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So many Predators!!!!

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LeonJ71

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2020
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27
Location
Defuniak Springs, Fl.
Next season will be my first time saddle hunting. I have been watching classified for gear. I find it disconcerting when I am seeing so many people selling off their predator platform. I have seen where people are having some break at the adjustment. Is that the main reason? I have seen enough sales that it makes me want to shy from that platform. Am I missing something else here?
 
LeonJ71 said:
Next season will be my first time saddle hunting. I have been watching classified for gear. I find it disconcerting when I am seeing so many people selling off their predator platform. I have seen where people are having some break at the adjustment. Is that the main reason? I have seen enough sales that it makes me want to shy from that platform. Am I missing something else here?
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Don't worry about it. It's a good platform. Mine has been great for me.
 
LeonJ71 said:
Next season will be my first time saddle hunting. I have been watching classified for gear. I find it disconcerting when I am seeing so many people selling off their predator platform. I have seen where people are having some break at the adjustment. Is that the main reason? I have seen enough sales that it makes me want to shy from that platform. Am I missing something else here?
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I have a mission and a predator, both great platforms
 
I've been hunting off the Predator for three years now and haven't found anything that suits my needs in a platform better. I've tried a bunch of others (my saddle collection is only surpassed by my platform collection :tearsofjoy:) and I keep going back to the Predator as my go to. As far breakage I've had no issues and my Gen 2 has been on the tree over 200 times and I'm in the upper range of weight so I don't have any qualms about it's strength. Some of the perceived downsides I've seen mentioned are exactly things I like about it (primarily size). I've tried other options that hold to the tree better but I've found the Predator to be more than sufficient and it's a trade off I'm willing to accept for the platform size that suits me.

I'm going to guess that a lot of guys who are selling are looking for something that suits their individual needs a little better. They may be looking for a little larger platform or something that locks to the tree just a bit better. Coming from a big tree stand platform to the smaller surface area of the Predator may not be comfortable for them in the tree. It's also time of the year for a lot of guys to offload gear with the intent of trying something different. I know I've bought a bunch of platforms trying to make sure I wasn't missing out on the next best option.

I guess what I'm trying to say is there are a lot of options out there now and I don't personally think there are any serious issues with any of them,including the Predator. They just all fit a slightly different need.
 
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It would help if the guys selling them posted a picture of the adjustment bolt hole to show theirs is not one of the defective ones that was drilled off center causing them to crack.
 
All of mine are still off center so I'm not sure that's a true measure of risk, at least not visually. Whether there is a crack or not is certainly a question I would ask before buying. The ones that cracked seemed to do so early on in their usage.
 
boyne bowhunter said:
And I thought I was the only guy with three . . . :tearsofjoy:
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Haha, I ordered one gen 1 on the 1st day they were avail for pre-order. When the box arrived at my door and I picked it up, the sucker weighed WAY MORE than the 3 pounds they advertised. I thought to myself...'Wow, Tethrd sure is full of crap when they advertised the weight of this thing'. Then I opened the box...Ernie inadvertently sent me TWO for the price of ONE. JACKPOT said the devil on my left shoulder! Then the little angel on my right shoulder spoke up and convinced me to do the right thing. I contacted Tethrd and they offered me the 2nd one at a discount to reward my honesty...I could have just kept my mouth shut and had a freebie.
When the gen 2 came out, I bought one of those, too.
That's how I ended up with 3.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Haha, I ordered one gen 1 on the 1st day they were avail for pre-order. When the box arrived at my door and I picked it up, the sucker weighed WAY MORE than the 3 pounds they advertised. I thought to myself...'Wow, Tethrd sure is full of crap when they advertised the weight of this thing'. Then I opened the box...Ernie inadvertently sent me TWO for the price of ONE. JACKPOT said the devil on my left shoulder! Then the little angel on my right shoulder spoke up and convinced me to do the right thing. I contacted Tethrd and they offered me the 2nd one at a discount to reward my honesty...I could have just kept my mouth shut and had a freebie.
When the gen 2 came out, I bought one of those, too.
That's how I ended up with 3.
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I also ordered an early original Gen 1 and hunted off it all that season. I purchased a Gen 2 which I can get much tighter on the the tree and have hunted off that two years now. This year I tried to setup two identical kits so I could just pick the other one up and go if I soaked one hunting in the rain. That meant the Gen 1 was in one of the kits and I just don't want to set that platform as hard to the tree based on its known history so there were 3 or 4 sits this year on the Gen 1 where it wasn't "as secure" to the tree. To fully complete my redundant packs set up I just recently purchased another Gen 2 from another member here.
 
I have a gen1, and a gen2. I've used both. I currently carry my gen1. I also use it as a seat if I decide not to climb and as a shell holder when duck hunting flooded timber. Love my Predator!
 
Got mine on the first batch of Gen 1’s. Have used it exclusively for three years. We have a season that runs from 10/1 to 1/31 and I hunt the entire season. It’s solid. It bites the tree and yes I toe hook it, but am very careful when doing so. I would recommend it to anyone.
 
You couldn't hardly find one during hunting season. I imagine some guys are either finding out saddle hunting isn't their thing or may possibly be upgrading to a bigger platform. Either way, lot's of good used equipment for sale right now. Happens every year with all equipment. (Bows, sights, rests, etc.)
 
1simplemann said:
You couldn't hardly find one during hunting season. I imagine some guys are either finding out saddle hunting isn't their thing or may possibly be upgrading to a bigger platform. Either way, lot's of good used equipment for sale right now. Happens every year with all equipment. (Bows, sights, rests, etc.)
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X2

Predators were selling in minutes for $190-200 5 weeks ago - this is the time to try new stuff and get the deals!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
LeonJ71 said:
Thanks everyone for the replies. But with so many being sold in the classifieds it does make a new saddler pause and think. I just found it to be a tad concerning is all.
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I think you will see a lot of Tethrd stuff listed on the forum. Just IMO when you start learning about saddle hunting you do your research on YouTube and everything is Tethrd stuff. Then you try saddle hunting and figure out that they are great at marketing but there are better options out there.
Just my opinion so don’t hate. Awesome that they provide so much info for guys like me that were just trying to sponge it all in a hurry.
Everyone must find what works for them but for me it hasn’t been anything from that company.
 
MFD205 said:
Got mine on the first batch of Gen 1’s. Have used it exclusively for three years. We have a season that runs from 10/1 to 1/31 and I hunt the entire season. It’s solid. It bites the tree and yes I toe hook it, but am very careful when doing so. I would recommend it to anyone.
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I toe hook mine, too.
I'm firmly convinced that the type of tree bark is an important factor in deciding when/if to toe hook. Soft, thick bark (like walnut)...no problem with a hook.
Thin, hard bark (like beech)...be gentile with a hook.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I toe hook mine, too.
I'm firmly convinced that the type of tree bark is an important factor in deciding when/if to toe hook. Soft, thick bark (like walnut)...no problem with a hook.
Thin, hard bark (like beech)...be gentile with a hook.
Click to expand...

I toe hooked it on a telephone pole (no bark) and it was super sketchy. I thought I broke it first day.
 
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