Saddle Hunting - Is This Latest Rage Justified?

Jump on social media these days, look up your favorite whitetail hunters and chances are you’re going to see a decent proportion of them hanging from a saddle at some point. Not all are converts, but as time goes on it seems more and more are being lured into the cult.

Justified? Who’s to say, but I’ll give it a try.

I too jumped on the saddle hunting train last year and managed to shoot my biggest whitetail buck to date. I won’t go as far as saying I owe it to saddle hunting, I owe it in great proportion to luck! But the more I look back on it, the more I think my style of hunting greatly matches up with the run and gun style that is offered up by the craze that is saddle hunting.

I’ll also be the first to say that it’s not for everybody. There are certainly situations where I’d want a standard lock on style deer stand. For some people it just doesn’t make sense to go this route. I’ll run you through where I thought it was helpful and where I think the more traditional stand would be more practical.

Advantages of Saddle Hunting Vs. Tree Stand Hunting

Speedy Setup and Less Bulky

I’m a big fan of run and gun style of whitetail hunting because I hunt public land and never know how bad the deer have been pressured or if I’m going to find another hunter in “my” spot. There are so many variables at play when it comes to competing with the swarms of hunters that visit our public lands that you need to play it loose and be willing to adjust. Saddle hunting is a perfect way to accomplish that. You’re not lugging around a heavy stand through the woods. Likely you’ll be wearing your harness in and carrying a tiny platform in your pack along with some climbing stick. Stealthy and quiet and the setup and breakdown time seems to be way faster.

Last year I lucked out and drew a Missouri Breaks tag in Montana for elk. With it being a record breaking drought year, finding and sitting water was paramount. I was hiking a long way to do that and there was no way I was going to carry a tree stand that far. It was an absolute perfect situation for saddle hunting. I could hunt my way in like I typically would and when I got to the waterhole I could set up in a tree.

I can fit all my saddle hunting gear in my backpack for western hunts.

Trees Don’t Need to be as Straight or Thick

I’ve set up tree stands in less than ideal spots because I couldn’t find a tree straight or thick enough to hang the dang thing on! This problem can be the difference between success and failure when you can’t get to the spot you know a buck is likely to be.

Saddle hunting won’t completely solve this problem for you, but it is a step in the right direction. With the standard deer stand needing two attachment points that space fairly far apart, a somewhat straight tree is needed to safely hang them. Saddle hunting platforms have much shorter attachment points allowing for more variation in the tree.

So when I’m out scouting an area and I see the trees look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, I know I’ll be hanging from a saddle in that particular area.

Gives You More Shooting Options

Hunting from a saddle gives you more directions to shoot when compared to a tree stand. In a standard tree stand you are often limited by the tree you’re attached to. This isn’t always a problem if you know the area the deer will be moving, but if you know Murphy as well as I do, there’s going to be one sneaking in the way you least expect it.

Hanging from a saddle in the right setup can give you 360 degrees of shooting. Now of course lanes need to be cut and all the other necessary adjustments need to be made to make this a possibility, but it is possible.

Disadvantages of Saddle Hunting Vs. Tree Stand Hunting

You’re now a convert! You’re on Craigslist as you read this selling all of your tree stands and praying to the god of saddle hunting to accept you into the cult. Not so fast (unless you got a screaming good deal on that almost new tree stand, then send me the link)!

With the good, usually comes the bad. Here’s what I found to be some disadvantages to saddle hunting and in some cases when I refuse to use them.

Comfort

I’ve read it all and watched it all on “how to make saddle hunting as comfortable as tree stand hunting”. Propaganda.

There are ways of making it less uncomfortable, but you’ll never turn a bar stool into a recliner. I’ve fallen asleep in some of my deer stands, let me assure you, I’ve never done that in a saddle (maybe that should go in the advantages section?).

If I’m in an area that year after year has produced dependable movement on nearby trails and trees allow it, you can bet I’ll be hanging a tree stand for long sits.

You Need to Practice

That should go without saying, you need to practice from the ground, from a tree stand or any given scenario. But you REALLY need to practice shooting out of a saddle before you hit the woods. I almost lost that “biggest to date” deer I spoke of earlier because I didn’t practice enough from the saddle and made less than an ideal shot because of it.

My home setup to practice shooting from my saddle.

You’re hanging from a rope up there. That gives you the versatility of movement but it also gives you less stability when it comes to the shot. This rope is also in front of you as opposed to behind you like the safety line from your harness on a tree stand. You will need to learn how to shoot to your left, right, behind you and all that with your feet in less than ideal positions.

Your anchor point can easily change if you aren’t disciplined enough to be aware of it, so practice before getting into the field!

Tendency To Move Around

Whether it be from adjusting your position to get more comfortable or the fact that you’re hanging from a pivot point that is the rope you're tied to, you tend to move around more in the tree in a saddle. This can be solved by being cognizant of the situation, but discipline is needed to keep your movements to a minimum.

Saddle Hunting Gear

If you decide it’s right for you, saddle hunting can be a great piece of gear in your hunting arsenal. There are a lot of situations that I feel it’s invaluable. So what will you need to build out your kit? Here are some of the essentials. A lot of what you have from your tree stand gear can be used out there as well.

Saddle

Who would have thought that you might need a saddle when saddle hunting. Could you use your safety harness that you use for your stand? No, not really. You will be hanging from the harness so the attachment point will be different. Besides that important fact, saddles are meant to be hung from for hours and because of this fact they make them in a way to disperse your weight.

Look online and find some options and reviews. I personally use a Tethrd Phantom. It’s been bombproof so far.

Saddle Hunting Platform

You can go without one and stand on the top rung of your climbing sticks, but boy, you’re more of a man than I. A nice small platform gives you stability and a way to take weight off of your harness. There’s standard platforms that look like a mini stand all the way to ones that have little platforms that wrap around the tree, giving you more options to move around.

I use a small platform that allows me to stand on it like a tree stand but is small enough to fit in my whitetail pack.

Climbing Sticks

You may already have these from your tree stand kit. If so, repurpose. No need to buy what you already own. I’m a huge fan of the speed and safety climbing sticks offer over the old school screw in pegs. Plus some public areas won’t allow you to use the screw in type to prevent damage to trees.

Saddle Hunting Accessories

Some other gear to think about. Some of these you may already have from your tree stand gear. All the better.

Lineman Belt - You likely have this from your stand gear. Safety first!

Tree Tether - Your safety tether from your stand gear could work here. Use this to anchor yourself to the tree.

Ascender or Prusik Cord with Carabiner - this is how you're going to attach your harness to the tree tether.

Daisy Chain - Wrap it around the tree and it gives you a bunch of loops to hang your gear off of.

Saddle Pouches - A great place to stash gear.

There’s the long of it. Is saddle hunting the end all be all answer? No, nothing will ever be because of all of the variables at play. I would say that I use it more these days than I do my tree stands however. If you’re down for trying something new, give it a go. If you’re old school and stuck in your ways, what are you doing on the internet?!

Hope this helps in some small way.

// Fred Bohm