Saddle hunting in the cold, found my limit.

[Bigshootnsuly]

I had plans to go rogue for gun season here in northern MN with my saddle setup on our private land. First evening I went to a tree I pre drilled for climbing with bolts. I ended up having to drill out each hole to get bolts in. I got stuck twice on way up as deer came within range and I had to just hang with my lineman’s belt until the coast was clear. Setup of predator and everything went good, Hunt went great I was comfortable in my bulky winter gear. The problem came after dark, it was around 10 degrees, snowy and fairly windy. I couldn’t operate my carabiners! I have the stock ones that come with the kestrel with the twist lock. I tried with and without my gloves and my hands just kept getting harder to use from the cold. I eventually got things undone and instead of wrapping ropes and attaching stuff to my saddle to climb down I had to just drop ropes and platform. It was cold enough that I ditched my hunting gear for my ice fishing suit.

Safe to say when it gets that cold I will be sticking to my climbing deer stands or pre setup hang on stands. Anyone else able to hunt in those conditions successfully in a saddle?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kenn1320]

I've had legs go numb in cold when I had a trophyline saddle and was a sitter. Using my diy saddle and a HBS I can sit in some pretty cold weather up here in Michigan. The down side of a HBS....you get super cold when you get out. Not sure if its moisture from getting warmer than you think or what. I just know the walk back is always a cold one and I'm wearing my mid season layers.

 

[Homebrew454]

I hunted in low 20s with the biner that Tethryd sent (Wild Country Ascent lite) and had no issues with it or my ropeman. It did snow out one day and covered me as well. This is my first year using the Mantis so I'm interested in this as well.

I never thought about this happening. I guess I'm thinking I would use the chemical hand warmers i carry in my pack to try and warm up the biner. I'm thinking it froze with water in it from snow or moisture. I think more seasoned saddle hunters may have a different opinion or better plan on prevention.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[mattsteg]

Were the biners or your hands frozen? On cold hunts I always have chemical heaters and muff/huge mittens/etc available to warm up my hands and regain function. If it's really cold you can have a pretty short time window. Maybe try a screw lock biner? Slower but simpler mechanical action.

 

[mattsteg]

If you're using a harness with your stands and operating the carabiner on it is ok, try that style of carabiner with your saddle.

 

[kobudo]

I have one out of my 3 carabiners in my system that locks up all of the time. I carry a small Leatherman with me and that does the trick. That thing is getting replaced soon.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Zddog]

You might want to test out the carabiners that are specifically made for the ice rock climbers. They are typically a wire gate and don’t twist. I haven’t tried them but Garrett from diy-sportsman.com has a video on his saddle setup when he first got into saddle hunting before he started hunting out of the aero hunter. That might help I haven’t tried it because I have still hunt out of the old saddle hunter and changed out the carabiners for ones I bought at REI cost about $20 but well worth it they are lighter and better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[swamp_possum]

The first thing I did was ditch those carabiners. I could immediately tell that the twist and push locking mechanism would be a problem for me. I just go with old school screw lock biners.

 

[TonyGreenway]

I use Petzl Tri Act biners, but a lot of people have problems with that style when their hands are numb. The screw lock style, like Tethrd sells, are easy to use with gloves or numb fingers.

 

[redsquirrel]

I wouldn't give up on it if this is your first hunt in those conditions. I have hunted down to 0 in my saddle and last year I shot a buck when it was in the low teens. Everything gets harder for all hunting when it gets so cold, you need to work out a system that works for you and stick to it.

 

[Mike Nutto]

I wouldn't give up on it if this is your first hunt in those conditions. I have hunted down to 0 in my saddle and last year I shot a buck when it was in the low teens. Everything gets harder for all hunting when it gets so cold, you need to work out a system that works for you and stick to it.

Sounds to me like a lack of maintenance on the carabiner's a bit of oil goes a long way even on the aluminum ones !

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

 

[weekender21]

I'm on day 2 of saddle hunting. It was in the teens in western NC this morning. My Mantis worked great but I do not enjoy hanging sticks every sit with 4 layers on. Bulky winter clothing makes everything more difficult.

 

[tbowers]

My tether froze to the tree on multiple occasions this last week in NW WI- it didnt get much above 20 degrees for multiple days. I could not get it off the tree, i had to hit it for about ten minutes with a step for it to get a tiny bit of flex in it to be able to get it off

 

[westmichigander]

i was listening to a truth from the stand podcast with G2outdoors and Clint brought up having a few minor issues when he hunted in freezing rain type situation with his Saddle.
I can think of a few times when using my LW hang on where it went from wet to cold real quick/freezing rain and besides being miserable all my straps froze to the tree.
Does anyone have any experience with your tether getting wet and then frozen and trying to use your ropeman or anything with it.
Thanks