John Eberhart Thoughts On The Saddle!

Posted by Trophyline USA

Below is a message that John shared to an online message board about our saddle.  It was very well thought out and explains some great points on why he believes in our product.

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I have been using this concept exclusively when hunting from trees since 1981. Without question the treesaddle is the most mobile and comfortable hunting stand ever made. In 1981 I was using a treesling and they went out of business and I switched to a Trophyline Ambush saddle in 2004.

Here goes my prewritten pitch on the saddle and some tips on its use. They are also printed somewhere on my website at deer-john.net.

The Treesaddle will open up an entire new chapter to your hunting mobility and therefore success, especially in pressured areas where you must make the best of every advantage and opportunity.

Here is what I suggest for first time saddle users. Watch the instructional DVD several times with your saddle in front of, or on you so that you become comfortable and familiar with the straps.

Pick out a tree or telephone pole in your yard and place steps around the tree about 10 inches apart and all at the same level on the tree about 18 inches from the ground. This is where you will begin practicing prior to season to get comfortable with the saddle.

With the saddle laying on the ground in front of you, step into the loose leg straps hanging below the seat of the saddle as shown on the DVD. Next, tighten the cinch strap (strap attached to the front corners of the saddle) around your waist by pulling on only the top strap coming out of the cinch buckle. If the cinch strap will not draw tight like a belt holding up your pants, your saddle is at least one size to big for your waist. I suggest to anyone looking to buy a saddle that you buy one a size smaller than suggested on the package because if the cinch strap will not tighten, you can’t climb a tree with it on as it will keep wanting to slide down below your waist during your ascent up the tree.

Once the cinch strap is tightened around your waist you can climb with it on without the saddle sliding down. If you desire you can also use the shoulder straps to hold it up. I do not use the shoulder straps, preferring to let them drape behind me.

Wrap the safety strap around the tree and hook it to the other side of the harness, then adjust it as needed for the diameter of the tree so that you can climb. [The safety strap is also a nice feature because it allows you to use the saddle as a comfortable means of preparing trees while scouting, keeping both hands free for screwing in steps, attaching climbing sticks, trimming loose bark, cutting branches, etc.]

Climb up onto your steps and adjust the safety strap so that you can lean back a little and be comfortable while attaching the lead strap. Each foot should now be on a step and your legs should be straight (not bent at the knees) and both of your hands should be free to hook up the lead strap. Now let go of the tree, go ahead, let go, you will not fall, the straps on the saddle are made from 9,000 pound test nylon strapping.

Hook up the lead strap as shown in the instructional DVD. Personally, I attach the lead strap lower than advised in the instructional DVD. I like the hook on the end of the lead to be no higher than eye level once the lead is tied off. The instructions show it being well above head level, almost as high as you can reach. With the hook at eye level the angle of the lead strap coming off the tree is less severe and keeps the lead strap from getting in your elbows way on shot opportunities directly to your right or left depending on which handed you are. When the hook of the lead strap is high, the lead strap angle is nearly straight down from the tree and is in the way of your elbow with shots directly to the side. I suggest trying both ways (per instructional DVD and my way) and use what is most comfortable for you.

Always set up the saddle just as you would a tree stand with your projected shot opportunity being 90 degrees directly to your left if right handed and vise versa if left handed. Yes you can shoot all 360 degrees around most trees, but you still want to make as little movement as possible when deer are close. No matter what type of system you hunt from, you always want to keep movements to an absolute minimum at crunch time.

Once the lead is tied off, slide the buckle end of the lead under both of the waist cinch straps and bring it back up and attach the buckle to the hook that should be dangling in front of your face. Now take the slack out of the lead strap by tightening or pulling on the tag end of it until the lead strap is supporting your body (once the lead strap is adjusted properly the safety strap will become loose). Now loosen the cinch strap around your waist (which now has the lead underneath) all the way out and immediately re-adjust your drape (how you sit or hang) with the adjustment buckle in front of your face until you feel comfortable with the way you are sitting. The cinch strap must be loosened all the way out to allow you comfort and shooting mobility behind you. My preference is to end up in a sitting position where my knees are bent about 45 degrees from straight (similar to sitting or leaning on a butt seat while bass fishing) and most of my weight is distributed to my butt. Once you feel comfortable with your sitting position in the saddle go ahead and unhook the safety belt and store it in its respective pouches. You should now be sitting facing the tree with your legs somewhat straddling the trunk or your knees into the trunk if it is a larger tree (Trophylines Knee Savers are awesome in large trees where your knees must be against the tree).

Once sitting in the saddle try to keep the top of the saddle at waist level, do not allow it to climb or ride up your lower back above your waist. If the saddle is allowed to climb up your lower back it will slightly confine your waist mobility when shooting behind you or leaning back away from the lead strap for a shot. You want the saddle to cradle your butt and support your weight, you do not want the majority of your weight being supported by your legs and feet.

Pull up your bow and hang it on a screw in bow hanger 90 degrees to your left (if right handed), now it is in a place close to your bow hand for easy access. I also put a bow hanger on the opposite side of the tree so that if I need to swing around the tree for a shot I can move the bow to that hanger so it is ready before I make that move. If you have a backpack or fanny pack screw in another bow hanger 135 degrees to your right (if right handed) and hang it on it, this will put it out of the way for any shot opportunity yet make it accessible for taking calls, rangefinder, or anything else you may need out of it. If you are in the yard you are now ready to practice, if you are in the field you are now ready to kill something.

When practicing, put targets in different directions and distances around the tree and practice moving slowly around the tree on the other steps you placed (there are rarely any dead areas when properly using a saddle). If moving around the tree requires to much effort, place the steps closer together the next time (less than the 10 inches apart that was earlier described), if it is extremely easy to move around the tree you may want to consider placing the steps a little farther apart to save on steps.

When hunting if you see a shot opportunity starting to present itself slowly and methodically move into the correct shooting position. Just like hunting at anytime and from any type of stand, movements are always a judgment call as far as when and how you perform them. To take a shot, you simply move into position, straighten your legs (which will force you to stand upright) and lean your upper body slightly away from the tree.

From your original set-up position on the steps, without moving your feet, you should be able to shoot 90 degrees directly to your left and be able to twist around and shoot nearly 90 degrees directly to your right. The twisting around may take a little getting used, but it wont take long. When the saddle is properly hooked up, twisting at the waist allows the cinch strap to quietly slide through the loop in the lead strap thus allowing you to spin your upper body around to shoot nearly 90 degrees directly to your right. For shots other than those you will be required to move around the tree on the other steps you placed.

At any time during a hunt if you feel uncomfortable, which you will from time to time, you can stand up to take the pressure off the lead and adjust your sitting position by simply letting out or taking in some of the lead strap with the quick adjust buckle in front of you (only an inch or two of adjustment will make a big difference in your sitting position). I find myself doing this occasionally when sitting for long periods such as all day hunts.

When sitting for long periods I sometimes let out a little leadstrap which puts me in more of a sitting position similar to sitting in a chair (knees bent nearly 90 degrees) and wrap my arms around the lead strap in front of me and rest my head on the lead strap.

To get down re-attach the safety strap around the tree in the same position you had it when you initially tied off the lead strap during set-up. Once it is properly hooked up you can use both hands to unhook the lead strap and place it back in its pouch. Now you can descend the tree using the safety strap, adjusting it to the tree diameter as you go down.

When you prepare a tree for hunting, do it just like you would a tree stand. Use whatever you normally use for ascending the tree (I use screw-in tree steps simply because they take up less space in my pack). When hunting I carry my saddle in my backpack along with my other hunting gear and get into the saddle at the base of the tree. James Green, the creator of the saddle concept wears his saddle around his waist from the vehicle to the tree, try both and do whatever feels best for you.

I think it is very important that once you are comfortable practicing from just off the ground that you set up in a tree at a similar height to what you hunt from and get used to that as well and re-sight your bow for that height.

The saddle set-up is going to be different than what you are used to and may take a little getting used to. That is why I suggest practicing from it prior to season. Whatever you do, do not get in it and immediately give up on the concept because it is different. Stick with it, it is much more comfortable than any stand once you get used to it, and the advantages it has over conventional stands are huge and can not be disputed.

There is no question in my mind that if there were two hunters of exactly the same skill level and one was comfortable using a saddle and the other used any type of conventional stand and they were both hunting the same property, the saddle user over time would have far more success. It wouldn’t even be a contest because the saddle has so many advantages over any other type of hunting system used when hunting from trees.

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Benefits of an Ambush saddle over any other types of stands!!!!

-The concept of a saddle is simple, you hang in the saddle from the trunk of the tree to which you are securely fastened.

-Your feet rest on tree-steps placed around the tree, and they are used for leverage while maneuvering, and as footrests while sitting.

-Saddles are extremely comfortable once you learn how to use them properly.

-During the entire set-up process you are always tethered to the tree for unsurpassed safety.

-The saddle makes it much easier to adjust to ever changing sign during the season. The more adept, and expedient you are at responding to changing deer movements, the better your chances will be at tagging out.

-When adjusting to a new location, it can be done quietly without fear of any metal or chain noises as with climbers and hang-ons.

-With a saddle you can prepare as many trees prior to season as you consider necessary, because you only need one saddle to hunt from all of them, you do not have to limit yourself to a handful of spots due to the cost of stands.

-Having many trees prepared for the season allows you to rotate sites, which increases your element of surprise and reduces both scent contamination and general human presence in a specific hunting area.
-The saddles “specific mobility”, makes it possible to shoot a full 360 degrees around most trees. Considering that mature bucks often come from unexpected directions during the rut phases when pursuing estrous does on unchartered routes this is an important advantage that can’t be disputed.

-A huge advantage is its general mobility, or the ability to hunt almost any tree in the woods. It is no longer a question of finding a tree to hunt out of, but finding the right hunting spot and making a tree within shooting distance work.

-With a saddle there are few limitations to tree diameters, branches, or straightness. Trees leaning more than fifteen degrees will not give you the full 360 degree shooting circumference, but they are trees you couldn’t even consider hunting from with conventional stands.

-Another form of mobility is the ability to adjust to immediate circumstances because the saddle is always with you. If you find a hot scrape area or fresh rub line it is no problem to quietly set up and hunt in a matter of minutes if you have some steps with you.

-Bulk weight and cumbersome treestand frames severely hamper a hunter’s ability to freelance hunt through heavy cover, which is where big bucks live. I simply laugh when I see commercials of so-called experts walking down 2-tracks, lanes, runways, or open fields with their bulky stands on their backs. In pressured areas if you are not within some form of cover, your odds at mature deer are weak at best and you simply can’t freelance with conventional stands through brush.

-The Ambush saddle weighs about 2 ½ pounds and is carried in your backpack. This eases opportunities to scout in heavy cover and crawl under brush if necessary and set up on the spur of the moment.

-Another major advantage is the fact that you can be sure your stand will be there when you arrive because it is in your pack. Stolen tree stands are unfortunately a sad fact of life for anyone hunting state land, or private property in areas with heavy hunting pressure. Hunters that hunt heavily hunted areas and public lands know exactly what I am referring to.

-No more concern about other hunters hunting your location when you are not there, because there is nothing there for them to hunt from. In pressured areas and on public lands you have no control over someone else hunting from your conventional treestand.

-Yet another big plus is that you can keep the trunk of the tree that you are in between you and any non-targeted deer. As non-targeted deer approach you slowly move your body around the trunk, out of sight of the deer. This is especially important in pressured areas where deer tend to look for hunters in trees.

-Height is another big advantage, especially once the hunting gets good and the foliage is gone from the trees. With a Saddle the only height constraint is your ability to get up the tree. In time, fear of heights will eventually go away because you at all times have a safety system attached to the tree.

-Because saddles are all made from fabric there is no noise concerns with the set-up.  This is very important when setting up near where deer feed or bed.

-The mobility of the saddle makes it awesome for freelance hunting or on trips to unknown properties.

-As with everything that has to do with hunting, the type of hunting system you use is ultimately based on your own hunting situation, goals, and personal preference.  The Saddle is a tool that can be added to your hunting arsenal to increase your element of surprise and success rate.
-The Ambush saddle and its predecessor the Tree Sling have completely changed the way I hunt, providing unsurpassed ease of use and mobility. When used properly the advantages it offers will without question increase the number of opportunities you receive and the likelihood of success dramatically.

I attribute a minimum of 50% of the bucks I have taken since 1981 to this type of system, there is no better!

GOOD HUNTING – John Eberhart

You can find his message here: http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=10889&mpage=4&key=

Posted in: Tips & Tricks May 2009