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Thoughts on starting a brand new Hunter with saddle hunting?

I wish I would have started off with a saddle from the beginning. Depending on how much time you have, you may not have the time or money to waste on setting up multiple preset lockons. Since getting into saddle hunting, I spend more time learning the woods and hunting in different areas than I wouldn't have ever done in year past primarily cause of lacking of time. Now, every hunt is in a new area, and im learning more and more of the property and enjoying it along the way.
 
As stated saddle is the way to go. Where are you located? There are numerous saddle meet ups happing all over the place. I suggest you do what you can to make it to at least one and see many options first hand and get the chance to learn from some experienced saddle hunters. There is also the Tethrd Teach and Train events happening that would be good way to experience before spending lots of money.
 
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...
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I say saddle. He doesn't have any bad habits to unbreak. Start him off right. Tethrd training event would be cool to attend. As for saddle options, hit up the saddlehunter map and see if you can find some like minded individuals near you. If no, unfortunately it'll be trial and error. From what I've seen most of the saddle companies have a return policy. I'll throw my preference in the ring, I'm almost 6'2", 230lbs with a 38" waist and childbearing hips. I have a kestrel flex size 2 which fits me perfectly.
 
I wish I would have started out saddle hunting. That being said some times its better to just get them in the woods. Starting with presets so they don't have to feel like there is work to be done once they get to the tree. It really comes down the who the person is physically and mentally.

I love the thought of picking my tree every hunt and being stealthy and the work (if you call it that) is the extra benefit. I felt lazy during the season because I just walked out to my stand and sat, pre mobile hunting. Obviously preseason was a lot of work but a few sits in I felt like I was missing something.... and that was a lot of deer because my stands were already picked.

I would take him out a few times and see how he likes setting up a tree with what ever climbing method and getting set up. To be honest saddle hunting is not for everyone (which blows my mind).
 
Start with a saddle, but expose him to as many other methods as possible. It never hurts to have a few more tools in your toolbox.
 
I’d teach him that the best place to kill the deer from is the best place to kill the deer from. Sometimes that’s 20’ up a tree. Sometimes it’s 10’. Sometimes it’s on the ground. Sometimes there’s a hole that you will only have one shooting lane, And one tree, and the only option is to be facing away from the tree, ready to draw, and have ten seconds to shoot a deer. What you put your butt in when you hunt has very little to do with developing your skills as a hunter. And the only absolute advantage saddles have over stands from a deer killing perspective is weight.

In my opinion ‘hunting’ isn’t the hours you’re sitting in a tree. It’s the planning, scouting, tracking and woodsmanship, and critical thinking required to have success ambushing deer. Spending an inordinate amount of time deciding whether you’re going to smack em with the blue or green hammer will only distract a new hunter from the process and steepen the learning curve. I wouldn’t have that fellow up a tree until he’s consistently shown an ability to get within range of his target without being detected. Otherwise he’s wasting time in trees. That’s the single biggest thing I wish my mentor had taught me.

having said all that, your ability to explain the pros and cons of hunting from the ground, a climber, a hang on, and a saddle is key. Let him decide what he wants. But that would be the literal last thing I’d develop in a new hunter.
 
I would wish I had known about or looked more closely at saddle hunting way before I did last year. Properly setup it is imo the safest method for hunting from an elevated position. That said I agree with most of what kyler posted above. I would encourage picking the climbing method you both want to use and spend a good bit of time this off season climbing with it. Climb small trees, big trees, leaners etc. Put yourself in every type of situation you think you might encounter. The best time to do that is on scouting trips during the off season. Take your climbing gear and your buddy and go walk the woods looking for sign and potential setups. When you find a spot you like, pick a tree and climb it. The more time you guys can spend in the woods this off season both scouting and practice climbing the better next hunting season will go because you wont be trying to work out the kinks when you are also trying to hunt.
 
kyler1945 said:
I’d teach him that the best place to kill the deer from is the best place to kill the deer from. Sometimes that’s 20’ up a tree. Sometimes it’s 10’. Sometimes it’s on the ground. Sometimes there’s a hole that you will only have one shooting lane, And one tree, and the only option is to be facing away from the tree, ready to draw, and have ten seconds to shoot a deer. What you put your butt in when you hunt has very little to do with developing your skills as a hunter. And the only absolute advantage saddles have over stands from a deer killing perspective is weight.

In my opinion ‘hunting’ isn’t the hours you’re sitting in a tree. It’s the planning, scouting, tracking and woodsmanship, and critical thinking required to have success ambushing deer. Spending an inordinate amount of time deciding whether you’re going to smack em with the blue or green hammer will only distract a new hunter from the process and steepen the learning curve. I wouldn’t have that fellow up a tree until he’s consistently shown an ability to get within range of his target without being detected. Otherwise he’s wasting time in trees. That’s the single biggest thing I wish my mentor had taught me.

having said all that, your ability to explain the pros and cons of hunting from the ground, a climber, a hang on, and a saddle is key. Let him decide what he wants. But that would be the literal last thing I’d develop in a new hunter.
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Thanks for your input. I agree with most of what you said. I also think that it's important for him to pick a set up and learn it throughout the year, so that he can hunt with some confidence and focus on all the other important things like shot form, getting drawn without getting busted, etc. Thankfully, like me, he's not too focused on big buck hunting, so we'll be looking to just get him set up where deer travel so that he's in the game for getting some venison. I don't see saddle hunting as some magic bullet that will sky rocket him to success, however, I do know that time and money are finite, so I was thinking that if he could get proficient with a saddle, it will give him versatility to try to hunt wherever he sees good deer sign...
Thanks again for taking the time to think about this and share your thoughts/advice.
 
mermatt83 said:
Thanks for your input. I agree with most of what you said. I also think that it's important for him to pick a set up and learn it throughout the year, so that he can hunt with some confidence and focus on all the other important things like shot form, getting drawn without getting busted, etc. Thankfully, like me, he's not too focused on big buck hunting, so we'll be looking to just get him set up where deer travel so that he's in the game for getting some venison. I don't see saddle hunting as some magic bullet that will sky rocket him to success, however, I do know that time and money are finite, so I was thinking that if he could get proficient with a saddle, it will give him versatility to try to hunt wherever he sees good deer sign...
Thanks again for taking the time to think about this and share your thoughts/advice.
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That’s my point - you’re making the assumption that being in a tree will make him more successful.

im saying the opposite of that. For the first few years of my hunting career, being in a tree only held me back - it did not help me be more successful.

I literally mean don’t get a saddle, or a hangon, or anything. Don’t get in a tree until it changes your success rate enough to make doing it make sense. He’s not in the game right now, and he won’t be for some time. Teach him how to get on the field before you teach him what length and weight bat to use.
 
As a new hunter 5 years ago I have never killed a deer on the ground. Get him in a tree IMO. I have only started hunting on the ground this year
Help him find the spot where he will see and kill any size or shape of deer.
The first hunting success encourages a new hunter to keep at it


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kyler1945 said:
That’s my point - you’re making the assumption that being in a tree will make him more successful.

im saying the opposite of that. For the first few years of my hunting career, being in a tree only held me back - it did not help me be more successful.

I literally mean don’t get a saddle, or a hangon, or anything. Don’t get in a tree until it changes your success rate enough to make doing it make sense. He’s not in the game right now, and he won’t be for some time. Teach him how to get on the field before you teach him what length and weight bat to use.
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I am not an expert and I still have a ton to learn about hunting. But I have been bowhunting deer for about a decade. Personally, I find a huge advantage to hunting out of a tree. I have killed a few deer from the ground, but I find it to be much harder (generally) than hunting from a tree. I think hunting from the ground is exciting, but I also feel like the need to be perpetually on "high alert" and ready to shoot at a moment's notice, is stressful. Usually when i see deer from a tree stand, I have time to calm myself down, plan for shooting lanes, breathe, find out how many deer are within detection range, pick out which deer (ideally) I want to kill out of a group, etc. etc. I also like the opportunity to better use wind thermals and terrain for preventing/delaying deer getting my scent. I appreciate your input, i just disagree a bit with your perspective. I am going to be trying my best to teach him lots of what i've learned over the years, but I also think that he will need to learn from mistakes and experience. In my opinion, trying to learn bowhunting from the ground would be setting him up with an even steeper learning curve and a potentially much longer path to success. That's my opinion.
 
mermatt83 said:
I am not an expert and I still have a ton to learn about hunting. But I have been bowhunting deer for about a decade. Personally, I find a huge advantage to hunting out of a tree. I have killed a few deer from the ground, but I find it to be much harder (generally) than hunting from a tree. I think hunting from the ground is exciting, but I also feel like the need to be perpetually on "high alert" and ready to shoot at a moment's notice, is stressful. Usually when i see deer from a tree stand, I have time to calm myself down, plan for shooting lanes, breathe, find out how many deer are within detection range, pick out which deer (ideally) I want to kill out of a group, etc. etc. I also like the opportunity to better use wind thermals and terrain for preventing/delaying deer getting my scent. I appreciate your input, i just disagree a bit with your perspective. I am going to be trying my best to teach him lots of what i've learned over the years, but I also think that he will need to learn from mistakes and experience. In my opinion, trying to learn bowhunting from the ground would be setting him up with an even steeper learning curve and a potentially much longer path to success. That's my opinion.
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last shot - and it’s not your fault for not understanding what I’m saying - I suck at explaining things.

my point is not that killing a deer from an elevated position is not easier than killing him from eye level. It’s that the skills and experience needed to become efficient at getting close enough to deer to shoot them on a regular basis, have little to do with where your butt is parked once you’ve solved the problem.

you’d be better off teaching the fellow how to consistently get deer in range of his weapon of choice without being detected. If that’s a bow, my point is even stronger. It takes a lot to go from 0 to 1 (no hunting knowledge or experience or skills, to even being capable of getting a deer in range on purpose). From what I can tell, for most folks that doesn’t happen immediately. If I were to teach someone to hunt, I’d teach them first how to gain multiple opportunities, and last how to exploit them.

If the guy is worried about which team he’s gonna be on with a saddle or a stand or what not, he’s not focusing on the foundation required to be a good hunter. Will he get there? Sure, deer hunting isnt nuclear physics. But if you prioritize the process with him properly, you’ll set him up to not only be more successful deer hunting, but he’ll get there faster too. Hell also be more successful learning other skills and hobbies as well, because it’s reinforcing ‘how to learn’ in the proper way.

Again, no disagreement on whether killing a deer twenty yards from you is easier from a tree than the ground(sometimes :)....). Just a complete disagreement that a new hunter who can’t get them 20 yards away needs to be making a decision on facing the tree or away.

if forced to choose, I still think explaining all of the pros and cons of all types of elevated hunting and letting him choose is best. Way more successful hunters using stands than saddles.
 
My sons 10 and I'm gonna start him in a saddle, he loves it so far.
7de2ac68354d310b7fad0f8553c05613.jpg


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I think I agree and disagree with @kyler1945 (never can be sure with that guy.)

If the problem is a true dichotomy (saddle or stand), sure...put him in a saddle.

But there's a lot of kerfuffle, hassle, and fiddle-factor involved in climbing a tree. And people are a lot like dogs when it comes to learning. They suck at learning multiple things at once. Would you try to teach your dog sit, heel, and fetch all in one day? Or would you first teach him to SIT, and once he really has that one down, introduce STAY?

Hunting is not hard, but neither is SIT. In my mind, the first two basic commands of deer hunting you wanna teach somebody are FIND and KILL. Makes sense to me to make that as uncomplicated as possible. Get him in the woods and let him find the sign, and then find the deer. Stick him somewhere and let him take a crack at one he found. Don't have him worried about CLIMB (and all the sub commands that come with that.) Really, I wouldn't even want to start somebody with a bow, because that's it's own can of worms. You can get very deep in the weeds very fast with archery and saddle gear, and neglect the question, "Where are the deer and how am I going to get them from that place to my truck bed?"

All that being said, I have slowly realized that people hunt for different reasons. I want to find and kill deer. That's my reason. I'd burn my bow tomorrow if it wasn't for the fact that some properties are bow only and bow season opens the woods up to me another month, because a gun will kill more deer for me. And I have never and will never climb a tree for any reason not related to killing deer.

But some folks like to shoot their bow. And some folks like to climb trees. Hunting wouldn't be the same for them if they walked around, sat on a bucket, and shot a deer. I'd be thrilled.

If his goal is to become a deadly deer hunter, I think it'd be wise to hand him a stool and a leafy suit. He'll screw up, but he'll learn the fundamentals. And when he hits the point where he feels held back because he can't climb he'll know how to scout, track, plan the ambush, be still, be quiet, get into position, draw, shoot, trail, etc. He wont be learning that and learning to climb.

But, if he wants to climb, let him climb. Some folks like the climbing, the camp life, the camo, the gear shopping, the bow tuning, and all that jazz more than they like seeing a green tint in a deer's eyes, and that's perfectly ok.

Strange, but ok. :)
 
Nutterbuster said:
I think I agree and disagree with @kyler1945 (never can be sure with that guy.)

If the problem is a true dichotomy (saddle or stand), sure...put him in a saddle.

But there's a lot of kerfuffle, hassle, and fiddle-factor involved in climbing a tree. And people are a lot like dogs when it comes to learning. They suck at learning multiple things at once. Would you try to teach your dog sit, heel, and fetch all in one day? Or would you first teach him to SIT, and once he really has that one down, introduce STAY?

Hunting is not hard, but neither is SIT. In my mind, the first two basic commands of deer hunting you wanna teach somebody are FIND and KILL. Makes sense to me to make that as uncomplicated as possible. Get him in the woods and let him find the sign, and then find the deer. Stick him somewhere and let him take a crack at one he found. Don't have him worried about CLIMB (and all the sub commands that come with that.) Really, I wouldn't even want to start somebody with a bow, because that's it's own can of worms. You can get very deep in the weeds very fast with archery and saddle gear, and neglect the question, "Where are the deer and how am I going to get them from that place to my truck bed?"

All that being said, I have slowly realized that people hunt for different reasons. I want to find and kill deer. That's my reason. I'd burn my bow tomorrow if it wasn't for the fact that some properties are bow only and bow season opens the woods up to me another month, because a gun will kill more deer for me. And I have never and will never climb a tree for any reason not related to killing deer.

But some folks like to shoot their bow. And some folks like to climb trees. Hunting wouldn't be the same for them if they walked around, sat on a bucket, and shot a deer. I'd be thrilled.

If his goal is to become a deadly deer hunter, I think it'd be wise to hand him a stool and a leafy suit. He'll screw up, but he'll learn the fundamentals. And when he hits the point where he feels held back because he can't climb he'll know how to scout, track, plan the ambush, be still, be quiet, get into position, draw, shoot, trail, etc. He wont be learning that and learning to climb.

But, if he wants to climb, let him climb. Some folks like the climbing, the camp life, the camo, the gear shopping, the bow tuning, and all that jazz more than they like seeing a green tint in a deer's eyes, and that's perfectly ok.

Strange, but ok. :)
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Amen. All those things is what you need to know first.

I get caught up in "all that jazz" but its something to do when i cant hunt i guess.
 
My advice. Do whatever makes it fun.
Have him get that first deer and fastest and easiest way you know. Then add all the challenges


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