Saw or Pruners??

[CZMark]

Almost every time I have brought only one, I have wished I brought the other, too. Now I bring both or neither.

 

[GodsCountry]

I can't comment on Southern hunting...never done it.
I do know what I know.
Stealth comes in different forms. Pruners help me be more stealthy in every aspect of being sneaky. Whether its noise reduction, odor reduction, route reduction, movement reduction, or overall disturbance reduction, pruners do things for me that a saw just can't accomplish. Yes, there are times where I need a saw. That's why I carry a tiny saw, too. But I seldom use the saw. I do use the pruners on every single hunt.
Another benefit of pruners...I can walk with much less effort because I'm not bending under stuff, or stepping over stuff, or going around stuff, or squeezing between stuff so I don't touch stuff.
I hunt small properties with some very limited access points and routes. I don't have the luxury of avoiding certain areas, and walking thru where I MUST walk requires stealth.
In my mind, the biggest decision is whether to carry anvil pruners or by pass pruners. Anvil are more versatile than by pass.

As for the lack of ticks on my place...I've done nothing to deter them. That's the mystery...why no ticks on 31 acres of perfect tick habitat and there are ticks all around my place and on all the critters that come and go. It is baffling.
Which is another reason to prune access routes. The less stuff you brush against, the fewer ticks you will pick up.
I actually thought about contacting Penn State to see if they would like to study it. But I can't stand the thoughts of the disturbance.

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I’m with you on the pruners, and I hunt the south. Bow in my left hand, pruners in my right on entry. There are places I go that I literally could not get to without pruners. I’m talking a wall of thorns. If you tried to push through it, you’d be exhausted, bloody, shredded clothes, and 3 feet further. Sure I don’t use them as much a 1/2 mile from my tree, but as I get closer, I’m methodically cutting my way in.

It slows me down. I’m quieter. I sweat less. Less holes in my base layers. Less pissed off.

 

[PAhunter90]

hands down the silky pocket boy

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I’m with you on the pruners, and I hunt the south. Bow in my left hand, pruners in my right on entry. There are places I go that I literally could not get to without pruners. I’m talking a wall of thorns. If you tried to push through it, you’d be exhausted, bloody, shredded clothes, and 3 feet further. Sure I don’t use them as much a 1/2 mile from my tree, but as I get closer, I’m methodically cutting my way in.

It slows me down. I’m quieter. I sweat less. Less holes in my base layers. Less pissed off.

This^^^^^ 110%.

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[Allegheny Tom]

I’m with you on the pruners, and I hunt the south. Bow in my left hand, pruners in my right on entry. There are places I go that I literally could not get to without pruners. I’m talking a wall of thorns. If you tried to push through it, you’d be exhausted, bloody, shredded clothes, and 3 feet further. Sure I don’t use them as much a 1/2 mile from my tree, but as I get closer, I’m methodically cutting my way in.

It slows me down. I’m quieter. I sweat less. Less holes in my base layers. Less pissed off.

Exactly how I walk thru the woods.
A couple of non-pruning uses for my pruner is for a 3rd point of contact for balance. IMO, one of the worst things we do is touch stuff with a gloved hand...even worse is touching stuff with bare hands. I often have to squirm under, over or thru stuff and need to steady myself by reaching out against a tree. I plant my pruner tip against tree trunks to steady myself and negotiate my way a lot quieter, easier and leave less residual odor. If you think that a deer can't smell a single fingerprint on a tree, you would be wrong.

I occasionally use my pruners almost like an ice axe. Stab it into a slick slope of mud or snow and climb with less effort.

Saw for heavy cutting at the tree. Pruners for 99% of all the other stuff.
Not one or the other...BOTH among my gear.

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[TonyGreenway]

Silky Zubat. 'Nuff said.

 

[catman529]

Try to trim off the last foot or so of a quarter inch branch with a saw. Can't do it. Yeah, you can remove the entire branch and cut it flush with the tree trunk, or even back where the branch is large enough to give enough resistance to be cut with a saw, but you just can't do low impact, surgical pruning with a saw.
The OP premise that there might be a tool that can serve both purposes, just isn't so. There is no such thing as "one or the other". You need both, or in the opinion of some guys... neither. But if I'm carrying one, you can bet I still have the other in my pack.


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Most quarter inch branches I can break with my bare hand. If it’s a stubborn branch I will grab the end and pull it tight and rip it with the saw. There’s not much I can’t cut with a saw. Now if I forget to bring either, I will use my pocket knife to whittle my way through small branches.


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[hickstick]

Cant tell you the time ive cut or pruned anything while hunting. If its private land do what you want, if its public land it doesn't belong to you and you have no more right to cut/snip/prune/whathaveyou than you do to walk into your neighbors land and start mowing down her rhodys or rose bushes.


Thats just my 2 cents.

Also, those that trim to not leave scent behind....are you using a hoverboard to levitate your way in? Or just naturally gifted with the ability to fly? Last i checked, everything off-gases, scent control is a fallacy.

 

[GodsCountry]

Cant tell you the time ive cut or pruned anything while hunting. If its private land do what you want, if its public land it doesn't belong to you and you have no more right to cut/snip/prune/whathaveyou than you do to walk into your neighbors land and start mowing down her rhodys or rose bushes.


Thats just my 2 cents.

Also, those that trim to not leave scent behind....are you using a hoverboard to levitate your way in? Or just naturally gifted with the ability to fly? Last i checked, everything off-gases, scent control is a fallacy.

My 2 cents.

On the public I hunt, the state bush hogs hundreds of acres young growth every year, they burn hundreds of acres a year, and actively kill non native trees (which are numerous). I try to limit my impact, but the big picture is that it’s a rather manicured landscape. I judiciously prune, and don’t think twice about it. And it’s legal to trim.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Also, those that trim to not leave scent behind....are you using a hoverboard to levitate your way in? Or just naturally gifted with the ability to fly? Last i checked, everything off-gases, scent control is a fallacy.

Avoidance of hunters with this attitude is precisely why I hunt private land.
Are you equating the oil from a fingerprint to the contact rubber boot sole on the ground?

 

[hickstick]

Avoidance of hunters with this attitude is precisely why I hunt private land.
Are you equating the oil from a fingerprint to the contact rubber boot sole on the ground?

What I am saying is that you will never fool a deer's nose. thinking that a deer can't smell the traces of rubber boot, synthetic clothing, your breakfast left on your breath is as silly as mounting an ozone generator in a tree with you. deer will smell anything out of the ordinary, anything that doesn't belong. does that mean that they will instantly tailspin and head for another county? no. sorry if you don't like my attitude. don't mean to offend, just think the lengths that people go to borders on building a religion...just look at the billions of $$ generated off hunters by scent lock clothing, scent killer spray, and heck I even saw an ad for a licking branch 'mount' so you can make a mock scrape out in the open.

lets just say I fall more in the Infalt camp then the Eberhardt camp as far a 'scent control' goes.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I've been on lots of odor discussions on several forums...not just this one.
I didn't mean to sound offensive toward you about your attitude toward odor reduction.

But I do avoid hunting among others that (I won't use IMO, cause that's just an opinion) I KNOW their practices are counter productive. Sorry man, but ignoring odor reduction is a huge mistake. Hey, hunt the way you want. I can't stop you and I'm not trying to. Just giving advice.
Odor reduction is NOT all or nothing. Grey lines in everything we do. I hunt the gray lines.

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[denots]

Well I wish I would have had either yesterday.

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[Public]

I’m with you on the pruners, and I hunt the south. Bow in my left hand, pruners in my right on entry. There are places I go that I literally could not get to without pruners. I’m talking a wall of thorns. If you tried to push through it, you’d be exhausted, bloody, shredded clothes, and 3 feet further. Sure I don’t use them as much a 1/2 mile from my tree, but as I get closer, I’m methodically cutting my way in.

It slows me down. I’m quieter. I sweat less. Less holes in my base layers. Less pissed off.

"Less pissed off" lol can totally relate...... bow in left hand pruners in right. Thorns are thick and big in Texas!

 

[bongo]

I haven't carried a saw or pruners...ever... on public land. Y'all make me feel like I'm missing out on the secret to life or something. Do folks hunting public land really clip their path to their set? Trim a pile of branches in a tree? Or is this conversation geared more towards private land folks?

If your not the game warden I hunt public 95% of the time and carry both. If you are the game warden I never trim anything.
I don’t break the laws I believe in. Pruning is not one of these.


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[Aeds151]

How do you guys carry your preferred tool up the tree for easy access? I have my Silky in my pack that I wear as I climb with LWHC but its hard to take pack off to get to the saw for one stubborn limb. I have thought about another pouch on my saddle but I already have 2 with one being for a safeguard and 36” of htp rope. Pretty dang heavy saddle as is.


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[Blacksmith]

I like pruners for what its worth. I also use them to gut my deer by slipping the anvil in under the pelvic and snipping it. It makes slipping everything out easier.

 

[mattsteg]

Pocket, hang from an ewo kydex hook, attach to pack strap...lots of options.

 

[Mengle]

I use the outdoor edge saw that came with the Replaceable blade/zipper knife. It is tiny and a season later it is still cutting well.

 

[slonstdy]

Saw stays in the pack and the pruners are in my cargo pocket while I climb