm sitting knees to the tree. From that position all of my motion is just turning my head back and forth. I find when I'm leaning I tend to swivel my whole torso to look around. I also find myself unconsciously swaying back in forth when leaning. Luckily I'm actually more comfortable sitting then leaning but I do tend to mix it up a bit the tree to stretch every once in a while. I estimate I sit about 50 minutes and move to a lean for about 10 minutes of every hour.
 
I move like, freaking all the time. Generally slow and smooth, but I’m a leaner in the saddle and I have an arthritic bone spur that makes my foot go numb if I set on it for too long. Plus I’m a martial arts teacher at night who chases his three kids around during the daytime, and already have a hard time staying still, so I’m rarely not fidgeting in the tree. It’s actually one of the reasons I decided to try a saddle instead of sticking with my normal HSS treestand harness or hunting from the ground: you CAN get away with a lot more movement in the saddle than you can in either of those methods, and it’s way safer. And kinda fun.
 
I move way too much, especially since most of the trees I hunt are on the skinny side, and I'm usually only 11-14' up. That was the one advantage to my climber. I could sit and not move an inch for an hour or more. With the saddle, about 15 minutes is the longest I can go without changing something.

Getting closer to figuring it out. This year I discovered that sitting is better with my tether way longer than it is for standing/leaning. In the offseason, I'm going to try to find some type of belt/strap to put around my legs above my knees. I think that will help when I'm sitting on skinny trees with no room for both knees.
 
OSUTodd said:
I move way too much, especially since most of the trees I hunt are on the skinny side, and I'm usually only 11-14' up. That was the one advantage to my climber. I could sit and not move an inch for an hour or more. With the saddle, about 15 minutes is the longest I can go without changing something.

Getting closer to figuring it out. This year I discovered that sitting is better with my tether way longer than it is for standing/leaning. In the offseason, I'm going to try to find some type of belt/strap to put around my legs above my knees. I think that will help when I'm sitting on skinny trees with no room for both knees.
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For me a higher tether does reduce the pressure on the knees while sitting which is a good thing because it allows a longer bridge which reduces the hip pinch while sitting. Putting the bridge up higher has the added benefit of giving me the necessary clearance to walk around the tree if necessary The only downside for me of putting my tether up higher is it does make leaning a bit less comfortable. That's okay though, I prefer to sit most of the time.

Edit: I should probably clarify too that when sitting I actually lean forward with my chest and head resting on my bridge. I find that more comfortable than sitting back with a back band.
 
OSUTodd said:
I move way too much, especially since most of the trees I hunt are on the skinny side, and I'm usually only 11-14' up. That was the one advantage to my climber. I could sit and not move an inch for an hour or more. With the saddle, about 15 minutes is the longest I can go without changing something.

Getting closer to figuring it out. This year I discovered that sitting is better with my tether way longer than it is for standing/leaning. In the offseason, I'm going to try to find some type of belt/strap to put around my legs above my knees. I think that will help when I'm sitting on skinny trees with no room for both knees.
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Instead of putting a strap around your legs, try putting a strap on tree step on each side of the tree for your knees to rest on.
 
I move way to much. But that's why I like to hunt big trees with multiple limbs. Helps you get a way with a little more. Not always. But helps some. I was sitting more this season. But haven't found a good knee pad option. I think @boyne bowhunter is on to something with the knee pad sewn into the vest. I don't like how knee pads roll just a little on the round tree. A big pad is to bulky to keep strait. I love how there is now 56 platform options. But still only a few knee pad options.
 
MattMan81 said:
I move way to much. But that's why I like to hunt big trees with multiple limbs. Helps you get a way with a little more. Not always. But helps some. I was sitting more this season. But haven't found a good knee pad option. I think @boyne bowhunter is on to something with the knee pad sewn into the vest. I don't like how knee pads roll just a little on the round tree. A big pad is to bulky to keep strait. I love how there is now 56 platform options. But still only a few knee pad options.
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See my post above. Best knee pads are tethrd. I have tried a lot them
 
MattMan81 said:
I move way to much. But that's why I like to hunt big trees with multiple limbs. Helps you get a way with a little more. Not always. But helps some. I was sitting more this season. But haven't found a good knee pad option. I think @boyne bowhunter is on to something with the knee pad sewn into the vest. I don't like how knee pads roll just a little on the round tree. A big pad is to bulky to keep strait. I love how there is now 56 platform options. But still only a few knee pad options.
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I hate knee pads. Absolutely and completely.
No reason I should have to strap extra crap (single-purpose crap, no less) to all the extra crap I have on, just to kiiiinda increase comfort. Though I lean almost exclusively, I still sit once in a while and I have never worried about the integrity of my pants fabric nor the minor pinch on my kneecap as I set my knee to the trunk. Reinforced knees, if you’re into sewing, can be awesome for sitters and leaners though, adjusting around trunks and such. I just got a new pair of Redhead bibs, the knees are reinforced and I had them up against the tree last weekend with zero discomfort.
 
Early season, with lots of cover, I move a lot. If you find a spot with cover on almost all sides, you could do jumping jacks and be ok. I found a hot spot on public this year. It was a pine forest with 5 white oaks that were dropping. I experimented a lot with movement at this spot.

Late season is another story ....
Saddle hunting is most effective early season IMO
 
MattMan81 said:
I move way to much. But that's why I like to hunt big trees with multiple limbs. Helps you get a way with a little more. Not always. But helps some. I was sitting more this season. But haven't found a good knee pad option. I think @boyne bowhunter is on to something with the knee pad sewn into the vest. I don't like how knee pads roll just a little on the round tree. A big pad is to bulky to keep strait. I love how there is now 56 platform options. But still only a few knee pad options.
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I probably haven't been all that good at describing my knee padding system. I use a turkey vest as my pack which I hang directly in front of me so it wraps around the tree. The first layer of padding is the sewn in back padding that is manufactured into the pack.

The second layer is a cheap foam seat pad (I actually found this one floating in a puddle in a two track during turkey season) that I put in the pouch. It weighs next to nothing and provides a large area of extra padding.

Between it and my rappel rope (which I position just under my kneecaps) there's a bunch of extra padding available now. I have an adjustment for height of the vest on my gear hanger so I can get it all positioned to where its most comfortable.

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The other advantage of the separate pad is that it provides a noise separator between my platform and one stick when everything is packed up.

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