hanging up the saddle for my climber

[ghoasthunter]

im going too go back too using my climber for the rut. most of my productive sits are morning ambush right now attacking does. the big bucks are fully locked on does right now. the saddle is just too slow too setup for the aggressive sits i do right now. sometimes i have too move 3 or 4 times in a day with the changing mountain winds. the climber seams too be my best setup. anybody else do what im doing?

[WV Bowhunter]

I’m way quieter with my saddle on a setup and not much longer time to setup. Also really like that I’m not confined to telephone pole type trees.

[wmahunter]

I am not switching yet. But I did find I only need 3 LW sticks to get to 15 ft which is high enough in the wma I am hunting. Any higher and you cannot see anything. It is comfortable once I get setup which takes me about 15 mins.

[Jonny]

Nope. Hang on with a saddle has been dynamite for me. 20 minutes to go from sitting to walking away totally packed up. Another 15 to set up completely on a decent tree with zero noise.


HOWEVER, I would definitely say use what is best for you. So if a climber is the best then I would definitely go that route.

[hambone]

I've been saddle hunting for nearly 25 years. I have found nothing to trump the saddle for portability and silence. I keep the climber around, but it rarely gets used in the areas I hunt. WE Stepps/LW sticks/Buckingham's and the saddle give me more options. Everwhat works the best for each individual is the key.

[wolverinebuckman]

I used the climber last year. I liked it, it was very comfortable. Tree selection usually sucked.
But I really can't see doing anything apart from my fleece saddle anymore... just too light, convenient, and comfortable.

[ghoasthunter]

i love my saddle. its just way too much for me too do and one big problem i find is every tree i find is leaning down hill with a stand i dont have that problem nothing i hunt has limbs so i was just like whats the point. its great for thick swamps but then i run into the problem that the trees have too many limbs and i cant shoot. saddle or climber i still find myself looking for a straight limbless tree. plus my saddle setup is heavier than my 11 pound x stand climber and i have setup and killed many deer under 100 yards with it anyway. im going too run climber for rest of week and re evaluate things.

[dannyboy]

im going too go back too using my climber for the rut. most of my productive sits are morning ambush right now attacking does. the big bucks are fully locked on does right now. the saddle is just too slow too setup for the aggressive sits i do right now. sometimes i have too move 3 or 4 times in a day with the changing mountain winds. the climber seams too be my best setup. anybody else do what im doing?

Yes. Hunting in Alabama, we usually have plenty of trees for the climber and I agree it is easier and faster to set up, especially in the morning. At 61 the saddle is a little more physical to set up even though a couple times a year in the afternoon the saddle is the better option and I still like the change up to the saddle

[ghoasthunter]

im going too go back too using my climber for the rut. most of my productive sits are morning ambush right now attacking does. the big bucks are fully locked on does right now. the saddle is just too slow too setup for the aggressive sits i do right now. sometimes i have too move 3 or 4 times in a day with the changing mountain winds. the climber seams too be my best setup. anybody else do what im doing?

Yes. Hunting in Alabama, we usually have plenty of trees for the climber and I agree it is easier and faster to set up, especially in the morning. At 61 the saddle is a little more physical to set up even though a couple times a year in the afternoon the saddle is the better option and I still like the change up to the saddle

yup thats what im doing climber in morning saddle in afternoon bed hunts going too use its strictly for the ninja stuff i can say one thing my knees are way happier and so are my hands. that somthing else i ran into using my saddle my pockets are a pain too use. i think staying flexible and using booth are the best options right now. just today i located a big buck that i think i can kill in afternoon. i set up this evening over a likley rut bedding area on a ridge below some crp fields. i had two bucks come past me one 3 year old six stood up 80 yards away and presented me with a 40 yard shot. i got that close with a climber no problem i always wrap my teeth with 3/8 camo rope so it does not make noise climbing, it also grips slippery hard bark trees better that way. well hour before dark i spotted a real big buck get up and move out the back of the bedding. on my way out in the dark i found where hes exiting the bedding over 300 yards away hes cutting threw a thin hedge row between fields. his tracks have been going this way alot 5 separate tracks from same buck every one just a day or so older. i know where i need to be, at the edge of the hedge row as he enters so tomorrow im going in semi blind and will be using the saddle this time for sure. if i need too sit in a 3 inch tree ill be covering that exit no way around it.

[ThePreBanMan]

I'm using my viper for all day sits. I can't be in my hang on for that long. Climber is just way more comfortable.

[Dewey]

When I killed my Iowa buck a few years ago I set up in three different trees in 5-6 hour span before I felt good where I was set up to make sure I was in on the cruising action. Glad I was using my climber that day because if I had to tear down sticks each time I likely wouldn’t have moved. If you have climber favorable trees you cannot beat that method for run and gun hunting.

[noxninja]

I swap back and forth really just depends on my mood, but most gun hunts are done out of the saddle as I like the comfort for longer sits and being able to brace off the tree.

[elk yinzer]

I am glad I have a saddle, hang-on and a climber to choose the right tool for the job. Why be confined to just one? Like you said each have their circumstances where they outperform the others. I agree in that situation a climber is much more mobile.

That said, so far this year on close to 20 sits I have chosen the saddle for all but two of them. Currently sitting in my hangon for the first time this year. I am sitting 11 til dark and I get uncomfortable and start to fidget too much after about 3 hours in the saddle. Still using my saddle in leiu of my saftey harness though.

[d_rek]

You guys are making me reassess what it means to be a mobile hunter. I don't think i've ever gotten down once to sit a different tree. If I was doing all day sits, yeah, definitely, i'd bounce around. But i'm only out for 2-3 hrs at the most.