Anyone hunt out of a tree saddle?

[hoosier88]

This was my first full year hunting out of a saddle. I really enjoyed it, the biggest advantage to me is that you can stay between the tree and deer. I do prefer a ring of steps though, which makes it possible to get all the way around the tree.

 

[phylodog]

My saddle came in and I just tried it on a telephone pole in the yard. I'm optimistic as far as comfort is concerned, I already know it's going to be much more versatile than a lock on.

 

[eric001]

A few weeks ago I leaned a little too far to the side in my climbing tree stand and scared the bejeebies out of myself when it shifted a fraction of an inch. Then recently found this thread here about saddles... Now I'm anxiously awaiting my AeroHunter Merlin to get made and shipped. Looked at lots of YouTube videos, looked at lots of different rigs, and thought to myself: why the hell am I carrying in big heavy LOUD climbing stand pieces on my back when I could get to the same place with less muss, less fuss, and way way less noise using a saddle???
I really like the idea of using leg power on the sticks rather than straining my shoulders so much with the climber. And seeing a guy demo being able to safely take a shot 360* around a tree?? WOW.

Thanks for starting this one Phylo--though I'm sure my wife isn't thrilled about the $$ invested!!

 

[phylodog]

It was recently shared with me so I'm happy to pass it along.

 

[phylodog]

I filmed in the tree saddle the past two days with vastly different experiences. Yesterday we had two stands up so I just used the stand like it was a platform and it was an enjoyable sit, I could do an all day easily. Today was a different story, there was only one stand and I will never hunt a saddle without a platform again, ever. Even for a 200" buck. Saying I was miserable would be a huge understatement. We ended up moving the top climbing stick around so I could stand on it but that wasn't much better, hot spots popped up non-stop and I had to keep shifting my feet. When I stepped off of the treestand seat and swung around to the far side of the tree I knew I was in for a real treat and I was right. Never again without a platform, I don't know how guys can do it standing on the screw in steps or bolts. Tomorrow will be a week since I ordered the platform, I'm hoping it ships soon.

These were from this afternoon.

 

[phylodog]

I think I'm also going to order a set of the Wild Edge Stepladders. Pretty slick and friendly to my shoulder method for climbing when used with an knaider and swaider. There are several decent videos on Youtube. My hunting partner isn't sold on hunting out of one but agrees it's better than a lock on for filming. If I could bring him around to the idea we could hunt almost any tree bigger than 8" in diameter. No more compromising and not being able to find trees where we need them, just find the one closest to perfect and you're good. If it turns out not to be what you thought you can start over the next day to fine tune your sets. I'm honestly not excited about the climbing with the WES system but the versatility this combined with a saddle offers is amazing. The icing on the cake is the safety of it all. I know a lot of guys and gals clip in before they leave the ground and never unclip and that's great but some still aren't, this system virtually requires it, the only real decision is to leave the lineman's belt on for a redundant system or not (I don't plan to, too much stuff if I have to move the camera around the other side of the tree.

Here are some vids

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=knaider+and+swaider

 

[two70]

I've never used a climber. With my shoulder I think that ship has sailed for me.

Packing a climber a problem with your shoulder? I wouldn't think climbing one would be.

I'd be very, very careful shooting a crossbow out of a tree saddle. That looks like a good way to end up eating the stock if you get a limb a little too close to the tree in a situation where you're twisting around to get a shot.

 

[phylodog]

I’ve never used a climber but I’m confident that I could. The problem with them is carrying one in addition to the camera gear is a bit too cumbersome. They’re also a bit more restrictive when it comes to tree selection. I’ll be doing plenty of simulation and practice if we eventually decide to run two saddles at once.

 

[phylodog]

The platform from Tethrd arrived this afternoon and I promptly went out and set everything up in one of the power poles in my yard. My opinion is now even higher than it was after my first hunt. This setup is awesome.