• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Thoughts on starting a brand new Hunter with saddle hunting?

M

mermatt83

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Messages
48
I have a good friend who is just getting into bowhunting. Literally JUST (he took his safety course last week, I helped him get equipped with a used bow, he's practicing shooting, etc). I'm going to be his main hunting mentor and friend. We're just starting to decide what type of hunting equipment to start him out with. I know I don't want to start him out with a climber, as I don't want to limit him to limbless, straight trees. I'm leaning toward a lone wolf hang on and sticks, or possibly saddle hunting. He was intrigued by the idea of trying saddle hunting.
My question to you as a community is: what do you think of someone learning how to bowhunt starting right out of the gate with saddlehunting? He's not rich, so he's not going to be able to have multiple treestands all over the place. He's in his 40s, and I know he's careful and takes personal safety seriously. The other factor is that I'm his only hunting mentor and I'm just getting into saddle hunting, as in I just bought a used saddle on here last week!
Ok, now I'm ready to listen to what y'all have to say...
 
I’d start him with a saddle right off the bat. If he doesn’t have any past experience with a stand I don’t see a reason to put him through that kind of suffering to start I started my son with the saddle at the age of 11 and he killed his first from it this past season and it worked out great. It was very easy to teach him how to setup and shoot from it and I feel that he is safer in the saddle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
flinginairos said:
I’d start him with a saddle right off the bat. If he doesn’t have any past experience with a stand I don’t see a reason to put him through that kind of suffering to start I started my son with the saddle at the age of 11 and he killed his first from it this past season and it worked out great. It was very easy to teach him how to setup and shoot from it and I feel that he is safer in the saddle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
X2.
 
Personally, sitting in hang on stands I always felt like I was leaning slightly forward and about to pitch out forward. That feeling could be rough on a safety minded adult just starting out. I have never felt more secure than I am sitting in a saddle. IMO, saddle comfort is better than every hang on I have ever had. Saddles may lag the comfort of a climber a bit but not enough to be noticed, certainly not by a novice. Shooting from a saddle is really not as different or difficult as people think it will be. In fact it's probably easier to maintain your proper T form in a saddle than it is in tree stand.

Add to all that the mobility and versatility and I really can't see a reason not to start with a saddle.
 
X3 why don’t you dive in & get the crash course on best practices & you guys can get some experience next season. Hunting is hunting! I do feel saddle hunting when proper climbing methods are employed is safer than stand & sticks plus a rear hookup safety harness. If he has nothing then this isn’t really more expensive.....
 
For me there isn’t a treestand lighter than a millennium at 12 lbs that is as comfortable as a saddle. Weight isn’t everything but weight and mass count for a lot.
 
mattsteg said:
What's he want to do?
Click to expand...
He's most intrigued and interested in the saddle. That's what I was leaning towards for him, but just wanted to get some input from this wonderful and supportive and knowledgeable community first.
 
Thanks for all the responses and input fellas. I'm really excited to embark on this journey and I think that I will learn all the more if I'm teaching someone else and we're learning together! I've been just obsessing with this site for about a month now. I'm on for hours almost every night, studying, weighing options, just trying to soak up information. Thanks you!
 
mermatt83 said:
Thanks for all the responses and input fellas. I'm really excited to embark on this journey and I think that I will learn all the more if I'm teaching someone else and we're learning together! I've been just obsessing with this site for about a month now. I'm on for hours almost every night, studying, weighing options, just trying to soak up information. Thanks you!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the addiction! :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy:
 
If you are both just starting out saddle hunting, then you will be able to learn together and IMO he is much safer in a saddle when he gets “Tha FEVA”!
 
Very interesting post, I am literally doing the same thing this year with two younger guys that have never bowhunted and one of them has never hunted at all before. I wondered the same thing about saddle hunting.

Part of me wanted to make them lug around ladder stands and hang ons to make them do all the hard stuff before I showed them saddle hunting. You know to make them appreciate it!
But then I remembered all the times I thought to myself this season, "I wish I'd known about saddle hunting 15 years ago when I started deer hunting." I guess being a mentor means showing them the "right" way to do the "best" way.
 
You might as well both learn together. Get him to sign up here on Saddlehunter.
 
If he's interested in it, I don't see why not try the saddle. Pretty much everything hunting wise is going to be new to him anyway.

You guys can learn together, just take it slow and focus on safety. People here on the forum are always very helpful. Perhaps you could even find someone in your area to help you out a bit.



Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
I feel its better to suffer. I wouldn't teach a young man to drive a lamorghini. I cursed my G. D. loggy climber out the wazoo but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I got here through hard work and overcoming a straight up phobia of heights. I'll be danged if my little spawn is gonna slay from an optimized setup.
 
mermatt83 said:
I have a good friend who is just getting into bowhunting. Literally JUST (he took his safety course last week, I helped him get equipped with a used bow, he's practicing shooting, etc). I'm going to be his main hunting mentor and friend. We're just starting to decide what type of hunting equipment to start him out with. I know I don't want to start him out with a climber, as I don't want to limit him to limbless, straight trees. I'm leaning toward a lone wolf hang on and sticks, or possibly saddle hunting. He was intrigued by the idea of trying saddle hunting.
My question to you as a community is: what do you think of someone learning how to bowhunt starting right out of the gate with saddlehunting? He's not rich, so he's not going to be able to have multiple treestands all over the place. He's in his 40s, and I know he's careful and takes personal safety seriously. The other factor is that I'm his only hunting mentor and I'm just getting into saddle hunting, as in I just bought a used saddle on here last week!
Ok, now I'm ready to listen to what y'all have to say...
Click to expand...

Well. I started hunting 5 years ago and I started saddle hunting 5 years ago and I started bow hunting 5 years ago. My present age is 62. I know what I would recommend.

I had a climber for a season. Sold it. I had a hang on for a season sold it. I do have some ladder stands on property I own. I sat in one of them a few times over the years
Don’t waste his time on those other methods but get a comfortable saddle


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Last edited:
Ontariofarmer said:
Well. I started hunting 5 years ago and I started saddle hunting 5 years ago and I started bow hunting 5 years ago. My present age is 62. I know what I would recommend.

I had a climber for a season. Sold it. I had a hang on for a season sold it. I do have some ladder stands on property I own. I sat in one of them a few times over the years
Don’t waste his time on those other methods but get a comfortable saddle


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Ok. What saddles would you recommend? He's got a pretty good sized frame. I'd say he weighs 200-230.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top