I'm not a saddle hunter myself. One thing I will say to you John Eberhart, is that you are one of the few living legends when it comes to bowhunters. My hats off to you sir.
Great info John! I use the Tree Hopper drill and bolts and don't see any reason to change. It's a very mobile and safe way to climb. As for the lightweight guys, my drill and 12 grade 8 bolts comes in at a whopping 3.5 lb. and takes up about as much space in my pack as a water bottle. Great system for 1/2 the price of "1" high-end climbing stick.
I call the screw in rod steps, "liver hooks" if you slip off, it can hook you under the rib cage, or worse, under the chin. Big fan of the cranford folding step, I recently purchased a whole case.
First of all, you should be careful enough that you never slip. That being said, if you can hook your ribcage or under your chin, you're installing them in the wrong locations.
Ty sir for the info The only tweak i have if you do this in season is to screw them in with a piece of 3/4” schedule 80 pvc. It’s a tad quieter. Stay safe!
Great video I was looking at some ring of steps and was torn between the Cranford scaffold and the other brands and seeing this video i know I want the Cranford scaffold steps.
Just want to thank you for sharing and for what you're doing for the sport! If you're over near Green Bay WI swing on by and we'll cook up some back strap for ya!
I was at wally world a couple weeks ago and went down the clearance isle and they had three 6 packs of the large rod style screw-in steps for $4 a pack. So I bought all 3 packs (18 steps) for $12. I think steps are a great way to climb a tree that is often overlooked. They are simple and effective.
for private land (get permission first) I used 12-15=grade 8 machine bolts 3/8-16x7" or 8" long and use a battery drill with a 3/8" bit (make sure it has the tiny pointed tip like John shows on the video) and a 3/8" diameter stop collar. Set your stop collar at 2.5" in from the tip (measure where the 3/8" diameter starts) of your drill bit and then drill into the tree at a slight downward 3-4 degree angle, so your hands or feet slide in towards the tree. Your bolts threads will bite into the tree with any slight downward pressure..... I leave these bolts in the tree and as the tree grows, about every 4-5 years I just go to all those trees and use a socket set (wrench and socket) and with minimal downward pressure on the bolt with 1 hand, I just back the bolt out about a 1/2 -3/4" inch and I am good to go for another 4-5 yrs and repeat this process. By the way, great content John! Love my ESS saddle!
Kenny, this is great advice, and I thank you sir. Can you share where you get grade 8 bolts that long from? I went to my local Home Depot & Lowes, and even Autozone, and 5 inches is the longest I could find. I plan on prepping at least 6 trees this spring on the farm I hunt and need to buy in bulk. I am all lined up to buy the 3/8x10inch spike nails by the 50lb box like John shows in this video, but I know how strong the grade 8 bolts can be, and backing them out is totally genius. Thanks in advance. Jeff
@@RU-vidr1g Zeigler bolt & nut from Canton, Ohio (can google it) is where I had ordered mine from....I think they still carry them in a 7" or 8" long grade 8 threaded bolt? Havent bought any recently and maybe with COVID and short staffed they may no longer carry them? Hope this helps.
@@kennytroyer3366 Thank you sir. Unfortunately navigating their website is a nightmare trying to find grade 8 hex's in that length. I will keep trying. Thanks again
Awesome content. Thanks for the continued wisdom. I do have a question though. I hunt primarily in areas where strap on steps are the only option. When you hunt public, do you use the Cranford rope steps and saddle scaffold or some other method. If you use the scaffold for ROS, what do you use in place of the ratchet? Do you use OCB or something else? Again, thanks for the great content.
I have some of older cranford steps, while they are nice, they are very hard to get started as the dang screw part always collapses back into the channel when you out pressure on them! I've also found you have to "pre drill" a hole to get them to thread.
When pre prepping a tree using spikes, 1. Do you also use the spikes for your ring of steps? 2. Where do you purchase the spikes? I found 10” by 3/8” landscaping spikes online, and wasn’t sure if I should be looking for something specific.
Really like watching your videos, actually just commented on your new flashlight video! Ha!! Wanted to ask ya a question about your ROS. I haven't seen anything where you talk about the strap? Maybe I missed it though.. the buckles always on the backside of the tree in your videos. So do you use a ratchet strap or something like an OCB buckle on your ring and if ya don't mind saying why? I sometimes struggle with the noise factor of the ratchet on my ROS. Thanks!
You've done several videos on scouting public land. How about a video on the steps you use and the bow and gear hangers you use on public land. Also how do you prep a tree on public land because you're not supposed to do any cutting?
This was very helpful thank you. Have you ever used the cam lock tree steps? If so what is your opinion on them. I’ll be purchasing your seat soon. This will be my first time hunting this way. God bless
John, I'm kind of off topic, but I'm new to saddle hunting this year and wondering specifically on your technique on moving around the ring. Do you always try to move around the tree clockwise? Seems to me moving the other way is unnatural. What's a good way to get to a 4 or 5 o'clock shot?
You've convinced me ROS are important for saddle hunting. It doesn't look like Cranford is selling them right now. Would you recommend the squirrel steps from EWO? Considering they're more expensive and have a slick back unlike the rigid Cranford's that bite into the bark.
Cranford only sells them while in stock and he has stock every couple of months and does limited runs. you can email them and they will notify you when they are coming available - Joe
I’d check out the treehopper tree steps. They are lighter than those cranfords and do not clang together. Lower cost than the squirrel steps, however Squirrel steps are top of the line imo. Those cranfords are no good for me.
@@benclark5373 I do not, but heard they were going to start selling a version that is 1” wide. I use the EWO strap and OCB buckle found on their site. It’s is very secure on the tree and holds the squirrel steps solid.
typically we do our prep and scouting during the post season so right around this time of year. We are fully aware that alot of the trees we set won't be hunted out of during the upcoming season but it may be gold the next year. - Joe