My 2 cent vent (Hawk Saddle & Platform News)

[raisins]

This is the only pic I have seen of it. From Hawks facebook page.
View attachment 29024

Of course, the guy doesn't know how to shoot a bow. Anchoring at his Adam's apple and bow hand with heel dropped and clinching the handle despite a wrist sling being present. This actually matters to me because it means half the people involved with this don't know what they are doing.

 

[ShawnE]

Man, I'm shocked by this. Granted it's been several years since I purchased anything from them. But a few years back, I had an issue where one of there twisty gear tie things broke. I emailed them just to see if I could get a replacement. They sent me 2 or 3 replacements, some of their tree hooks, some extendable arms, and a hat. It was the best customer service I had ever received. Now I believe they were acquired by someone else since that encounter, so maybe that's the issue, but man. Sucks it's gone downhill so severely.

A few years back they were a private company operating out of Michigan. Customer service was awesome back then too. Ever since GSM took control, its gone down hill

 

[Weldabeast]

How the heck does some spray paint void a warranty? Just a cop out to avoid replacing them. With that said, a loose standoff doesn't seem like a warranty issue to me but an issue with whoever put them together.

Actually its users fault for not checking their gear before use....

 

[ShawnE]

While I understand where your heart is in this post, and I have and will continue to support the family businesses when I can, the reality of capitalism is that almost every single one of these small companies in the saddle industry only pray for the day that their business is big enough to gain the attention of a GSM Outddors so they can sell out and move on with their $ piece of the pie. Logic also flows that the more you support the little guys, the faster they get to sell out to the big guys.

Also, there are lots of little guys employed by the big conglomerates that are just feeding their families and don't get to drive Bugattis, so they are negatively impacted by statements like this when acted upon too.

Just throwing out a broader view on the subject. More competition in this industry, from both small and large companies, should be welcomed. Capitalism is not always fair, but way better than the alternatives!

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I appreciate the respect and sharing your view on the subject @Bwhana. I have to believe that not every small business owner dreams of the day they can sell out. Look at Mathews and G5 Outdoors/ Prime Archery as a small example. Two great 100% private companies who have yet to sell out – despite massive success over many many years. They have most likely gotten loads of offers to sell over the years, but keeping the business in the family or local is more important. Sometimes business owners just want to make a comfortable living for themselves and their employees and not be in it to cash a check with a lot of zeros in it. It's not always about making loads of money.

Shows like Shark Tank have created this new breed of entrepreneurs demanding instant sales and success so they can sell out a couple years later and enjoy their fast money. I'd rather support or have a business generating a realistic and sustainable income for 25+ years than pump up a business to cash out and leave everyone else wondering why they just lost their jobs due to a massive restructuring of the company.

I understand there are families paying the bills at every level of business size. In my mind, choosing to support the little guy actually keeps more working Americans employed because it keeps more money here in America instead of oversea manufacturing or an investors stock. Every single time you shop small, more cents per dollar stay local which goes to support more businesses and employees.

Competition is always healthy – but leeching off someone else innovation and ideas when they know absolutely nothing about it – wrong kind of competition in my book. If nothing else, I hope it will generate more buzz and spur the little guys onward and upward to keep innovating and driving this awesome style of hunting forward. And yes, I would much rather see capitalism than any other alternative. Good point.

 

[Jtaylor]

This may have been said already but one of the benefits of a big name company coming along and snagging up these ideas is free big time advertising for the little guy. Joe Blow treestand hunter buys one because he likes the idea, finds out it sucks and goes looking for an alternative like one of the potentially better built ones from the "little guys". Maybe Joe Blow didn't even know saddle hunting existed before big time marketing from the big guys. If it's getting more people into the woods and in a saddle, we're better off all along.

 

[Gamover06]

Of course, the guy doesn't know how to shoot a bow. Anchoring at his Adam's apple and bow hand with heel dropped and clinching the handle despite a wrist sling being present. This actually matters to me because it means half the people involved with this don't know what they are doing.

Bahahaha. That's the first thing i saw. I mean is it that hard to find someone at a hunting company that knows that they are doing.

 

[TooBigToFit]

Bahahaha. That's the first thing i saw. I mean is it that hard to find someone at a hunting company that knows that they are doing.

To be fair, a lot of the time the people that photograph this stuff aren't really on the staff of that company... They hire some photographer and they make things look nice. In the gun world, there's a pretty notable example of this...

H&K and Backwards Bullets: The Real Story -

It is no secret that I am an unrepentant H&K-aholic. Over the years I have collected just about every one of their roller locked long guns, a ton of their pistols dating back to the HK4 and VP70z, and even a few modern implements that required quite a bit of effort to get ahold of. … Read More …

www.thefirearmblog.com

They actually pulled the goofed catalog, and now (sadly, like many other HK things) go for a pretty penny on eBay.

 

[raisins]

Bahahaha. That's the first thing i saw. I mean is it that hard to find someone at a hunting company that knows that they are doing.

The guy with the biggest rear end didn't know how to shoot, so they had to make a hard decision. And I'm being half serious. They probably had several people try on the saddle and they assessed them for overall "look" and whether or not they had ever touched a bow was likely a distant second place consideration.

 

[Westdesign03]

I resonate with so much of what you said here man. I have gear that's on both sides of the equation as well - but it's the stuff that's made by the small guys I have a personal connection to the most - which makes the experience hunting with that much more meaningful and enjoyable for me. I've been using my Muddy Pro sticks for 5 plus years now - and will continue to use them until I am able to upgrade to something else. At the time when i bought them, it was pretty much the best option available. With the newer options now, I've got to save up a bit before I can drop $80-100 per stick - but I will happily do just that when I can. And it will be money well invested too - every penny.

Most definitely man. If you think about it, how many times do you “seal the deal” when you go out? Then how many times do you use your gear when you go out? Every single time. Like so many say around here, it’s about the experience and the journey, not the kill. At least it’s not for me. Sealing the deal is just icing on the cake. So HOW and with what I take the journey with is a big important part of it for me.


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