This is my question? I have been stand hunting for a lot of years,,,,, I watch all kinds of video, on You Tube.... The system seems to be quiet and light, but it seems like a lot of screwing around, to get set......
You never see anyone doing this, with heavy clothing on etc........ so for you saddle hunters, how much stuff do you carry and screw with?
I have yet to see a simple video, at least a good one, that shows, someone going up a tree, and without a lot of stuff...... I was thinking of using a saddle with my sticks
so do I just use the lineman belt as I climb, and than set the tether when I get to my spot, and clip on?
I don't want to be throwing ropes over limbs first, and what about limbless trees,,,,
any direction you can send me would be appreciated,,,,, most u tube shots, show the climbing, without being attached to the tree, which I do not like
however, seems like a saddle is a heck of a lot safer, than them safety harnesses, you have to deal with,,,,
I’m not sure if you are single or not but my grandma is and she lives on the Horicon marsh. Here’s a photo I snapped of her in her tree saddle on a Kansas deer hunt. She really enjoyed it.
I'm going to give it a shot this year as well. Building my own ultra light sticks, platform, and saddle. Yes, you climb with the lineman's harness, then set your tether and clip in. You'll need something to set your feet on and there are several options.
Some good resources are DIY Sportsman on YouTube, saddlehunter.com, and thehuntingbeast.com
Every time I research the saddle I determine that the end result of the system is not that much different than a LW hang and hunt. ANd I just feel like I can be quieter and won't have anything cutting off crucial leg circulation in the cold. It seems like to be comfortable with a saddle most guys who really like it are bringing in sticks, the saddle, and a small "tree stand" for resting their feet on. So in the good old end doesn't seem that different.
I have a couple trees that I just put sticks on & use my saddle when I want to hunt that area. Climb up, wrap my strap around the tree & hook up. It is kind of a pain in cold weather. You don't really want to wear your jacket in & get hot. So giving yourself time to cool off & put your jacket on before you climb works best. Someone needs to design a jacket that would work to put on after you have the harness on. It wouldn't be that difficult to have something for your straps to go through.
Take a look at the link... lots of good info covered there.
APauls.... a good saddle system will blow the doors of off a LW system. I can guarantee you that. And as for cutting off circulation to the legs..... not true. There is no circulation concerns, in fact the leg straps could be darn near removed.
thanks for all the good information,,,,, the reason I asked, is that I talked Saturday to an arborist at a gun show,,,, he said he would never use any of them safety harnesses they make for bow hunting, their killers,,,,,, told me to get a seat harness for safety and ease, no matter what
The climbing part isn't much different with saddles compared to hang on stands. I hunt private land and use bolts or screw in steps. The foot system is where the biggest difference is. Some guys prefer a ring of steps. Some like mini stands like the Predator for run and gun type hunts. I love my Predator. I also like pre set homemade stands. No stand system is perfect. They all have plusses and minuses. But Ive been bowhunting from trees for 49th seasons. Saddle do take a little bit of a learning curve and personalization, but, overall, saddles beat stands, hands down.
It's much the same in many regards. You have to climb the tree somehow, no matter the system. Steps, climbing sticks, ladder, etc. If you don't have a tree prepped to climb then yeah, you use the linesman belt. No reason you can't use a safety line/tether, several of ours are prepped with safety lines. Pretty much all exactly the same as a tree you're putting a stand in for the first time. You just don't have to haul up the stand after climbing and strap it in. You're there, tether to the tree, done. If the tree is prepped you don't "haul" anything, The actual saddle you wear it to the site. Anything you haul is for climbing, as you would have to anyway.
We were having stands stolen left and right on private property, plus poachers were actually hunting out of them too. Started using saddles because of lowlife rip offs. But now we love em. Can have a dozen trees prepped in an area and decide that morning which to use. A "stand site" is just the labor to prep the site.... no investment in a stand. Can swing around to many shooting lanes and angles, you look more natural as you can use the tree to cover you in many cases, you are "behind" the tree. It's a more "athletic" way to hunt for sure. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the hunter.
I think your friend is talking about safety belts like rock climbers use instead of regular tree stand safety harnesses. My tree saddle is more like a hammock you sit in.... I don't think you could fall out of it if you tried. I fall asleep in it all the time. I don't do all day sits in it, but 3,4...5 hours is easy.
There is a learning curve to set up, it's critical. Check the link to the saddle hunter forum. Days of reading there and covers anything you might want to know about them.
Old school Trophy Line Tree Saddle. Mesh edition. But they haven't made em for years. My second one, (went from a lg to a med) both used off ebay. I use a rope with prusik knot and got rid of the stock tree strap to bridge into. Works a lot better. (again a ton of info about such mods on the saddlehunter forum) My partner has a Aero Hunter or some such. Works well, but it's more complicated than my saddle, lots of adjustments to get it just right. He's not a complicated kinda guy or likes to fiddle with stuff, he's just now getting the handle on his cell phone. =D But I've seen plenty of folks screw up the basic tree saddle for that matter.....
I remember a few years ago when you could hardly find a saddle, now they seem to be popping up all over. Mostly seems from companies and others who make arborist gear? That's who made the Aero anyway. I see folks from rock climbing are modifying things and making that work well for them too.
Something odd happened with Trophy Line back then, they literally had folks lined up to order them..... then just disappeared. Maybe the distribution model of the day wasn't working and they decided to fold? The niche markets are greatly revived with the internet and online sales. Or maybe just life got in the way. Stuff happens....
But if there is a need, it seems it will be filled.... maybe even a better mousetrap. Is 'merica great or what? =D
I built mine from a Sit Drag coupled with a rock harness to see how I'd like it last season. After a few morning/evening sits, then an all dayer, I was sold. Think I'm going to give the new Tethrd Phantom a try next season. Ultra lightweight and I can ditch the RC harness.
I have designed my own platform that's a bit bigger than what is currently offered like the predator but smaller than the LW in your video. Very lightweight, will be rock solid in the tree, and folds flat. Stay tuned.
Nick, I'd love to see that platform with a list of specs and a parts list. Got any pics? FWIW, I own an original Mantis and I like it very well. You'll love the products tethrid offers.
If anyone has a link to a video showing a person not just actually shooting a compound out of a saddle while at hunting height, but from every possible angle and possition, please post it here. Been all over youtube and plenty of saddle videos 1-3' off the ground sitting and pretending to draw a bow they aren't actually holding but I've yet to find a video anyone has done of climbing to hunting height, then drawing and shooting a compound bow at and hitting a target.
I would think a well done video of a person shooting a compound from just about every conceivable position and angle and showing accurate shots can be made quickly and easily would help people siting on the fence about buying a saddle make their minds up.
been thinking about this seems to me 4 or 5 screw in steps and a tree saddle I shud be in business and all under what 5 or 6lb. I think I might try one of these this yr as well
When I was much younger I'd leave the truck in the dark & get back in the dark & know telling where I'd end up the on the mountain I carried a sneeky sak in my pack along with a few screw in steps. The trees I used pines cedars even wild fruit trees I rarely got more than 15' usually 10-12' with my feet on limbs. Absolutely I would not consider this a replacement for a stand for me it was a way to get off of the ground in remote areas where I came across some good deer sign & wanted to sit for a while
