OK Saddle Hunters. I have questions.

[rugerfan]

I usually have an arrow nocked in less than 15 mins. from when I start climbing. I am usually FULLY comfortable and ready for a nap at 30 mins lol. Every setup is diff, but its comparable to your times.

Thank you. So I assume since you said "have an arrow nocked in less than 15 mins." that you primarily bow hunt out of it. Have you rifle hunted out of it? The reason I ask, will the ropes from the harness interfere with certain shot angles?

 

[scottyd917]

Thank you. So I assume since you said "have an arrow nocked in less than 15 mins." that you primarily bow hunt out of it. Have you rifle hunted out of it? The reason I ask, will the ropes from the harness interfere with certain shot angles?

I have not rifle hunted out of it, but I can say that I would have no reservations using a rifle or crossbow out of it. When you are at height, you are rock solid steady, you should be able to use the ropes and tree to steady yourself even better. I find that I shoot better while in the saddle and I am able to hold full draw longer as well as more steady. I cannot imagine a situation that a saddle setup would constrict your maneuverability or interfere with taking a shot with a rifle any worse than a climber.

 

[Taxman]

Simplicity is another thing that I worry about. Ok, so I can get my climber attached to a tree and be climbing in less than 5 minutes after arriving at my selected site, and seated, and ready to hunt in less than 10 to 15 minutes with an average hunting height of 18' to 25'. I usually put my harness on at the truck so I am not fumbling with it in the dark in the woods. How simple and what kind of time frames are we talking about to be situated and hunting?

I would say add 7-10 minutes to your time. That is from the time you identify
the tree you want to set up in. No doubt it can be done quicker but I imagine
7-10 is about avg. Especially in a new stand location at 545 am. There are
no doubt shortcuts and different tools to use for a saddle hunt pack in that
shorten the time. The fiddle factor does increase. Even for all of that,
it is still a great tool!!!

 

[sportsman94]

Simplicity is another thing that I worry about. Ok, so I can get my climber attached to a tree and be climbing in less than 5 minutes after arriving at my selected site, and seated, and ready to hunt in less than 10 to 15 minutes with an average hunting height of 18' to 25'. I usually put my harness on at the truck so I am not fumbling with it in the dark in the woods. How simple and what kind of time frames are we talking about to be situated and hunting?

I would say times are comparable. Especially when you are comparing the kind of tree a climber can go on (straight and limbless). Some time can be added if there are a bunch of branches or the tree is leaning or twisted or something weird. I use three hawk helium’s with daisy chains to attach them to the tree. I tested out quietness the other day when hunting 100 yards from a buddy. I heard him in a climber the whole way up the tree. He heard nothing and only saw my light moving.

@buckpasser, when possible I try to position myself in cover or behind the tree from where I expect the deer to be. With that said, I shot a mature doe a few weeks ago from a bare pine tree with no cover. She came from my right side to 12 yards before she looked up at me. No issue, cause I’ve had the same situation a bunch of times in a climber. She then proceeded to pace back and forth at 20 yards trying to figure out what I was until I was able to get a shot on her. I have killed 5 or 6 out of the saddle last year and 6 so far this season. Granted, most of these have been does, but I feel like I have rarely been picked off in the saddle. Seemingly less than the old days with various stands

 

[buckpasser]

Another question. I watched a video on the single step method and I saw how it’s done. The brand I saw the fellow using was pretty nifty I’ll admit. I couldn’t help but wonder though, is that thing tethered to you somehow? Also, is there a way to just repel down in an emergency? Seems like just hanging around up there at 15’ looking at your contraption on the ground wouldn’t be great fun. Thanks in advance!

 

[rugerfan]

@buckpasser makes a good point there on an emergency situation. I know you are tethered to a tree and that acts as your safety harness, but once you are up there, is there enough rope to repel to the ground?

 

[sportsman94]

Some guys who do one stick method are big into rappelling. I don’t do one stick or rappelling, so I can’t provide any insight. It is an option though!

 

[crucible02]

I’m the dissenter in that I hated hunting from a saddle... I tried three different saddles and couldn’t get comfortable in any of them... hip pinch in all of them even after trying all the tricks to get it right... plus having to set up all this gear and figure out the best way to pack it in. Too much of a hassle to be uncomfortable once I’m settled in.

To lower weight from my Summit, I sold the saddle/gear and bought a Lone Wolf climber and tricked it out with Hazmore seat and THA bow holder... significantly lighter than my summit and way more comfortable than the saddle.

But to each their own... can’t imagine myself ever owning a saddle again unless I go with the JX3 hybrid.

 

[Coreypnich]

Ok I’ll try and answer a couple questions. My style is one stick climb/ rappel down. In terms of setup time vs my climber I will be climbing quicker with my one stick than my climber, however the higher I would go the quicker the climber would be if that makes sense(quicker moves once on the tree.) I am usually set up 20’ or so in 15 min. No height restrictions with one stick and limbs don’t matter. Tree shape barely matters. However since I rappel down, If we were set up next to each other and you had a climber, I would be waiting at the truck for you with a cold one by the time you got back!

 

[rugerfan]

I’m the dissenter in that I hated hunting from a saddle... I tried three different saddles and couldn’t get comfortable in any of them... hip pinch in all of them even after trying all the tricks to get it right... plus having to set up all this gear and figure out the best way to pack it in. Too much of a hassle to be uncomfortable once I’m settled in.

To lower weight from my Summit, I sold the saddle/gear and bought a Lone Wolf climber and tricked it out with Hazmore seat and THA bow holder... significantly lighter than my summit and way more comfortable than the saddle.

But to each their own... can’t imagine myself ever owning a saddle again unless I go with the JX3 hybrid.

I was actually wondering about "hip pinch". My current climber seat causes a little hip pinch of the seat isn't just right. I noticed it a lot this year. So was thinking this off season to update the seat on it. But have been wondering about the saddles. One other thing that I have been thinking about is leg fatigue with have your feet on the platform. Starting to wonder if this is a good all day sit method or should I stick with the climber for all day sits.

 

[Timberbeast]

Thank you. So I assume since you said "have an arrow nocked in less than 15 mins." that you primarily bow hunt out of it. Have you rifle hunted out of it? The reason I ask, will the ropes from the harness interfere with certain shot angles?

I am not A professional saddle hunter, but I switched over to one Last year due to long walks on public land. I do have some issues when rifle hunting out of harness. The ropes can be in my way, even just shouldering my rifle. It may be due to my lack of experience.

I love bow hunting out of it. It’s Been a game changer for me.

 

[jbogg]

I started off with a traditional saddle five years ago, but no matter what I tried I could never stay comfortable for very long. The hip pinch was terrible, and the kneepads were a must if you intended to sit instead of leaning. A back band helped some, but at the end of the day I just could never get comfortable enough to hunt for very long.

Enter the JX 3 Hybrid. It hangs from a tether like any other saddle, but with a full back rest and seat it is every bit as comfortable as my Summit Goliath. It has a built-in tree fork which keeps your knees well away from the tree so there is never a need to wear kneepads even when seated. It folds completely flat for packing and has a built-in hip belt and chest straps so it is literally its own backpack.

You still have to settle on your climbing method, and whether or not you want to use a platform, ring of steps, or just the top of your sticks. I hunt in north Georgia where there is no shortage of straight limbless trees so I use a LoneWolf Handclimber converted to a foot climber. It doubles as my climbing method as well as platform when I get to hunting height. It ends up being the same sit down stand up climbing method you would use with any two piece portable Treestand like a summit viper. You simply slide the tether up the tree, sit down in the Hybrid, and then raise the Lonewolf platform with your feet and continue up the tree. I can easily climb to 18 to 20 feet in around three minutes.

The JX 3 Hybrid weighs in at around 9 pounds, and when combined with the Lonewolf hand climber The total weight is between 13 and 14 pounds. In packing mode I slide the Lonewolf Handclimber and a small day pack in between the seat and the back rest, and I can pack it on my back for hours. I did a 10 hour sit from dark to dark about a week ago without ever climbing down the tree. There’s no way in the world I could do that in any other saddle. Check out the many YouTube videos for a better explanation.

 

[jbogg]

For the combination of all day comfort, combined with extreme packability for public land mountain hunting the JX 3 Hybrid is tough to beat. There is a learning curve with any saddle. Hanging suspended from a tether can feel a little unnatural at first, but it only takes a few hunts to get fully comfortable.

 

[sportsman94]

For the combination of all day comfort, combined with extreme packability for public land mountain hunting the JX 3 Hybrid is tough to beat. There is a learning curve with any saddle. Hanging suspended from a tether can feel a little unnatural at first, but it only takes a few hunts to get fully comfortable.
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Do you bow hunt out of yours or just gun hunt? I’ve heard great things about the comfortability of the jx3, just wondering if the bulk makes it harder to bow hunt out of

 

[jbogg]

Do you bow hunt out of yours or just gun hunt? I’ve heard great things about the comfortability of the jx3, just wondering if the bulk makes it harder to bow hunt out of

I had to switch to a crossbow eight years ago due to a bad wing, but I know there are plenty of guys that bow hunt out of the JX 3. If you had any issues shooting while seated you could easily just push back into a leaning position and have no problem.

 

[jbogg]

Another question. I watched a video on the single step method and I saw how it’s done. The brand I saw the fellow using was pretty nifty I’ll admit. I couldn’t help but wonder though, is that thing tethered to you somehow? Also, is there a way to just repel down in an emergency? Seems like just hanging around up there at 15’ looking at your contraption on the ground wouldn’t be great fun. Thanks in advance!

I made my own “emergency descender” which always goes up the tree with me in case my climbing method had a catastrophic failure. I have read of some of the LoneWolf Hand climbers cracking which is my preferred climbing method, but sticks can break or get dropped as well.

It’s a simple climbing rope with a loop on each end. Make sure one of the loops is large enough for your hunting boot, and the overall length is long enough to go around large diameter trees. If you ever had to use it to descend you simply step in the loop and put your weight on it so that you can relax your tether enough to slide it down the tree a little ways, and then rinse and repeat all the way down the tree. It’s not as easy as one sticking, but it definitely beats being stuck up in a tree.

 

[jax]

The first thing to know when diving into saddle hunting was noted by jbogg, there is a learning curve. I highly advise that you practice with your saddle setup several times before hunting out of it.

I use either an Aerohunter Merlin or an original Kestrel Flex saddle, with a Latitude backband. I have 4 Hawk Helium sticks with Amsteel aiders and daisy chains. I use a Trophyline EDP platform.

I have spent many hours in this setup and I haven’t used a climber or lock on since I put this together. But, I’ve had to do a lot of tinkering to get the comfort level where I want it.

I love my setup, but be prepared to spend some time and money on it. My number one recommendation is to get up with a knowledgeable saddle hunter and try before you buy.

 

[rugerfan]

The first thing to know when diving into saddle hunting was noted by jbogg, there is a learning curve. I highly advise that you practice with your saddle setup several times before hunting out of it.

I use either an Aerohunter Merlin or an original Kestrel Flex saddle, with a Latitude backband. I have 4 Hawk Helium sticks with Amsteel aiders and daisy chains. I use a Trophyline EDP platform.

I have spent many hours in this setup and I haven’t used a climber or lock on since I put this together. But, I’ve had to do a lot of tinkering to get the comfort level where I want it.

I love my setup, but be prepared to spend some time and money on it. My number one recommendation is to get up with a knowledgeable saddle hunter and try before you buy.

After researching the cost of everything, before I buy I want to do exactly as you are suggesting. I want a test drive, so to speak.

I want to thank everyone who has responded with info and advice.

 

[splatek]

I’m the dissenter in that I hated hunting from a saddle... I tried three different saddles and couldn’t get comfortable in any of them... hip pinch in all of them even after trying all the tricks to get it right... plus having to set up all this gear and figure out the best way to pack it in. Too much of a hassle to be uncomfortable once I’m settled in.

To lower weight from my Summit, I sold the saddle/gear and bought a Lone Wolf climber and tricked it out with Hazmore seat and THA bow holder... significantly lighter than my summit and way more comfortable than the saddle.

But to each their own... can’t imagine myself ever owning a saddle again unless I go with the JX3 hybrid.

I’m with you
My story goes like this: started hunting about 3 years ago. A buddy loaned me a climber. One day hunting it blew up and I nearly fell out of the tree. I started looking for other methods and found saddles. I tried a traditional saddle. Never could get comfortable. I tried the JX3 but really not friendly too TRAD archery. I built my own double panel saddle, actually the most comfortable and by and far the most economical. I sold two saddles and the climber and ended up on light sticks and a hang on/lock on. I couldn’t be happier. With three sticks +cable aiders and my stand, I’m at 10 pounds. I can stand. Sit. Shoot 360 from the tree bc I use my saddle as a harness, which actually also allows me to saddle hunt if needed. But I never do that.
I wish I’d found this method sooner bcc I’ve wasted a lot of time and money on saddle paraphernalia trying to make it either comfortable or TRAD friendly.
Just my 2 cents

 

[bfriendly]

If I can do it, anyone can! I bought the Hawk saddle but replaced tether and lineman’s ropes. Got the 3 pack of hawk helium 36” sticks, then a 20” stick with the hawk small platform. Then I got the hawk full size platform. Then I learned to rappel and started using one stick. A few mods later like cam cleats on my sticks, and I won’t look back. I am 95% bow hunting and it’s perfect. Taking a rifle wasn’t so much fun at paulding, but it was the first and only time, but it can be done, I need to practice it…..I plan on doing that Tuesday or Wednesday next week. My saddle is very comfy but there are so man choices…….just bummed it took so long to find this system!