Why I Was Skeptical of Saddle Hunting - Mobile Hunting Series 

Good luck this year, my father-in-law is about your age. We are trying to talk him into trying it out! Let me know how you make out!

@@SufferingOutdoors will do

@@ronmacdougall9612 Hey Ron, hope u r getting used to shooting in a 🌳 with the gear. Full body harnesses gave me chronic pain after working in them all day & the ride 🏡 was excruciating. So I always hunted from a 🌳 stand wearing a safety belt @ my waist. But I would have a D-ring on it so it was silent & girth-hitched the harness around the 🌳 @ waist level. I was usually hiding behind the 🌳. I shot alot of recurve & shoot a compound where I'm aiming @ the target as I draw which is a little tough to do when your tether is @ eye level & can make u use different muscles in your arms & shoulders when u r trying to get to fulldraw up in the 🌳. An Arborist can cover all sides of a 🌳 when his pivot point is well above him @ more than 10 feet which we don't do as saddle hunters. So there is a learning curve but practice on the ground is for me only warming up b4 I get up into the 🌳 where I practice with a purpose.

@@josephtreadlightly5686 thanks for info

Us old timers are still at it !!

Sweet! It will be a lot nicer for guys like us who carry some camera gear! I'm cutting off a lot of weight. Thanks for watching.

Yeah if you are able to hang sticks and a stand, I would say hanging a saddle is a little easier since the platform is lighter. I’m not a bigger guy but I do know some bigger guys that use them.

@@SufferingOutdoors Yeah, I was thinking more about getting in and out of it in the morning and evening every day, especially in the dark. It would encourage guys to get mobile though. I know I can fall into the trap of hunting my same stands over and over.

Yeah, it definitely took a few setups to get use to the feeling of leaning back in the saddle on the platform. But I don't even think about it now. I used every sit this year but 1. I did all day sits and really enjoyed it.

Yeah I agree. I did another video comparing three different setups and say that there is no one strategy that is best for every situation. Different tools for different scenarios. A saddle is just a tool, not THE tool.

That is a good question. I feel the most risk is the action of climbing. While tethered and sitting in your saddle is very safe. You could probably be tethered while hanging your sticks and climbing and that would be safer. But would also slow you down. Some guys claim this method is the safest elevated hunting method. But anytime you are elevated there is a risk.

I love my lone wolf climber. Because I film my hunts I’m cutting off 8 pounds with the saddle. I do agree I won’t be able to get as high but I’m hoping I’ll be able to keep the tree between me and the deer for extra cover. We will see. But no magic bullet. Pros and cons to each setup.

@@SufferingOutdoors Yes, lol, can go on with pro's & con's forever, it's part of the fun. As a bowhunting nut, for over 45 years, I've used everything that you young studs think they are just now discovering, we had all this. I have to say, the best, lightest, most kill usable hang on was the foldable Loc-on with a speed hitch rope (no strap & buckle) I still have and use them, we used to use the tree climber spikes (gafs), was extremely fast, impossible to beat, only thing is it scarred up tree's badly. I believe someone out there is now custom making the loc-on's for a reasonable price (makes saddle platforms too). Part of the fun is getting to play with all the different gear. Doesn't matter what you use if you master it, It's all about enjoyment and having fun, time fly's by especially from 30 to 60 yrs. old, don't waste a second! Good luck this season brother.

We can do pedal assist e-bikes on some public in PA. I wish we could do full throttle class 3. Most of the ground I hunt we can’t but that is a really good strategy. Thanks for watching and good luck this year.

@@SufferingOutdoors In March here in MN I can ride through 6" of wet snow across a 1/2 CRP field like it's nothing. To drive around it u would pedal twice the distance & get stuck. I had a doe & a yearling coming towards me & didn't see something was wrong until they were 30 yards from me. A week later a mature doe had her brood with her while I was just inside a woodline out of the CRP. She had 2 yearling daughters with her ➕️ a yearling buck, 1 doe fawn & 2 buck fawns. That's 6 offspring in a group. I know they got chased by dog walkers new to the area. It's tough to watch a struggling animal & a couple were coughing loudly. I got 5 minutes of video @ 20 feet. I hunt a ridge 100 yards from that area cuz the wind is better. I hunt for better food that is healthy but I'm not into shooting something that has a future that I would be proud to take later. There should be better management out there instead of people turning hunting ground into dog parks.

My saddle, everything with the saddle, lone wolf modified sticks, predator platform weighs 21lbs. I’m using a larger frame backpack because I’m carrying camera equipment too. That weight doesn’t include that.

That definitely sounds appealing. I would like having that flexibility.

So my process is get to the tree, take saddle out of pack, put on saddle, take sticks off of backpack, hang sticks, as I climb, hang platform then lock into the tree for saddle. I counted every step and timed it. It took me about 1 minute longer. Maybe it was a fluke. I would be curious to know the times of a complete setup for both your methods and what you are doing to shave time off and maybe it would speed it up for me.

@@SufferingOutdoors I one stick. I wear my saddle in but I put suspenders on which made a big difference. I can climb 20’ in 2 moves so if there’s nothing crazy to go around I can be fully setup bow on hanger and all in 5-6 minutes. Just takes practice, the more comfortable you get the faster you get. I can hang my 4 sticks and platform in 7-8 minutes maybe less depends on the tree..but I’ll never hang another lockon, don’t plan to anyways

That really surprises me that you can one stick faster then hanging 4 sticks but that is very intriguing and makes me want to give a harder look at one sticking.

@@SufferingOutdoors try 1 sticking with a 3 step aider and make sure to have a cam cleat.... it's a game changer I personally use 1,2,3 stick techniques depending on where im going....I have my 1 sticker (has my platform, cam cleat and its 14 inches) that always goes with me.... then if I find an area with trees with obstacles I'll carry an extra stick or 2 to assist moving around obstacles.....too many saddle hunters stick to 1 method when really having multiple methods makes saddle hunting the way to go for all areas.... though it could be debated that since you 4 stick, you already have multiple methods if needed.

@@SufferingOutdoors and 5-6 minutes is very achievable 1 sticking to 17-20ft.... it's only 2 moves with a 3 step aider....2 sticking you'll be there in 1 move.

I may, it definitely looks like fun and a good way to cut more weight!