Complete Guide to Saddle Hunting

What Is Saddle Hunting?

Saddle hunting is a mobile hunting strategy designed around being lightweight and hunting out of trees. think of it as hunting out of a tree stand with less bulky gear.

The gear itself is made up of a handful of different pieces, but the main part is the saddle.

It’s a kind of half harness with an extra reinforced seat that’s attached to the tree.

Basically think of rock climbing gear.

Instead of sitting on a tree stand, you lean into the seat of the harness and are supported by the rope attached to the tree.

The rest of the gear is really just ropes and ways to get up the tree, but we’ll cover all of that in a minute.

Why Saddle Hunt?

Advantages of Saddle Hunting

One of the big advantages of Saddle hunting is going to be how lightweight your gear is

even with your standard saddle hunting gear not one of these lightweight setups it's still going to be very light compared to a lot of other gear for hunting out of trees

this makes it great for getting in deep on public land and getting away from the crowds

Also, hunting saddles work within the special rules a lot of public land has, like you have to take any stands down at the end of the day and any tree stands can’t go through the bark of the tree

Setting up a saddle is quick and pretty quiet so if you are looking to sneak in and get set up in a spot where you know that big buck likes to travel it's a great way to get in there and get a nice high vantage point without making a ton of racket on your way in.

It's going to be very similar to hunting out of a climbing stand except you have more options…

Because of the way Saddles get set up your tree does not have to be perfectly straight

Which is great but if you're out by me in Texas where a lot of the oak trees either split or bend a little bit it gives you a lot more options for you to set up

On top of that you can maneuver around the tree more so you're going to be able to give yourself more shot angles and realistically be able to shoot in any direction around the tree rather than only the direction you're staying space

Disadvantages of Saddle Hunting

The biggest disadvantage of saddle hunting is the learning curve.

There’s a lot of different things you need to learn up front to make sure you’re staying safe up in the tree.

Once you get through all of that, it’s pretty straight forward.

Another disadvantage of saddle hunting is just getting comfortable being in the tree hanging on by a rope.

I know this is similar to the learning curve, but it’s big enough that it’s worth mentioning.

If you’re going to sit up in the tree for hours, sometimes all day, you have to be comfortable with it.

You can get through this with enough time getting up there and hanging out, but until you do, you probably won’t be too successful as a saddle hunter.

Lastly, similar to climber stands, you don’t have a lot of cover other than the cover from the tree.

And because you’re kinda just out there in the open, deer can see you easier and you have to deal with the elements more.

Depending on where you hunt, this might not be too big of a deal, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Gear You Need to Saddle Hunt

Saddle

This is the heart and soul of your saddle hunting setup.

Literally everything is based around your saddle.

Your saddle is the harness you sit in and are attached to the tree with.

Which makes picking the right saddle pretty important.

If you’re just getting started, go with what fits your budget, but focus on saddles that are designed for comfort

Companies that make saddles tend to break them into saddles that are extra lightweight and saddles that are designed around comfort, so I would start with a more comfort focused saddle.

Realistically, if you can’t get comfortable in the saddle, you’re probably not going to keep saddle hunting long term and ultimately you got all the gear for no reason.

It can be useful to get a saddle as a part of a kit that has most of the major pieces of saddle hunting gear that you need.

Best Tree Saddles

Ropes

Your ropes are obviously important because they’re what holds you in the tree, but they aren’t a real cool piece of equipment

A lot of times these will come with your saddle and you aren’t going to have to replace them for years unless something crazy happens.

The only big thing to keep an eye on is the weight cap.

If you’re a bigger guy pushing up around 300 lbs, this is going to be important.

For anyone that falls in that range, I pulled together the Best Saddle Hunting Gear for Big Guys to make finding the right gear easier.

Platform

This is what you’re going to stand on once you're in the tree.

Basically you’re standing with half of your weight on the platform and the rest leaned into your saddle.

There’s a lot of different variables to look through when picking a platform.

First and foremost is size.

For newer saddle hunters having a bigger platform helps them get more comfortable in the tree faster, so most brands have some platform version that is an XL.

This gives you more room to stand and maneuver around while you’re up in the tree.

As you get more experienced other factors start to be important.

The biggest one is weight.

At the end of the day your platform is the heaviest piece of saddle hunting gear, so if you’re looking to shave every ounce and keep things light, looking at lightweight platforms is a great place to lighten the pack.

For the most part, these platforms are still going to be the same size as normal platforms, just made from lighter materials

Your platform is vitally important, but in the beginning it isn’t the biggest thing to focus on.

Put most of your attention on getting a solid saddle that works for you and then get the platform sorted out after.

Best Saddle Hunting Platforms

Climbing sticks

Your climbing sticks are how you're going to get up into the tree.

These are little ladder steps that you attach as you’re going up the tree by securing a small rope around the tree and tightening the sticks to the tree.

These vary almost as much as platforms do.

The big things to keep an eye on is how wide are the steps, how long are the sticks and how tight do they stack together.

How wide the steps are is pretty self explanatory, if you have big feet, you might want a little more wiggle room to get a good footing on your way up.

With the length of the sticks, effects 2 things: how many sticks you need to get up the tree and how easily you can pack them in.

Some sticks have a longer gap between steps or even 3 steps per stick instead of 2, which means you can get higher with the same amount of sticks.

But that’s going to be a little heavier and you can also get the same thing done with an aider, which we’ll talk about later.

The other thing that can make a difference is how easily they pack.

If you have one of the super long types of climbing sticks they can get hung up as you’re getting through dense brush trying to get to your stand, making more noise.

It’s definitely something you can work around, but worth noting.

In that same vein, how well the sticks stack together makes a difference on how much space they take up and what they can get caught on.

Some sticks are super tight and barely stick out from one another while others you can almost fit a boot in between while they’re stacked.

This somewhat comes down to personal preference.

If you don’t plan on hiking through extremely dense brush or you can clear a pretty sizable path to the tree you want to use, then don’t worry about this.

Best Climbing Sticks

Optional Accessories

Like everything with hunting these days, there’s a million and one extra accessories you can add to make your hunt a little more convenient.

Here’s some quick ones that can really help you get a little more out of your saddle hunt.

I listed these in order of priority for most hunters.

Gear Strap

This is technically an optional accessory, but it’s pretty hard to hunt without so I always suggest grabbing one.

A gear strap is essentially a strap that goes around the tree with a bunch of different loops or hooks for you to hand your gear from.

Think of things like your bow and your backpack

The most important thing is that having a gear strap keeps your bow in an easily accessible position so you can quickly grab it when you see a deer start walking in.

If you’re doing an all day sit, having access to your pack is nice because you can reach those all important snacks!

Back Band

This is completely focused on comfort.

A back band is just a band that gives you can extra contact point to help you shift some pressure to help you stay comfortable up in the tree for longer.

It goes under your arms so you can adjust where on your back it supports you and then it connects to your tether rope

Depending on what saddle you get, they’ll have different levels of adjustability to help you shift your weight, so you may or may not want to look into this, but for how inexpensive they are, it’s a good option to have.

I have to say that I don’t suggest this, so…

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME…..

But I have heard of some saddle hunters using a combination of a tight tether rope and a tight back band to sleep overnight up in their saddle so they don’t have to risk making noise on the way into the spot they had seen a big buck.

Ascender

On your ropes you will have what’s called a prusik knot.

These knots are slipknots that let you adjust where on the safety ropes your carabiners attach.

Prusik knots usually come pre-tied on most saddles, but they can be a little difficult to adjust with one hand, like if your other hand is holding your bow, so a lot of hunters like upgrading to ascenders.

Ascenders are just a mechanical way to do the same job, but they’re easier to adjust with one hand

Aider

An aider is pretty much just a rope ladder that attaches to the bottom of your climbing stick, so you can space your climbing sticks out more.

Most of them are between 1 and 3 steps because that’s about as high as most people can reach to set a climbing stick.

There’s 2 main reasons to use an aider.

The first reason is to carry less climbing sticks in so your pack is lighter.

On the extreme end, some hunters go all of the way to ‘one-sticking’, where they only use one climbing stick to get all of the way up in the tree.

It’s a little complicated, so I don’t suggest it for beginners, but there’s people out there who get it done.

For most hunters though, this can mean the difference between needing 4 climbing sticks are being able to carry 2 or 3

The second reason is to be able to climb higher in the tree without having to buy more climbing sticks.

If your somewhere with pretty tall trees and you want to get way up there, but don’t want to have to buy a ton of climbing sticks, aiders are a great way to get a few extra feet up the tree

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is saddle hunting worth the money?

The short answer is yes.

Obviously, ‘worth it’ is going to vary from person to person, but for the most part if you can stick with it long enough to get through the learning curve and shoot your first deer out of a saddle, you’ll see the value in it.

Even if you don’t hunt on public land, there’s plenty of studies showing how deer pattern hunting stands, so having a way to slip in and set up away from where you normally are can make it worthwhile.

How much does it cost to saddle hunt

If you’re buying new gear, you can realistically get into it for around $600

There are some places out there where you can get some cheaper gear, but because you’re literally using it to support you up in a tree, I would tend to stay away from the super cheap stuff.

How heavy can you be and still saddle hunt?

All saddle hunting gear comes with weight capacity ratings, for the most part these tend to be right about 300 lbs.

For the bigger guys out there, some brands have specific gear that goes up to about 350 lbs.

If you’re on the upper end of that range I pulled together the best gear for bigger guys:

Here’s the best saddle hunting gear for big guys