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Setup priorities

ThePennsylvanian

ThePennsylvanian

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
991
Location
Western Pennsylvania
Saddles are the "hype" "fad" these days. They'll fade away and everyone will just be using climbers and ladders like they've always done. . . . . . . .
Atleast that's what I got told today.
Switching to primarily a saddle has taught me a few things. First being that, saddles were what I was looking for, for years, I just didn't know it... Second, theres nothing wrong with using trendy cool gizmos and gadgets, especially if they work for you. And third it's not for everyone, and that's ok, but just because it doesn't work for one fella doesn't mean I'm an a**hole because I go together with my saddle like peas and carrots....
I got asked "what's the point", to which I replied "to kill deer" lol , but then I thought and said it fits all my priorities for a setup to kill deer. So here are my priorities for my saddle setup:
1) Simple - this is really 1, 2 and 3 for me. I want the least moving, coupled witv low effort, and minimal amounts of gear.
2) Safe - safety is a relative term. What I mean by this is quality gear that i can rely on. I have an unhealthy fear of heights, but I overcome it every year, because I trust my gear and inspect
it evrytime I touch it.
3) Compact - when I was in the MC, everything needed to be tight and pretty. I can't stand bulky gear that can't be kept contained. When my bag is packed I need everything to be contained I side of it. It's what I like. I don't do loose straps, sticks poking out or just strapped to the outside of the bag. I have hangups I know.
And 4) Lite weight - again a relative term, but I want to keep everything I take with under 12-14lbs max.
 
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Times do change…… I learned of saddles back in 2015 after reading John E book. I found aero hunter bought the evo and it’s only got better since !!!!! I couldn’t even think about carrying a climber or ladder stand into the woods ever again. Not saying that theirs anything wrong with a climber or ladder stand but it’s not for me. Now a days my energy is focused on deer not a way to get up a tree.
 
ThePennsylvanian said:
Saddles are the "hype" "fad" these days. They'll fade away and everyone will just be using climbers and ladders like they've always done. . . . . . . .
Atleast that's what I got told today.
Switching to primarily a saddle has taught me a few things. First being that, saddles were what I was looking for, for years, I just didn't know it... Second, theres nothing wrong with using trendy cool gizmos and gadgets, especially if they work for you. And third it's not for everyone, and that's ok, but just because it doesn't work for one fella doesn't mean I'm an a**hole because I go together with my saddle like peas and carrots....
I got asked "what's the point", to which I replied "to kill deer" lol , but then I thought and said it fits all my priorities for a setup to kill deer. So here are my priorities for my saddle setup:
1) Simple - this is really 1, 2 and 3 for me. I want the least moving, coupled witv low effort, and minimal amounts of gear.
2) Safe - safety is a relative term. What I mean by this is quality gear that i can rely on. I have an unhealthy fear of heights, but I overcome it every year, because I trust my gear and inspect
it evrytime I touch it.
3) Compact - when I was in the MC, everything needed to be tight and pretty. I can't stand bulky gear that can't be kept contained. When my bag is packed I need everything to be contained I side of it. It's what I like. I don't do loose straps, sticks poking out or just strapped to the outside of the bag. I have hangups I know.
And 4) Lite weight - again a relative term, but I want to keep everything I take with under 12-14lbs max.
Click to expand...

So, what's your setup?
 
I still hunt from a 30lb early 90s climber in certain situations. I still hunt from a folding chair in certain situations. I use a saddle for everything else. For me the situations where the saddle wins out are small trees, giant trees, and trees where I need to get above limbs. Someone who can’t understand the point is probably only hunting one very specific situation and already has exactly what they need. If you’ve got a small parcel, one shooting lane at a food plot, and hunt from a ladder stand, a saddle probably doesn’t make sense to you. If you’ve got open country and hunt from a chair in a blind, a climber probably doesn’t make sense to you. It’s all relative and situational and for me I find myself in a lot of situations where saddles are the ONLY set up that would work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
On private land, everyone has box stands and you see them everywhere. For over a decade, I'd walk out to the pump house with my gun, chair and coffee, remove a window and wait for the deer to come up in the yard. For the most part, this always worked and I'd have a deer in the freezer. However, I got bored of this because I wasn't hunting but harvesting.

Hang-on's hurt my back and I cannot sit in them. Climbers are comfy but heavy and most of the trees where I hunt wouldn't work well with a climber. Saddle hunting solves all of this and makes hunting enjoyable again.
 
Plebe said:
So, what's your setup?
Click to expand...
My current setup:
Saddle: 2018 Aerohunter Kite, I replaced the waistbelt buckle with an austrialpin D-ring cobra prostate 18kn buckle, I use this in place of a riggers belt. I also use a tube webbing fixed length removable bridge.
Tether: Diy Climb spec tube webbing, AA 18kn frame release Dring
Platform: Gen 1 Ridge runner
Climbing method: 5 WE steps, with a single step tube web aider.
Pack: I switch between 2 US Army MOLLE II assault pack & USMC FILBE assault pack
 
Im not saying that the saddle is the death of treestands, but they definitely are not just a fad. I still have my sumit open shot climber, a handle full of ladder stands I never took down and sit occasionally. My reason for starting this thread was exactly that, are saddles trendy right now sure, but that shouldn't take away from just how versatile and useful they are, to the point where guys are chastised for using them. I've been using almost exclusively since 2018. It's changed how I approaching hunting, when I used my climber if I went into an area to hunt with it, I was 100% going to use it because I carried it back with me. With a saddle I've become much more of a deer hunter, since it is so light and compact I've I feel like I need to be on the ground I'll hunt from the ground.
 
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Ive hunted saddles, blinds, ladders, climbers, and hang ons. Ive also done my share of buckets!

All have pros and cons and all work better in some situations than not.

I wouldnt say saddles themselves are necessarily safer - full harnesses are also safe. Why it may seem safer is may be because people are actually tethering to the tree or using a linemans the whole time - they are always connected to the tree! However, i would rather be connected from the front than back if I fall. So i always use a rock climbing harnest vs a full body on my ladder stands. Its the climbing and transitions that are the most dangerous.

For versatility, i had more options with the saddle vs all other methods. The closest comparison may be a hang on with sticks but we know how much more bulky that is to pack. But i found saddle hunting isnt as ‘minimalist’ as Id like. Exception may be preset DRT method, but you still are carrying around a ton of weight.

With archery, because you have to get closer, your scent and movement are gonna bust you on the ground more so than in a tree. However, ive witnessed blinds act as a great scent covers and conceal movement well enough, but there placement is harder to be inconspicuous.

Ie, i wouldnt say one item is superior over the other. But I agree saddle hunting is by no means a fad. Its just a new way of doing things.
 
Saddle hunting is effective for sure, but if I'm being honest, the #1 reason I hunt almost exclusively from a saddle now is because it’s just plain fun. I’ve enjoyed hunting from a saddle more than any other method. Enjoyment. Plain and simple.
 
This is my 4th year hunting from a saddle, the first 2 were with a JX3 exclusively, last year I added a Method 2 panel. This year I added a Predator platform when using the 2 panel saddle and love it. I'm also in the process of adding rappelling down some time this season. I have the rope, figure 8 and auto block worked out that I'm currently practicing with before actually adding it into my system. I've added single step aiders to my sticks, amsteel attachment rope instead of the straps to the sticks. I'm saying all this to actually say I love to tinker with my hunting set ups. I've used climbers for the past 40+ years including the original Baker climbers before safety harnesses were even made, ladder stands, ground blinds, hammock seat, fold out chairs, hang on stands basically all methods. I turn 64 next month, have killed more than my share of deer and find hunting from a saddle the most enjoyable method that allows me to get in almost any tree I desire at a reasonable, effective height. I still have some fixed sticks in place that I gun hunt from with the JX3. I know I'm rambling some but I can't stress how going to saddle hunting for 95% of my deer hunting has upped my enjoyment time in the deer woods, plus the benefit of not carrying around a bulky heavy but comfortable climbing stand. Saddle hunting is not for everyone but I really enjoy it due to the compactness, lighter weight, climb almost any tree ability, and pleasure I get by trying new things at this stage of my life.
In conclusion my priorities for my hunting set up is the safest, lightest, ease of use and effective system I can find which saddle hunting fits the bill 95% of the time. If I'm in a tree I prefer my saddles. Thanks for listening to a young/old man ramble. Be safe, hunt hard, enjoy life it goes by too quick.
 
Saddles are tools and very useful at that I truly enjoy hunting out of mine But and a Big But is that they are not the be all end all solution Flexibility and the ability to adapt with different methods will keep you in killing trees and not in bird watching perches IMO If you try to bend your hunting grounds to shape what type of tree you want and not where the deer sign is Its gonna be a long season
 
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