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Using a Saddle behind a Treestand

hauscaliber said:
I'd rather use a lock on stand but he needs a rifle rest to steady his aim. If I can find a lock on with a shooting rest that would be ideal.
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Get a shooting stick and wedge it onto your lock-on. Saves on weight, easy to lash into your pack/harness, and he can stabilize the stick with his elbow, offhand, or knees. This is how my buddy taught his daughter to crossbow hunt out of a lock-on. There are DIY options for pads/claws/grips on the stick-bottom as well.
 
If you’re hunting public land and plan on being mobile I’d go straight to a saddle, no sense carrying a stand around plus all the extra gear you need for a kid.

I’ve developed a pretty good system that all four of my kids can use with me.
I tie a lifeline to the base of the tree and climb as I would without them, once at hunting height with platforms mounted I tie the lifeline off and they can clip their bridge into the prussic and climb right up. Step spacing just needs to match their abilities.
You can either leave them attached to the lifeline or add a tether depending on what they prefer.

As far as a rest, I’ve set up a camera arm for crossbow and gun, seems to work ok but not as good as a solid rail like on a ladder stand.


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Another reason why Aero or Tethrd needs a youth size.
Why not get your kids into saddles at an early age? There is nothing safer and kids can probably adapt to a saddle faster than us old geezers who hunted out of conventional stands for eons.
Maybe make your son a fleece saddle and a rock harness, or look for an Anderson Sling?
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Another reason why Aero or Tethrd needs a youth size.
Why not get your kids into saddles at an early age? There is nothing safer and kids can probably adapt to a saddle faster than us old geezers who hunted out of conventional stands for eons.
Maybe make your son a fleece saddle and a rock harness, or look for an Anderson Sling?
Click to expand...
I feel like both brands would be interested in doing youth sizing if they got enough feedback. Both New Tribe and Tethrd seem like standup companies who pay attention to what hunters want. The Kestrel and Predator are both a testament to that.
 
@T.Clarke did a really good job getting his kids in a saddle. I will add in addition to the millennium mine hunted from a saddle and ground blind last year. If he’s hunting from a tree I put him in the saddle whether he’s in a treestand or not. He’s big enough now that if he wants to hunt from a stand he carries it in. I’ll carry my gear and the climbing system. I’m working with him on climbing with a linesman belt but usually I will belay him on the way up and down. He’s not a good climber mostly from a fear of heights. He doesn’t do aiders or wide step spacing. He likes my helium’s which has prevent me from cutting them down but If I need to get him to 20’ I usually pack in my millennium stick ladder. With the 3 helium sticks we get his feet about 12’ and me a couple feet above him.
 
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