The Helo is Getting me Out of the Saddle

[Westdesign03]

You can still hunt out of a saddle on a loc on stand... I just lengthen my tether and have it go across my chest and over one of my shoulders, usually my left shoulder, in front of me. I usually keep it just long enough to be able to stand up and shoot. As I'm standing I usually kind lean against the bridge against my chest to take any slack out of it, but I also have a ropeman on my tether so if I need to just tighten it up quick I can grab the end and give her a little yank up.

This is exactly how I hunt in a stand too. Except I don’t have a ropeman on the tether. But I really like doing it this way. Having the tether taught against my shoulder when I stand up takes the pucker factor out for me too, which a traditional safety harness never did for me. Except the harness I have now as a backup kind of does that but not like the saddle. (I know the saddle is not technically a safety device, but I make sure the tether is taught anytime I move around up there.)


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[bodark]

This is exactly how I hunt in a stand too. Except I don’t have a ropeman on the tether. But I really like doing it this way. Having the tether taught against my shoulder when I stand up takes the pucker factor out for me too, which a traditional safety harness never did for me. Except the harness I have now as a backup kind of does that but not like the saddle. (I know the saddle is not technically a safety device, but I make sure the tether is taught anytime I move around up there.)

I just finished an evening hunt in the Helo doing this same thing. I’m sold. Now I can spend the off season scouting like I should have been doing all along!

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[Westdesign03]

Does it feel like another weight off your shoulders? Lol


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[slonstdy]

Dear Mods,

Please use this thread to weed out and remove the blasphemous trees***d hunters from our ranks. These misguided souls thought a piece of gear would make them better hunters, pity them for they don't know what they don't know.

 

[Bigterp]

Dear Mods,

Please use this thread to weed out and remove the blasphemous trees***d hunters from our ranks. These misguided souls thought a piece of gear would make them better hunters, pity them for they don't know what they don't know.

I issued warnings to all blasphemers……

 

[DB4x4]

Dear Mods,

Please use this thread to weed out and remove the blasphemous trees***d hunters from our ranks. These misguided souls thought a piece of gear would make them better hunters, pity them for they don't know what they don't know.

Get all the damn bucket hunters too while you're at it. Thanks!

 

[DB4x4]

This place is super gear heavy! At the end of the day you have to have a way up a tree & stay perched there then a weapon to kill deer. That’s all! Everything else is hobby/tinkering. Plus a lot of focus is spent on the “perfected system “ I’ve come to find that matters alot less than I used to think. Just be quiet, efficient, relatively comfortable & shoot stuff!

My way up the tree used to look something like this...



Now it looks like this...


... Plus it's quicker, quieter, and coming down has that "Weee, I'm Batman" feel to it.

I'm never going back to stands...

 

[MNMosquitoAssassin]

My way up the tree used to look something like this...
View attachment 58627


Now it looks like this...
View attachment 58628

... Plus it's quicker, quieter, and coming down has that "Weee, I'm Batman" feel to it.

I'm never going back to stands...

I can hear the faint sounds small sticks and branches pinging off the stand when I look at that first pic... no matter how careful I was walking through the woods...

 

[gumby]

He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, he is a fool—shun him; he who knows not, and knows he knows not, he is simple—teach him; he who knows, and knows not he knows, he is asleep—wake him; he who knows, and knows he knows, he is wise—follow him. '—Arab Proverb.Sep 24, 2021

 

[DB4x4]

I can hear the faint sounds small sticks and branches pinging off the stand when I look at that first pic... no matter how careful I was walking through the woods...

Ting tang, clickety clank.

I used to hate when you ducked under something then the climber inevitably caught on it and practically clotheslined you.

 

[Kurt]

I like it all. I think for me it's been an evolution of sorts. For one you don't know until you try. Secondly it's finding something that works and tweaking the techniques to use it more efficiently rather than thinking I need to buy something else and then I'll have the perfect setup. The perfect setup doesn't exist. I agree it's all tools in a tool box that let's you hunt better. Ladders, climbers, loc ons, and saddles they all have a place in my tool box. If I didn't hunt the last two years from a saddle exclusively I wouldn't have learned that I need all the other sets. I'm glad I didn't get rid of everything else. If it's not enjoyable or it's so uncomfortable that it's not enjoyable then it's not worth it to me, but I don't know until I try, and I don't really know until I've given it a good go.

 

[trailblazer75]

I've had a very similar experience. I am UTTERLY happy with the saddle I use.

BUT.

I've got an old loc on spirit that I attached ruck straps and a hip pad to, with a set of stick talons.
4 shortened API sticks. bottom with a 2 step aider.
Changed the chain on the stand out for a cam buckle strap.
Muddy bow older.
Cheap fanny pack.

I am money with this setup and I have all the gear from saddle hunting like ropes and stuff.

My gameplan is to use the saddle for half day hunts and the stand for full day hunts. I'll rappel down with the saddle, using WE steps and a knaider/swaider combo. And a platform.

But for rut sits I think I have to go with this stand setup.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I can hear the faint sounds small sticks and branches pinging off the stand when I look at that first pic... no matter how careful I was walking through the woods...

Thats the number one reason I looked to saddle hunting in the first place. I'll freely admit it took me some time (and money) to trial and error my way to my current setup but I honestly say I'm more comfortable now and quieter than I have ever been with any mobile setup. Personally, I don't see myself ever going back.

That said, the saddle is still just one tool in the hunting toolkit. I don't think anyone should discount the applicability of the other tools if you think it improves your odds for whatever reason.

 

[HuumanCreed]

I looked at saddle hunting because a climber tried to kill me a few times.

I almost gave up saddle hunting because I hate shooting from a saddle and I found a Original Sand Cast Lone Wolf hang on for $40 at yard sale.

Then I started DIYing my own gears that fit my needs so I'm staying in a saddle until otherwise.

Yes I am open to trying out all new technology if I can. Budget dictated of course.

But fact is, I have encounter with deer while in a ladder stand, climber, hang-on, and saddle. So in the end, I think finding the right location and getting there is more important then what you use.

 

[DB4x4]

Ting tang, clickety clank.

I used to hate when you ducked under something then the climber inevitably caught on it and practically clotheslined you.

Sometimes you would even fall backward awkwardly, and get stuck on your back like a turtle. Good times, good times...

 

[Noonespecial]

Those cables would get stuck on every stick and rattle on the inside of that hollow metal tube, snag the back of my feet when stepping over a log and if the platform and seat were not put together correctly they would tink together on every step. The hunt would be over before it began.

 

[elk yinzer]

Yeah, it's definitely not without it's downsides. Biggest to me with the small platforms and ROS is maneuvering to shoot takes so much darn movement. Small stand + saddle solves that and definitely best of both worlds to me. I'm more comfortable leaning in a saddle than sitting in one, or sitting on a treestand seat. And I can stand up to shoot without swinging around like a 200 lb tetherball. Now, I'd love to slim down my 3 helium sticks, but I just can't find anything that packs better without taking on a lot of fiddle factor.

 

[trailblazer75]

Yeah, it's definitely not without it's downsides. Biggest to me with the small platforms and ROS is maneuvering to shoot takes so much darn movement. Small stand + saddle solves that and definitely best of both worlds to me. I'm more comfortable leaning in a saddle than sitting in one, or sitting on a treestand seat. And I can stand up to shoot without swinging around like a 200 lb tetherball. Now, I'd love to slim down my 3 helium sticks, but I just can't find anything that packs better without taking on a lot of fiddle factor.

Man stick talons changed my mind cause I felt the same way. I put 2 sticks together with the standoffs facing in, for a total of 2 sticks per set of stick talons and it is awesome.

 

[Maverick1]

I issued warnings to all blasphemers……

Seems like this whole thread should be in the “No Shame” thread!

LOL. Good information and exchange. Keep it going!

 

[will4554]

Yeah, it's definitely not without it's downsides. Biggest to me with the small platforms and ROS is maneuvering to shoot takes so much darn movement. Small stand + saddle solves that and definitely best of both worlds to me. I'm more comfortable leaning in a saddle than sitting in one, or sitting on a treestand seat. And I can stand up to shoot without swinging around like a 200 lb tetherball. Now, I'd love to slim down my 3 helium sticks, but I just can't find anything that packs better without taking on a lot of fiddle factor.

Movement is my main complaint with saddles, tree selection being a close second. You have the best system going, IMO. I hunted like that a few times with my .5. I'm just a weirdo and like the length of my alpha/echo.