Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Any Saddle hunters?

Ol' Big Brown dropped the goody box off.

And no worries, JCMCUBIC, they upsold me on the Arc'teryx knee pads too.

Skane is right, sometimes trees are few and far in between in Kansas's Flint Hills.

I see a saddle as being just another tool in the tool box.

For fellas saying they didn't find a tree saddle comfortable, I spent 2 hours this morning sitting on a Walkstool tripod seat nestled in some thick CRP where there isn't a tree taller then 10' for a half mile in any direction.

Those tripod seats are brutal on your man parts.

If Santa is reading this thread, all I want for Christmas is feeling back in my testicles. 🎅

Skeen if you could list what you got you’d save my butt!

Yeah, man, no problem.

Here's a shot of the packing list which includes everything except the knee pads.

If you're a military veteran they give a 25% discount on the saddle and platform, saves you a couple hundred bucks. But you've got to ask for it.

Thank you! I happy to be a Vet as well, so that helps out some!

Thanks for that. It's kinda what I needed cause I wasn't sure what was needed.

I would suggest running 8mm ropes with prusik tinders. 8mm is way more packable in your dump pouches than 11mm rope. I run 8mm on lineman’s for sure but still run 11mm on mainline with a ropeman. I’m also 6’8 and 340lbs and that being my reason for running that line because prusik cord has more stretch than a metal ropeman. If I were smaller though I would run 8mm on everything and not look back.
Timber ninja makes one of the best thought out saddles out there. I ran an H2 for a few years then went to a Timber ninja nano this fall and I like it. It has magnetic loops for stick holders and has a magnetic loop to put your platform on the rear of the saddle on your back. This truly makes running up a tree in one trip very doable. The waist belt also cinches better on this saddle too so you can actually get it tight enough with the weight of 2 sticks and a platform on you it’s not sliding down and sagging.
Knee pads are a must in my opinion and I can survive a 4-5hr set in a saddle longer than I can a mobile hang-on. My only gripe with saddle hunting is that it starts to limit your shots some so facing in the right direction is crucial so you don’t end up with lost opportunities. For hang and hunts in the mountains around home this is the most packable option and compromises have to be made at times.

Good info. Thanks for that. I was introduced to saddle hunting 3-4 yrs ago and like a lot of things in life with good intentions, never got to it yet. Always good to have more info before making any final decisions.

I do a lot of sitting on the ground and/or still hunting at the typical places I hunt at, but for any public ground hunting around here which has a lot of mountain laurel to deal with at ground level, and crooked low limbed trees, saddle hunting would be the way to go.

And that’s the thing with hunting in that kind vegetation, at times you may only have to setup 8-10’ up a tree just to be in the vegetation cover line. That is if you can see being that low anyways. You climb too high above laurel/rhododendron you stick out like a sore thumb. As for crooked trees the thing about saddle hunting in them where you’re hanging by a rope it will naturally swing you to the low side if that makes sense. And you may be fighting with that the whole set. It’s not too bad if you get on the complete opposite side of the crook but then your rope will dig in the tree some if you need to swing/turn. So I prefer a straighter tree if possible but I know sometimes you take what you can get.

Have a buddy that has used one the past two years. Some situations is loves it, says it gives him options he didn't have before. IF (I'd like to say when, but I know myself) I can lose some weight and get in better shape, I'd like to get one. One way I could see me using it is as an easy way to double up on a stand when hunting with my boys. One of use in a ladder stand and one above them in a saddle. Even my youngest is big enough now that we fill up a 2 man ladder stand. My oldest I won't even try...he's not little.

I also like the idea of being able to hunt some tree in the right spot vs finding the right tree. We hunt some powerline ROWs. All the trimming and being on the edge many of these trees have crazy branching or are leaning the wrong way. I'd think a saddle would make them easier to hunt.

Been using a saddle for a couple years now. I have played with the sticks long enough to know that ain't for me. I use an old cut down climbing platform and climb the tree with saddle and platform. Using the new LWCG crossover climber this year and still use saddle to sit in facing the tree. I find the saddle more comfy to sit in than stand seats. I use a full length tether to the ground and friction hitch when climbing and same hitch and munter hitch when decending or repelling.

JRB saddlehunting and tree climbing on YT has some good videos on how to do things safely. I will be using his preset methods and incorporating some loc ons in the future. He has some good instruction on SRT and DRST climbing.

I don't own any horses so I have never used one.

www.newyorksaddlehunter.com

Lot’s of info with these guys.

I bought a setup year before last. I used it a couple of times during bow season but never got a shot. One thing I did notice as a mddle aged hunter was that I'm not so limber anymore and turning around for some of the extreme shots would cause some cramp type pains. I need to do more stretching, as that is a problem with me not being as limber as I could be, not a flaw with the system.

I would recommend practicing with it at home, low to the ground to get used to it.

I started hunting in fixed homemade ladder stands in the 80s, then moved to climbers. Then to lock one with tree steps. I also pulled out my summit viper last year for the first time in 5 years. I thought I was hunting out of an easy chair compared to my tiny lock on perches.

Nope not for me. Still using a climber, API grand stand supreme. The guy I hunt has one but does not use as much as I thought. I like my climber to much. comfortable, safe. I can nap in the dam thing! Try that with a saddle. No thanks.

I was at a couple of get-togethers over the holidays – each with a contingent of hunters.
Without inquiry, the topic of saddle hunting was omnipresent. And I was reminded of the old joke about how one identifies a pilot or doctor in a crowd.

Hahaha….this is so true😂

I simply picture the village people😂