SEOhio_Hunter
New Member
Hello All,
This will be my first season saddle hunting and am really looking forward to it! Many advantages I can already see just from the short time I've been in it prepping trees and practicing shooting my bow out of it. I helped my neighbor hang a tree stand last Friday and this is the first one I've done since getting my saddle and I said to myself "Why in the hell did I ever do this??!!! Climbing a tree and hooking up in a saddle is much easier, faster, and safer!!!"
I am a sales rep in the hunting industry and a co-worker of John Eberhart's. So, after three years of traveling with John and sharing hotel rooms all over the country......I finally saw the light! I suppose there's no better person to have as a saddle hunting mentor....
I will be hunting probably 60% private land 40% public, which is a huge ratio shift from previous years where it was more like a 90-10 split, private to public. The saddle has given me much more confidence to hunt public land for many reasons. 1. much harder for other hunters to find your hunting spots. 2. No stand other hunters can hunt or steal. 3. Lighter total gear load to hike much farther into public land where most hunter are not willing to or cannot go because of lugging heavy stands and the like.
A couple things I've already noticed that may be important to share with other new saddle hunters:
1. Saddles are comfortable and safe for "big guys"!!! I'm about 6'2" and 270 lbs and I feel completely comfortable and safe in my saddle.
2. I'm also afraid of heights to some extent....got over fear of tree stands a long time out of pure necessity (but the transition from climbing sticks into stand was always still sketchy). Climbing the tree with a saddle and always being connected to the tree with a climbing rope and your tree tether, I've never felt safer and really had 0 fear of being even higher than I would normally be in a stand.
3. Ropeman 1's are worth their weight in gold!! Prusik knots work just fine (I tried them before buying Ropemans), but the advantages of the Ropeman far outweigh a friction knot. Especially for bigger folks, your body weight causes the knots to tighten to the extent to where you really have to relieve all your body weight from the knot and loosen it with two hands to adjust. The Ropeman 1's are a one hand operation for the most part.
Thanks and I look forward to talking with you all and learning even more tips and tricks for saddle hunting!!
Best,
Shannon
This will be my first season saddle hunting and am really looking forward to it! Many advantages I can already see just from the short time I've been in it prepping trees and practicing shooting my bow out of it. I helped my neighbor hang a tree stand last Friday and this is the first one I've done since getting my saddle and I said to myself "Why in the hell did I ever do this??!!! Climbing a tree and hooking up in a saddle is much easier, faster, and safer!!!"
I am a sales rep in the hunting industry and a co-worker of John Eberhart's. So, after three years of traveling with John and sharing hotel rooms all over the country......I finally saw the light! I suppose there's no better person to have as a saddle hunting mentor....
I will be hunting probably 60% private land 40% public, which is a huge ratio shift from previous years where it was more like a 90-10 split, private to public. The saddle has given me much more confidence to hunt public land for many reasons. 1. much harder for other hunters to find your hunting spots. 2. No stand other hunters can hunt or steal. 3. Lighter total gear load to hike much farther into public land where most hunter are not willing to or cannot go because of lugging heavy stands and the like.
A couple things I've already noticed that may be important to share with other new saddle hunters:
1. Saddles are comfortable and safe for "big guys"!!! I'm about 6'2" and 270 lbs and I feel completely comfortable and safe in my saddle.
2. I'm also afraid of heights to some extent....got over fear of tree stands a long time out of pure necessity (but the transition from climbing sticks into stand was always still sketchy). Climbing the tree with a saddle and always being connected to the tree with a climbing rope and your tree tether, I've never felt safer and really had 0 fear of being even higher than I would normally be in a stand.
3. Ropeman 1's are worth their weight in gold!! Prusik knots work just fine (I tried them before buying Ropemans), but the advantages of the Ropeman far outweigh a friction knot. Especially for bigger folks, your body weight causes the knots to tighten to the extent to where you really have to relieve all your body weight from the knot and loosen it with two hands to adjust. The Ropeman 1's are a one hand operation for the most part.
Thanks and I look forward to talking with you all and learning even more tips and tricks for saddle hunting!!
Best,
Shannon
