KingSinglePin
Member
Completely green to the saddle game and I had my first sit in my Phantom last Saturday, October 8th.
I frequently hunt a ~20 acre tract of family property nearby that connects to other, larger tracts of wooded property. A nice buck is generally harvested each year, or every other year at least, between ours and all the adjacent properties. I had a nice buck move in on camera October 1st, just as I received most of my saddle gear, so I was eager as could be to get into the woods.I practiced my motions, safety protocols, setup, etc many times just off ground level the week leading up so I would be comfortable making the climb. I was able to go early Friday morning for a short period to set my sticks and position my platform before my hunt.
The morning of the hunt came and I got in the woods earlier than normal with the anticipation of taking my time (thank goodness I did). I made the climb without a problem andtoe hooked my Predator platform, rock solid. I adjust my tether, remove my lineman belt and turn to begin raising my bow when I hear a thud in the leaves below me. I click on my headlamp to see my release had fallen from my SYS hauler and is laying at the base of my tree. I go through the motions of climbing back down, gather my release, climb back up, get settled in and hoist my bow. After settling in I realize my platform isn’t as level after setting it for the second time. Albeit, rock solid, still uncomfortably unlevel. Daylight was breaking so I toughed it out. The discomfort caused me to shift my weight around and put pressure awkwardly on my hips and lower back which shortened my sit.
I begin my preparations to descend my sticks and realize my hoist rope had slipped and is in a branch about 5 feet off the ground. So I climb down, gather my paracord, climb back up and begin the process of getting my gear to ground level.
There were many climbs in a short period of time but a lot of lessons learned. The outcome of my hunt from a tag perspective was unsuccessful yet the lessons I learned the hard way will go a long ways for future hunts. I’ll put everything to the test again Friday at another tract of property that hasn’t had hunting pressure since I was there about 7yrs ago. A few changes in the area with the addition of nearby homes, etc will make it somewhat of a scouting hunt but the population is reportedly booming and I am more than excited to get back in there. God Bless everyone.
I frequently hunt a ~20 acre tract of family property nearby that connects to other, larger tracts of wooded property. A nice buck is generally harvested each year, or every other year at least, between ours and all the adjacent properties. I had a nice buck move in on camera October 1st, just as I received most of my saddle gear, so I was eager as could be to get into the woods.I practiced my motions, safety protocols, setup, etc many times just off ground level the week leading up so I would be comfortable making the climb. I was able to go early Friday morning for a short period to set my sticks and position my platform before my hunt.
The morning of the hunt came and I got in the woods earlier than normal with the anticipation of taking my time (thank goodness I did). I made the climb without a problem andtoe hooked my Predator platform, rock solid. I adjust my tether, remove my lineman belt and turn to begin raising my bow when I hear a thud in the leaves below me. I click on my headlamp to see my release had fallen from my SYS hauler and is laying at the base of my tree. I go through the motions of climbing back down, gather my release, climb back up, get settled in and hoist my bow. After settling in I realize my platform isn’t as level after setting it for the second time. Albeit, rock solid, still uncomfortably unlevel. Daylight was breaking so I toughed it out. The discomfort caused me to shift my weight around and put pressure awkwardly on my hips and lower back which shortened my sit.
I begin my preparations to descend my sticks and realize my hoist rope had slipped and is in a branch about 5 feet off the ground. So I climb down, gather my paracord, climb back up and begin the process of getting my gear to ground level.
There were many climbs in a short period of time but a lot of lessons learned. The outcome of my hunt from a tag perspective was unsuccessful yet the lessons I learned the hard way will go a long ways for future hunts. I’ll put everything to the test again Friday at another tract of property that hasn’t had hunting pressure since I was there about 7yrs ago. A few changes in the area with the addition of nearby homes, etc will make it somewhat of a scouting hunt but the population is reportedly booming and I am more than excited to get back in there. God Bless everyone.