I was fortunate enough to bag a nice public land buck this season during the rut. As with any time I have success, I was following my hunting process to identify the absolute best spot. This spot is on public land that has a high likelihood of another hunter walking past, so while it is legal in my state, I do not leave a stand up during the season for fear of it being stolen. My tree saddle was the perfect tool for the job.
I love my tree saddle. I use a Tethrd Mantis, which I do not believe is in production any more, but any of their saddles seem to work. I jumped on the saddle bandwagon early a few years ago for two reasons. First, I absolutely loved how many possibilities a saddle opened up. I hunt many swamp areas where trees are not always conducive to a lock on, climber or ladder stand. Second, the saddle is by far the most lightweight option. All I need to carry in are my three Hawk Ranger sticks (with 18 inch aiders on each) to get 22 feet up in any situation.
Spot vs. Stand Location
Now, moving into the setup itself…as I’ve mentioned multiple times, I’m trying to hunt the absolute best spot. This means my target deer has been in the area within the last 24 hours. It’s important to understand a ‘spot’, as I define it, is an area where the deer are found. It is not a ‘stand’. By my definition, a stand is the actual tree where I will sit. We could argue semantics on these, but it doesn’t really matter. What really matters is to understand that in this particular public land ‘spot’, I have four different ‘stand’ locations.
The reason I have four different stand locations within this spot is because I want an option for each of the wind directions I might encounter. This public land ‘spot’ is approximately 20 acres of bedding. Remember, I have limited time to hunt, so if a target deer in this bedding area, I can’t ‘wait for the wind to be right’. I have to make the wind right. I have to figure out how to hunt the spot based on whatever the wind is doing.
During the rut it’s always a good idea to hunt downwind of a bedding area. With a target buck confirmed in the area within the last 24 hours and a north wind in the forecast that morning, I knew I had to set up near a scrape line on the south side of the bedding area. My theory was that if a buck was in and around his bedding area on a north wind, he would almost certainly end up on the south side of the bedding, scent checking for does.
Tree Saddle Benefits
Enter the use of the saddle. I knew of a few trees that might be a good possibility to set up via my pre-season scouting. The issue, however, was that pre-season scouting occurred in September when the leaves were on the trees. This being November, I knew the landscape would look differently, so when I arrived to the spot, I took about ten minutes in the dark to pick out my actual stand location. I settled on a large split cherry tree approximately 25 yards downwind of the trail I thought he would use.
The sticks and saddle are a perfect tool for this particular tree. A climber would not have been possible. I could have used a lock on, but why carry that extra weight? I was able to climb up the smaller of the two trees and use the larger one for cover. This is one of the major benefits of the saddle – the ability to hide and conceal yourself in a tree.
As I mentioned, pretty much all leaf cover was down, and were I in a lock on, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb. With the saddle, I can shift myself to behind the trunk of the tree and literally hide from any deer, and slowly slide my way out when a shot opportunity is presented. Another aspect of concealment is the angle a saddle gives you. This is purely my speculation, but I try to avoid right angles in the woods. I know it sounds weird, but trees rarely have perfectly right-angled limbs. A lock on or climber is all right angles, and I think deer pick up on that. I don’t think deer have better eyesight than humans, but I think they live in the woods 24/7 and they know what looks normal and what does not. A saddle hunter in camo leaning at a 30 degree angle off a tree looks much more like, well, a branch.
You might think that based on what I’ve written in this article, I’d define myself as a ‘saddle hunter’ as some hunters do. But I’m not. I’m a Basic Hunter. Don’t get me wrong – I love my saddle. It was the right tool for the job in this case and absolutely was a huge factor in my success. I do not, however, strictly use a saddle. I use whatever tool is best to hunt the absolute best spot.
I have killed deer from a ladder, lock on, climber, ground blind, natural blind, bail of hay, even an elevated tree house. Every situation requires a different method of concealment. Based on the stand location that is best for that particular wind at the absolute best spot, I want to be good at whatever concealment method I need to hunt that spot. Keep in mind that it may not be a tree. Once you get past the idea that is has to be a tree, opportunities open up left and right. It requires getting outside of my comfort zone, and I encourage you to do the same!