Getting started in this rapidly growing and popular style of mobile hunting can be a confusing and sometimes a cash-consuming endeavor. The entire setup is also not usually left in a tree but rather removed daily thus limiting scent left behind, less likely to alert game or other hunters to stand locations as is more likely with ladder or lock on stands. It is also not as limited by tree selection as a typical climbing stand where navigating limbs on a tree trunk can be noisy and unsafe. It can be easily carried further into the woods as the weight is not restrictive on a long hike into a remote stand location. Saddle hunting is regarded by some as the most mobile style of hunting out there because it can be accomplished with gear that weighs very little compared to other stand setups. Having one saddle system that you are skilled with is of more value than multiple pre-set stands which would cost more to own and require pre-hanging, and removal after season. This combined with being lighter to carry one could claim is more portable than the rest. While this may be true, the flexibility of the saddle and a good climbing system has a synergistic value, in that it can climb a greater variety of trees than a single stand of any other type. It is generally accepted that the cost of a saddle and gear would exceed that of a climbing treestand or a lock on with a set of sticks. Between the reduced silhouette and the ability to move around the trunk silently, a hunter can often stay concealed longer and thus have a better chance at a shot at approaching game. Let’s face it, none of us look smaller with our back to a tree than we do peaking around the tree. The tactical advantage that comes from facing the tree is that this allows the hunter to keep the tree between him and the approaching game, reducing the silhouette of the hunter and improving the chance for a shot without being busted. The seat style of the harness provides a comfortable means of support for long hunts and allows for maximum free movement as well. One of the things a new saddle hunter learns is the placement of the tether has an effect on comfort as well as where one naturally hangs as gravity pulls in the same direction regardless. First, being tethered from the front of the hunter makes it less practical to hang in any other direction. The reasons for facing the tree are both practical and tactical in saddle hunting. Also contrary to most other tree hunting styles, a saddle hunter is facing the tree rather than being backed up to it, and typically sitting or leaning in the harness instead of standing. This tether is attached to the front of the saddle via a rope bridge connected to each side of the saddle at the hips of the hunter, rather than a loose tether hooked behind the hunter as is common with traditional safety harness arrangements. A saddle combines a safety harness in the form of this sling-style seat and the weight of the hunter is carried by the saddle and tether the entire time. For those who still don’t know what it is, saddle hunting is commonly defined as a sling-style seat and safety harness combination that a hunter wears around his hips, connected to the tree with a rope tether. Unless you’ve been living in a tree or not paying attention, saddle hunting seems to be the rage these days.
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