Root River Archery Demo Day

Within cultures there are subcultures. In music you have rock fans within that you have have fans of 80s rock and within that you have fans of 80s hair metal. In hunting you have bowhunting and within that the growing subculture of “Saddle” or “Mobile Hunting”. The deeper you go the more passionate the followers become.

What is Saddle Hunting?

The author imagining a 12 pointer walking in while demoing the Arsenal Cloud(TM) saddle

Saddle Hunting is the use of harness (the saddle), climbing sticks and ropes to

climb trees and hunt from an elevated position in a tree. Saddle hunting puts an emphasis on mobility and adaptability to allow hunters to access difficult to reach locations or change their tree location based on their strategy. It is most commonly used by whitetail bowhunters but can used for rifle hunting or for other pursuits as well.

Demo Day

This weekend Andrew and I had the opportunity to spend time with fellow Saddle Hunters at the Root River Archery Mobile Hunting Demo Day. To try a variety of gear, discuss techniques and setups to fine tune our saddle hunting strategies.

Root River Archery in Caldeonia, WI is the first archery shop I have been to with a specialty in Saddle Hunting. Offering products from Latitude, Arsenal, Cruzr and Tethrd along with a number of accessories tailored to saddle hunting. They also offer an outdoor range with telephone poles that enable you to practice from the saddle and test gear in a realistic setup.

Paul and I laughing while battling the heat

I had the opportunity to catch up with my friend Paul who recently started make his own accessories (BowNock Outdoors) out using a 3D Printer to optimize his setup with a focus on keeping the gear easy to access, organized and quiet for the walk in and setup.

And a good reminder of what a small world it is I met Jared Petrie and Martin Ringeisen form Gear’D Up North Podcast, who both grew up 10 minutes from me in “the Holyland” a series of unincorporated towns near Fond du Lac. They are hunting gear specialists who travel around finding the latest innovations and highlighting them and their adventures on their podcast “Gear’D Up North”.

Gear Highlights

Lightweight, Comfortable and Quiet are three key ingredients for Saddle Hunting Setup. What is lightweight enough to allow you go to further into a property, be comfortable enough to stay out long hours and quiet to avoid disturbing the deer on the way in.

Latitude "The Method 3" Saddle

Latitude’s new 2-Panel Saddle allows you to transition between hiking and hunt mode in a second. While hiking in the bottom panel connects with magnets to the top allowing increased mobility and when you get set up in the tree you release the bottom portion to provide support to your lower back and waist. The saddle is incredibly comfortable to keep you in the tree longer and allows plenty of opportunities to modify to make the fit personalized. After Dylan from Root River walked me through the new features and once I tried them on, I couldn’t leave before I made the investment.

Andrew reviewing the Arsenal platform

Arsenal RZR™ SUB2 Platform

Shockingly Light…like metal has no business being that light. At just 1.95 pounds

the platform feels like a feather but is noticeably solid.  The platform uses an adjustable “boot talon” that allows increased flexibility to adjust for levelness on trees with a slight lean. The platform also comes with a Durabraid™ Rope that attaches to the Ropelok™ to reduce weight compared to the use of cam straps.

BowNock Outdoor Climbing Stick and Bow Management Accessories

BowNock Accessories and saddle attachment

Paul from BowNock Outdoors had his 3D Printer accessories on display that he created to optimize his personal setup and is in process of setting up shop on Etsy. His accessories were set up for managing climbing sticks for the hike in and attachments to the saddle that allow you to keep them easily accessible during the climbing process where organization can save you a lot of time and frustration. He also had a bow attachment system that keeps the bow in place in the truck on the drive and connects to a bow hanger for when you are in the tree for easy quiet access. Very thoughtful designs he has been using to perfect his setup. Keep your eyes peeled for his products on Etsy, check out his Instagram page in the meantime.

Thanks to Root River for putting the event together. Getting some passionate Saddle Hunters together to share their techniques, try new products and even more excited for opening day!

Luke B