i just spent about 1200$ to go all in with saddle hunting. since im completely new to this and have been doing research on setting up in the tree, securing my self once im up, etc..... my problem is im not finding much info on what to look for in a tree. which direction for shooting to concentrate on and how to shoot in a saddle. im not sure if im over thinking everything but i only found a handful of videos on this on YouTube. if any of you can point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it
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tree selection and setup
- Thread starter ekeith13
- Start date
Honestly, practice. Pick out trees, envision your setup, and execute. All this comes with experience! If you only climb while hunting, this learning curve will be greatly drawn out! Dependent on you climbing method(s) you literally can climb almost any tree, but setup at height may require some tweaking. Become comfortable and familiar with your system.
Are you new to hunting or new to saddle hunting. New to hunting, pick a tree where you have the best view of the most land and watch everything around you. Pin point the movements and then pick your trees from what you learn.
If you are new to saddle hunting, pick the trees you would with a climber or ladder stand and observe again. I can't tell you the amount of times I have set up in the perfect tree, to only be moving to a better tree by 0900.
If you are new to saddle hunting, pick the trees you would with a climber or ladder stand and observe again. I can't tell you the amount of times I have set up in the perfect tree, to only be moving to a better tree by 0900.
Yeah man, you are over thinking it. The reason I got into saddle hunting is I started hunting with a crossbow and my private land is tobacco fields. The trees around the edge would not support a ladder stand or climber. The whole archery season I hunted out of 3 different trees that I could wrap my hands around. One tree moved when I moved. Saddle hunting put deer in the freezer. Saddles open up the trees you can hunt from, where as if the tree can support your weight, you can hunt it. Go practice and if you have doubts, don't do it.
Right hand or left hand shooter?
Ring of steps or platform? Compound, trad, or other?
Right handed shooters do best setting up shooting for expected shots to the strong side (your left side).11 o'clock to 7 o'clock with 9 o'clock as the ideal. Most new guys can shoot better off a platform than a ROS, and tend to be more comfortable on the platform.
Weak side shots are more difficult but its generally harder for us trad guys because we tend to short draw on the weak side. Low tether is easier to cross over but it shortens free tether and limits travel around the tree.
Something that you will want to practice is getting your bow over the brigde/tether for the weak side.
The tree itself...
Huge trees are more difficult to climb and limit your "travel" around the tree, but they do conceal your silhouette better than a tiny tree. Small trees are easy to climb and its easier to get around to shoot 12 or 1 o'clock, but its harder to hide in small trees.
I like trees with cover. Multi trunk,or species that hold leaves longer...beech or white oaks have that trait in my area.
I will tell you the straight up cold hard truth. You will best learn by doing, the most knowledgeable saddle hunters here can give you the best advice they have but in the end you will only really learn by climbing and practicing over and over out of how ever many trees you need to become proficient. There is no other way. Practicing dozens of simulated climb and hunts months in advance will expose and make known to you endless numbers of problems and failings that at the very least can and will ruin your chances at a big mature buck and worst put your safety and personal well being in danger.
Trying to set up in the dark 60 yards from a bedding area you know a 150 class buck frequents unless you are well practiced and adept at setting up as quickly and as quietly as you can to hunt using a saddle (or for that matter ANY elevated hunting method) is a surefire way to set yourself up for great failure and greater frustration. I speak from experience on this.
I am a complete saddle novice but will use my experiences of trying out different types of hand ons (strap and chain attachment systems VS my pin-ons) and a climber and what I learned from them all VS my pin-on treestands to give you some advice.
First spend how ever much time it takes at just barely (safely) above ground level testing out all you saddle equipment to insure it is 100% reliable and will not snuffer a catastrophic failure and you feel 100% confident you are absolutely familiar with using it before you attempt to go above ground height.
Take a friend (a couple would be even better) and go to a large public ground wooded hunting area with LOTS and LOTS of different types of trees and start picking out trees to climb by imagining they are in good proximity to the type of deer sign you would normally set up on to hunt. Then set up only going up 8-10 feet so incase you have a problem or have to be rescued 10 feet is a whole lot easier than 20' Also to pick less than perfect trees to try to learn what would be trees you should try to avoid and trees you simply must avoid. Then while set up figure out if the tree for any particular reason will not allow you to make any shots and why and adjust your set up and assent accordingly. Also when you just get started learning to use your saddle and climbing above ground level, I would avoid using the same easy to climb tree or trees more than once and make it a point to use a different tree each time.
I don't see learning how to use a saddle is all that much different than a hang on in that you have to learn from some mistakes how not to make them again and it's best to do this when its months before deer season and you're not trying to set up under 100 yards from a killer bedding area is the time to make those mistakes.
As far as shooting a compound bow out of a saddle again you will have to practice yourself and learn. Once again you will learn MUCH faster if you bring a friend along who will position a target or targets at every possible location in relation to you while sitting/leaning/standing in your saddle.
I honestly don't think it will be possible for you to practice to much or try to many different shooting scenarios, especially if you can not do so in a tree where you live, you might find you will need to actually need to drop the draw weight of your bow VS if you were shooting from a traditional hang on stand. Also if you often as I do hunt in cold temps you MUST practice shooting while wearing heavy clothing and boots while in your saddle as drawing a bow and moving about while wearing multiple layers of clothing and a heavy jacket will affect your shooting form and the only way you will know how much if at all heavy boots will affect how you maneuver around a tree is by doing so while you wear them.
I am an absolute believer that you hunt like you practice and prepare and I prepare, practice and set up and hunt out of my treestands like I'm under 100 yards from the biggest buck of my life and one day I will be.
Trying to set up in the dark 60 yards from a bedding area you know a 150 class buck frequents unless you are well practiced and adept at setting up as quickly and as quietly as you can to hunt using a saddle (or for that matter ANY elevated hunting method) is a surefire way to set yourself up for great failure and greater frustration. I speak from experience on this.
I am a complete saddle novice but will use my experiences of trying out different types of hand ons (strap and chain attachment systems VS my pin-ons) and a climber and what I learned from them all VS my pin-on treestands to give you some advice.
First spend how ever much time it takes at just barely (safely) above ground level testing out all you saddle equipment to insure it is 100% reliable and will not snuffer a catastrophic failure and you feel 100% confident you are absolutely familiar with using it before you attempt to go above ground height.
Take a friend (a couple would be even better) and go to a large public ground wooded hunting area with LOTS and LOTS of different types of trees and start picking out trees to climb by imagining they are in good proximity to the type of deer sign you would normally set up on to hunt. Then set up only going up 8-10 feet so incase you have a problem or have to be rescued 10 feet is a whole lot easier than 20' Also to pick less than perfect trees to try to learn what would be trees you should try to avoid and trees you simply must avoid. Then while set up figure out if the tree for any particular reason will not allow you to make any shots and why and adjust your set up and assent accordingly. Also when you just get started learning to use your saddle and climbing above ground level, I would avoid using the same easy to climb tree or trees more than once and make it a point to use a different tree each time.
I don't see learning how to use a saddle is all that much different than a hang on in that you have to learn from some mistakes how not to make them again and it's best to do this when its months before deer season and you're not trying to set up under 100 yards from a killer bedding area is the time to make those mistakes.
As far as shooting a compound bow out of a saddle again you will have to practice yourself and learn. Once again you will learn MUCH faster if you bring a friend along who will position a target or targets at every possible location in relation to you while sitting/leaning/standing in your saddle.
I honestly don't think it will be possible for you to practice to much or try to many different shooting scenarios, especially if you can not do so in a tree where you live, you might find you will need to actually need to drop the draw weight of your bow VS if you were shooting from a traditional hang on stand. Also if you often as I do hunt in cold temps you MUST practice shooting while wearing heavy clothing and boots while in your saddle as drawing a bow and moving about while wearing multiple layers of clothing and a heavy jacket will affect your shooting form and the only way you will know how much if at all heavy boots will affect how you maneuver around a tree is by doing so while you wear them.
I am an absolute believer that you hunt like you practice and prepare and I prepare, practice and set up and hunt out of my treestands like I'm under 100 yards from the biggest buck of my life and one day I will be.
If you were a stand hunter and are going to a saddle everything for shot selection is the opposite. I had a little bit of a learning curve to figure that out. If you hunt from a platform add a step to each side, makes a huge difference. You can pretty much shoot 360 degrees in a saddle. You use the tree as cover, so you can hide directly behind it or slightly off to one side. Envision your set as you stand back from the tree when picking the tree. I like quite a bit of cover because I do not sit real still. I normally don't go over 16-20 ft and look for trees the size of a basketball or so.
It does take some getting used to but it is pretty simple, if you can find a small cluster or group of trees that you can shoot the runs you want than they are best ecsp. if they do not have a ton of limbs. The surrounding trees break up your outline. Also get down low and look at things from a deer's perspective, I do not think many guys do this but it really helps. Things can look quite a bit different just by bending down and getting a deer's eye view. Lots of time you have cover you did not even realize. As has been said practice a lot with the saddle and in different types of trees. It ain't that hard to figure out!! Good Luck! Shawn
It does take some getting used to but it is pretty simple, if you can find a small cluster or group of trees that you can shoot the runs you want than they are best ecsp. if they do not have a ton of limbs. The surrounding trees break up your outline. Also get down low and look at things from a deer's perspective, I do not think many guys do this but it really helps. Things can look quite a bit different just by bending down and getting a deer's eye view. Lots of time you have cover you did not even realize. As has been said practice a lot with the saddle and in different types of trees. It ain't that hard to figure out!! Good Luck! Shawn
This applies strictly to me but there are probably a few other guys like me, but yeah, I can shoot 360 out of my saddle but I definitely don't shoot well 360. There are a few shots that I just should not attempt on a live critter.
I'm 100% saddle and I think it's the best way to be in a tree, but I also think the 360 thing is a little exaggerated.
For me, the biggest advantage to tree mobility is the ability to hide behind the trunk. The 2nd best advantage is sun/shade management. Sometimes I need shade and other times when I am freezing I want a little sun. Its nice to move in or out of the shade of the trunk.
I'd say my shooting is maybe 300 at best.
I'm 100% saddle and I think it's the best way to be in a tree, but I also think the 360 thing is a little exaggerated.
For me, the biggest advantage to tree mobility is the ability to hide behind the trunk. The 2nd best advantage is sun/shade management. Sometimes I need shade and other times when I am freezing I want a little sun. Its nice to move in or out of the shade of the trunk.
I'd say my shooting is maybe 300 at best.
I don't think this is the answer you're looking for, but I recently found a tree that split into 3 trunks at the base, and at hunting height there was a basketball diameter tree I could lean back on and take all the pressure off my bridge. If there was a PERFECT tree, that's what you're looking for. 
One thing I struggle with in tree selection usually is back cover, so my useful tip in this post is, if possible, look at your prospective tree from a few different angles, especially considering how the sun will move. As we've all seen, there's always those deer that never come in the way you expect them to.
One thing I struggle with in tree selection usually is back cover, so my useful tip in this post is, if possible, look at your prospective tree from a few different angles, especially considering how the sun will move. As we've all seen, there's always those deer that never come in the way you expect them to.