The Right Conditions For A Saddle

The Right Conditions for a Saddle

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When and How to Pick Up Saddle Hunting 

If you are like me, you are likely lured in to the romance of killing a big buck, deep in some public land timber or a swamp. You want to sweat, suffer, and maybe even bleed in the process. You want a chance to create the need of getting so far back you have to pack him out on your back. You’re looking for that suck…as a close-to-home but at the same time rewarding adventure. I totally get it! 

More and more of us are engaging with online content that has been resurfacing the opportunities of public land hunting, bedding area hunting, and more recently saddle hunting. The combination of finding a musky old buck bed tucked into some unreachable spot, and the equipment required to reach that spot somehow perfectly blends the hunter and gear nut in all of us. The fun part of this type of hunt happens now in the off-season, dialing in a lightweight setup that is specific to this style of hunting. Usually that gear requires the use of some ultralight hunting gear, sticks, or saddles. So if you are in the position I know I was in last year, then you are likely facing an internal battle of when to drop the climbing stand or hang-on and join the saddle hunting club. 

Why Saddle Hunting?  

The first and most obvious answer and why you are here in the first place, is that you are saving weight with a saddle compared to tree stands. Whether you are used to climbing tree stands or lightweight hang-ons, the weight is still drastic between stands and saddles. While 21+ pounds was the norm for a climber or a hang-on with climbing sticks a decade ago, today’s industry is cutting that in half, and Hawk is no exception. One of the lightest weight options on the market for a packable climbing stick and hang on setup is the Helium System. Below is that setup and a lightweight climber option, compared to the new Hawk Saddle System.

The Right Conditions For A Saddle

Climbing Stand Weight 

The Right Conditions For A Saddle

Ultralight Climber – 20 lbs

Hang-On Setup Weight 

The Right Conditions For A Saddle

Climbing Sticks X3 – 2.9 lbs a stick at a total of 8.7 lbs 

Helium Ultralight – 11 lbs 

This combined setup is just over 19 lbs. 

Hawk Helium Saddle System

The Right Conditions For A Saddle

Helium Hammock Saddle – Entire kit weighs 4 lbs

Climbing Sticks X3 – 2.9 lbs a stick at a total of 8.7 lbs 

If you go with no platform (resting your foot on the stick), your total combined setup weight is a measly 12.7 lbs! But if you prefer a platform, it doesn’t add all that much extra weight.

Helium HSP Platform – 1.4 lbs.  

Hawk Monkey Bars – 1.6 lbs 

As you can see, you are cutting significant weight off a day pack when saddle hunting. Whatever you might be shaving off counts for every pound out on public land. The idea is to make it a mobile hunting setup, something easy and so thoughtless that you take it with you every time, even if you’re planning on hunting on the ground. Saddles by nature offer so many more opportunities other than just weight shaving. It is not a question of if you are going to get a saddle…but when. 

When to Switch to Saddle Hunting?  

If you find yourself in any of these scenarios, it’s time to get a saddle. 

  • Seeking Lightweight Gear – if the overall experience of hunting deep in public land is miserable to you, a lightweight setup will allow for a slower burn. There is nothing worse than getting burnout before the rut ramps up. 
  • Employing a Run and Gun Strategy – hunting from the ground or up in trees, sometimes during the same hunt, is the name of the game for a run and gun strategy. A lightweight saddle hunting system facilitates this well. 
  • Hunting Buck Beds – When you need to get in close (within 50-100 yards of a bedded buck or bedroom), lightweight and quiet gear count. Climbers and even hang-on tree stands can be a bit too loud or make that single metal hitting metal noise that tips deer off. A saddle is a lot safer method of hunting when you are getting in tight.
  • Public Land Hunting – my entire 2019 public land hunting season was spent with a 20 lb climber and it wasn’t fun. I was pushing 1-2 miles in with decently steep Midwest terrain. When I switched to a saddle, I saved my back, my feet, and my hunts.

“Hunting out of a saddle meant that mileage wasn’t a deterrence for me to hunt certain locations in public.”  

  • Awkward Trees – like bedding areas, certain habitats (like old clear cuts, thickets, or even close to habitat diversity) just seem to have smaller trees with more branches. These areas make climbers and hang-on tree stands obsolete. If you are heading into one of these areas or an area with very little trees, always opt for a saddle. 

Saddle Hunting Gear List 

I’ll end this saddle hunting blog with a short and simple gear list to think about as you’re putting your system together: 

  • Saddle and tethers
  • Reclining Belt 
  • Ascender
  • Platform or Tree Ring 
  • Climbing Sticks 
  • Aider 
  • Solid Lightweight Pack
  • Knee Pads 
  • Public Land Gear Hanger 
  • Backpack Strap 
stand Placement During The Summer, For Fall Hunting Season Success

Stand Placement During The Summer, For Fall Hunting Season Success

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By: Heath Wood

The excitement of being in the treestand for the first time of the season is a feeling like no other. The anticipation built up throughout the summer months from scouting, checking game cameras, shooting a bow, and hanging stands are enough for any hunter to get a bit jittery come opening day.

As exciting as a new season beginning can be, nothing can dampen the enjoyment faster than realizing, after spending time throughout the summer scouting and hanging stands, that the stand placement is wrong on the first hunt.

Finding oneself in the wrong location begins with what the hunter has done during summer scouting. To confirm that stand locations will be in the right place at the right time, a hunter should have at least three different stand scenarios set and ready before the season begins.

Early Season Stand

One must keep in mind that scenarios change from summer to fall. One of the biggest mistakes I have made over the years has come from patterning deer based on their feeding pattern. During July and August, deer may spend most of their time feeding on green grasses and the abundance of browse found everywhere during the summer.

There are three things to look for when setting an early-season stand location to narrow down a suitable stand location. These three things are high on the priority list in mid-September; food, water, and bedding. Remember that it is still typically warm temperatures during the early season, deer need food and water to survive, and then they lay down to stay cool. To narrow down the right stand location, one needs to find where the least travel is required to get from one priority to another. Again, late summer feeding patterns usually revolve around green grasses; the edge of a timberline that connects with a field, food plot, or crops is an area in which deer can feed then get back in the shade quickly to stay cool. If one can find an area such as this with a pond, creek, or another type of water source nearby, it parallels the perfect early season stand location.

October Stand

During the summer months, deer are in the early season feeding pattern.  In September, these areas may seem ideal for encountering deer movement. However, when mid-September and October roll around, the feeding patterns begin to change. For example, in the Midwest, where I hunt most of the time, it is common to see deer change their travel routes about mid-October when acorns begin falling. When travel routes change, the stand at the edge of a food plot or near a field suddenly becomes less likely to encounter deer. How does one find where deer are located most of the time in September, October, and November when hanging stands in July and August?

The first time I saw a good friend of mine walking through the woods in August with a pair of binoculars, looking up in the trees, I thought he had lost his mind. After quizzing him about what he was looking for, I realized he was very knowledgeable about predicting where the best stand locations would be when the season came around. He explained that he searched the umbrellas of the white oak trees to see which had the most acorns developing. In finding these areas a couple of months before acorns were ready to fall to the forest floor and hanging stands nearby these spots months prior, he could be in the prime when the season is in full swing.

The Rut Stand

The most challenging stand location to predict when hanging treestands during the summer is a stand that will be right for when bucks could be anywhere due to having breeding does and nothing else on their mind.

During the rut, a buck doesn’t have a travel route; it is wherever his nose leads him at any given time, which is why it is hard to narrow down one specific stand location. Since it’s impossible to narrow a location down, it is good to have a stand where there is a lot of visible ground. Areas where the hunter knows deer will be feeding, such as food plots, open areas in the timber, or down a power line, are all excellent areas to see farther distances.

When I find a well-open area, I like to use my Hawk Big Horn ladder stand or my Down & Out Warrior Blind on a raised platform. Using either of these stands allows for a comfortable hunt for a more extended period while watching a larger area. By seeing longer distances, one will have more opportunities to catch buck movement because of the amount of traveling a buck does during the rut. When hanging stands during the summer, the hard part is to make sure to have the imagination of what the area will look like when fall arrives. When hanging stands in the summer, the leaves are still in full bloom; grasses, weeds, brush, etc., are all in full foliage as well. When leaves begin falling during November, an area can change in looks quickly if one will remember what an area looked like the season before or visualize an area without the foliage.

To sum it up, the main reason for hanging stands before the season is to have them ready and in place without disturbing deer. By having multiple stands in different time of the year scenarios, the hunter will be in the right place at the right time without detouring the natural movement of deer. When the big buck arrives, you will be ready and waiting.

Benefits Of The Hawk Helium Saddle System

Benefits of the Hawk Helium Saddle System

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Saddle Hunting 101 with the Hawk Helium Saddle System

If you’re a deer hunter who watches any online hunting shows these days, you’re no doubt familiar with hunting saddle systems. It’s true that tree saddle hunting has really exploded in popularity in recent years. And it’s no wonder. A saddle system has many advantages and very little downside. It allows hunters to be very mobile and take minimal gear with them between hunting locations. Here’s a look at what’s typically involved with this hunting approach, specifically looking at our Hawk Helium saddle system, and how you can start using one this season.

Benefits of a Saddle System for Hunting

First, there are many reasons why a deer hunter should consider a saddle and platform system for hunting. Here are just a few:

  • Portability – when it comes to mobile hunting strategies, a saddle system makes a ton of sense. They are lightweight and can be packed in a small package, which makes carrying your other hunting gear easier. While carrying a full climber or hang-on tree stand is certainly doable, a saddle makes it even simpler. 
  • Flexible Hunting Locations – because saddle hunting can be so mobile, it’s a great excuse to start utilizing multiple tree stand locations. By identifying several locations and trees ahead of the season, you can quickly change locations if things aren’t working out at a different spot. Or you could just strike off into a particular direction and find a suitable tree as you go. A hunting saddle gives you that flexibility.
  • Tree Options – with a hunting saddle, you aren’t limited to a perfectly straight and limbless tree, as you might be with a traditional climbing tree stand. Much like a hang-on stand, if you can attach the climbing sticks to the tree, you can use the tree. So feel free to use the next gnarled old oak tree with branches sticking out everywhere.
  • Shot Opportunities – with a fixed tree stand, you have some opportunities to turn around and face another direction if a deer comes in from an unexpected direction, but it’s not perfect. With the Hawk Helium saddle system, you can use the platform, climbing sticks, and even separate steps to maneuver around the tree and give you basically 360 degree shot angles. This also helps you stay out of a deer’s sight line – simply scoot around to the back side and keep the tree between you and it. However, it takes some practice to quietly maneuver around a tree like that or to shoot from these different angles.
  • Comfortable – most hunters that are new to saddle systems are doubtful about how comfortable they could be. But when you set them up correctly, saddles are actually really enjoyable to sit in. You can partially stand by resting against the saddle, fully sit down in it, or just keep changing positions until you find something that works for you.

Check Out the Hawk Helium Saddle System

Now, let’s look at some of the components of the Hawk Helium Saddle system, so you can see what we’re talking about. Our hunting saddle kit includes the saddle itself (which is covered in a Chaos Camo™ pattern), a removable padded seat, and a sturdy carrying bag to store all the components. It also comes with all the associated ropes and attachments, including a reclining belt, climbing-grade aluminum carabiners, climbing-grade rope grabber, climbing-grade tether rope with prusik, and climbing-grade climbing rope with prusik. The whole kit is extremely packable – in fact, it weighs less than 4 pounds and it can fit into an  8” x 8” x 10” carrying bag. Try that with a traditional tree stand. Yet despite that small package, the saddle has a weight rating of up to 300 pounds and fits waist sizes from 28” to 40”. 

Benefits Of The Hawk Helium Saddle System

Next up, our Helium HSP platform is exactly what you need to stabilize yourself when up in a tree. It also helps take some of the load off of your saddle and allows you to move around easier when you want to shift positions or stretch. Because the hunting saddle platform is constructed from durable aluminum, it has a weight rating of up to 300 pounds. But it only weighs 1.4 pounds and measures 10” x 6”. The tree digger teeth help it grab hold of the bark to provide a very secure platform. It is also designed to connect to the top of the climbing sticks with the simple use of two snap pins. The saddle climbing sticks feature high-grip steps with raised ends to keep your boots from slipping. They are also cast from aluminum and have a weight rating of 300 pounds, but each step section has a weight of 2.5 pounds.

Benefits Of The Hawk Helium Saddle System

Why Choose the Hawk Helium Saddle?

For a good system to work, it needs to have compatible parts and be easy to use. You can certainly achieve that with the Hawk Helium saddle system. Using our 4-pack of the 20” Helium climbing sticks, you can quietly maneuver through the woods without the fear of metal clanging noises. Our versa button design prevents noise when packing them, and you can stack all four sections together to maximize efficiency. They will stay securely bound together as you sneak through the woods. After setting up the climbing sticks, our Helium HSP platform connects directly to the top of the top-most climbing stick with two simple pins, which provides a rock-solid foundation for you to stand on. 

Benefits Of The Hawk Helium Saddle System

If you’re going to be doing a lot of mobile bow hunting, you need to pay attention to weight considerations. It’s no fun lugging a lot of heavy items through the woods at any time, let alone when you’re trying to be stealthy. Luckily, the Hawk Helium saddle system is very lightweight by design. Assuming you use the four climbing sticks discussed above together, they will weigh about 10 pounds. The platform weighs about 1.4 pounds. And the saddle system weighs only about 4 pounds. So for just a little over 15 pounds, you can have the ability to climb almost any tree and get hunting in short order. That’s a definite improvement over even the lightweight modern aluminum tree stand options on the market, and it’s a life-changing difference if you’re still using the old steel tree stands that weigh upwards of 40 pounds.

How to Hunt with Saddles

Now that you know why our Hawk Helium saddle system is so effective, here’s how you can implement this system to use on your own. It takes a little practice to get used to using a saddle system. But when you get the hang of it, you can follow the steps below to go from hiking to hunting in about 20 minutes.

  1. Locate the tree you want to hunt in. Take your climbing sticks, platform, and carrying bag full of the saddle and associated other pieces out of your backpack. Disconnect and lay everything out.
  2. Attach your first climbing stick segment at ground level. Make sure it is securely attached to the tree and does not wiggle.
  3. Wrap your lineman’s belt around the tree and ensure you are securely attached.
  4. Climb onto the first climbing stick and attach the second one higher up, using your lineman’s belt for support. Continue this process until you have attached all the climbing sticks.
  5. Attach the platform to the top climbing stick and connect it with the two snap pins. 
  6. Climb up further and attach your tether to the tree. It should be attached at about head height if you’re standing on the platform.
  7. Connect the saddle to the tether so that it will support your weight. Also attach your reclining belt at this time for additional back support.
  8. Squat down and gently test how the saddle feels, and adjust the height if need be to what feels best.

That’s the whole process. As you can see, it’s pretty simple. But here are some other tips to make the most of your hunt. After climbing up into the tree and connecting all your ropes and tethers, it’s a pain to climb back down and grab your bow/firearm or hunting pack. Instead, attach a pull rope to them when you’re on the ground level and keep these attached to your waist as you climb. When you get settled up in the tree, you can simply pull your stuff up to you and start hunting. It helps to have a few tree hooks with you as well, so you have a place to hang your bow/firearm or pack while you’re in the saddle. While you should definitely practice with your hunting weapon and the saddle system ahead of the season, it also helps to just quickly visualize a few shot scenarios when you’re up in the tree. Imagine drawing your bow back in different positions to either adjust something right away or make a note of your limitations. You don’t want to find out when a buck is actually 20 yards away.

Saddle hunting is a fun and adventurous way to hunt. It opens up many more opportunities for you and can get you to try some different hunting areas. And when you have a solid package like the Hawk Helium saddle system, you know it won’t disappoint either.

Hawk Down & Out Blinds The Permanent Temporary Blind feature

Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind

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Why Use Down & Out Blinds?

Whether you prefer to hunt turkeys or deer, there’s no question that sitting in a hunting blind will improve your odds at harvesting an animal, as compared to sitting out in the open. But since you just can’t commit to investing in a permanent hard-sided blind, you resort to your usual hub style blind. Being outdoors for any length of time exposes it to some battles with Mother Nature, which it usually loses. If you’re ready to end that vicious cycle, check out the new Down & Out™ blinds by Hawk. 

Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind

Benefits of Down & Out Blinds

The new Down & Out blinds solve a lot of the issues you’ve probably had with other ground blind options. Here’s a quick rundown: 

Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind
  • As compared to hard-sided permanent box blinds, these hunting panel blinds are a bargain when it comes to cost. If you can’t justify spending money right now on a hard plastic blind, these are a great alternative. 
  • The Down & Out blinds are also much more portable than a traditional box blind. You usually need a tractor to haul and set a box blind up efficiently, but you can simply use the carrying case for these ones (or an ATV if it’s on the back end of your property). That makes it a good option for mobile hunting situations. Best yet, it only takes 10-15 minutes to set up by yourself with no tools.
  • These hybrid blinds are much stronger and more durable than hub style mobile blinds. Because of their strong frame and durable fabric, they can withstand much more than an ordinary soft sided blind. 
  • Down and Out hunting blinds have silent windows so you can stealthily open them when game animals are within shooting range. Try doing that with noisy Velcro or zipper windows common for most soft-sided blinds. 
  • There are several design options to choose from so you can find a size that works for you and your hunting style. 
Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind

Design of the Down & Out Blinds

There are five different models of the Down and Out panel blind. The first thing you’ll notice about these blinds is that they are truly over-engineered for maximum stability. Starting with the bones of it all, the heavy-duty, powder-coated aluminum frame folds up in six pieces like an accordion, and you simply need to unfold and fit them into place. These things are so strong, there is a lifetime warranty on the aluminum frame and hinges (which is always a good indication). The steel struts form a roof on top capable of holding 200 pounds – plenty strong enough for even a significant snowfall event in most places. The wall and roof are constructed of a 600 denier fabric so they can withstand the wind and snow easily. It is also treated for UV resistance and has a polyurethane coating for additional durability and water resistance. This frame and fabric design allows you to leave it out in conditions that would destroy most hub style designs.  

There is a full size and accessible door to make it easy to access quietly. Each panel has one bow and one gun window, so you have a 360 degree view around you. Each gun window uses the aluminum frame as a gun rest, while the bow windows are long vertically and have shoot-through mesh over them. The Shadow Mesh™ windows have magnet closures, so nothing can see in and you can open them quietly with game animals within range. The interior is dark black to hide your movements even more when the Shadow Mesh is across the opening. Here are the different models of the new Down & Out blinds.

  • Scout – the Scout is the smallest option in this lineup, measuring about 74” to the peak and 59” in diameter. It weighs in at 49 pounds, which is easy enough for a short carry through the woods.  
  • Warrior – the Down and Out Warrior blind is big enough for two people, or one person if you want more room for gear. It measures about 72” wide and 78” tall when assembled and weighs 61 pounds. 
  • Warrior XL – this blind is obviously a larger version of the popular Warrior model, and can fit a couple people easily. It measures about 96” wide and 81” tall when assembled and weighs 81 pounds. 
  • Octagon – the Hawk Octagon blind should be considered a group blind as you can fit plenty of gear or a couple people inside. 
  • Bunker – the Bunker can easily fit three hunters and is arranged in a rectangular shape rather than a hexagonal shape. 
Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind

Hunting Scenarios for These Blinds

There are a few different situations where the use of these Down & Out blinds would be a no-brainer, and we’re sure you already thought of a few while reading above. 

As a private landowner, there are lots of easy applications for these blinds. Pick a good ambush site for whitetails on your property – perhaps along a field edge or downwind of a commonly used creek crossing in the woods. Assemble the blind in the late summer, and return in the fall for hunting. By that time, the deer will have gotten so acclimated to it, they will hardly notice anymore. Simply sneak into the area, stealthily open the blind, and silently unfold the windows. As long as you have cleared the debris on the floor so there aren’t leaves crunching, they will have no clue you’re there. Alternatively, you can also set one of these ground blinds up on top of a tower platform so you have a better view. 

Of course, you could also use it for turkey hunting in the spring. Set the blind up on a field edge or clover plot in the early spring and let the birds get used to it. Add some cut branches or tufts of grass to the brush loops on the outside of the blind so it blends in well with its surroundings. If you’re a fan of bow hunting turkeys, keep the mesh up and they will never know what hit them. 

For public lands, your choices are a bit more limited. While you can’t leave blinds out overnight on some state or federal lands, you can on others. Of course, you run the risk of someone else discovering it and making away with your blind, so consider that risk beforehand. You could easily set it up on a Friday night, hunt dawn to dusk through the weekend, and pack it out on Sunday. Or you could set it up in a very remote location where nobody is likely to stumble across it (and if they do, they likely won’t want to carry it out). But a better option might be to use the lightweight Scout blind if you can’t leave it on a given piece of land. It’s not difficult to set it up in the morning and take it down when you leave.  

Down & Out Blinds | The Permanent Temporary Blind

These hunting blinds are a great way for many people to get the benefits of both hard-sided permanent blinds and soft-sided mobile blinds at the same time. Once you try them, you’ll immediately see what you’ve been missing. 

How To: Mobile Hunting Setups for Success

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Mobile Hunting Gear

There are many ways to chase whitetails from sits in treestands and ground blinds, bow hunting or gun hunting, the ways to go about it are endless. That’s the beauty of whitetail hunting–you can figure out a system and a style of hunting that works for you and go at it. One style currently on the rise is “mobile hunting”, which allows you to continually move around without the hassle that typically comes with moving a stand.  

What is Mobile Hunting?

Basically, mobile hunting is simply hunting with some type of lightweight system that allows you to continually move around. It’s for the hunter that likes to consistently setup on fresh sign, not wear areas out, and capitalize on any hunting opportunity that comes their way.  

Mobile hunters are constantly setting up and tearing down, which is why having a lightweight system is essential. They may hang a stand first thing in the morning, hunt until a few hours, tear down, and find a new spot by afternoon.  

There are a variety of set ups out there to get you started with mobile hunting. Among them include climbing stands, light hang-ons, and climbing sticks and saddles—each set up coming with their own pros and cons. 

How To: Mobile Hunting Setups for Success 1

Setting Yourself Up for Success

Mobile hunting is a great tactic for a few different reasons. First of all, it allows you to hunt what’s hot right now. When it comes to having a bunch of set stands, you often fall into a pattern of waiting for areas to get good. But with mobile hunting, you can attack right now. You can toss a stand on your back, scout, and when you find the hot sign, set up on it. After your hunt, you can assess what you saw, and then make another move the next sit.  

Hunting this way is also great because it allows you to keep areas fresh. Again, when it comes to hunting set stands, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of hunting a stand again and again. By doing this, you can easily burn areas out. But with a mobile hunting setup, you’re continually moving and keeping areas fresh.  

Additionally, when you’re hunting with a mobile setup, by default you tend to hunt more aggressively. If you see a mature buck do something out of range, the next sit you can make a move and put yourself into position to be successful. You can get aggressive, because if you make a move and press in too far and ultimately bump that buck, you don’t have to go to the same tree the next day. You can make another move based on what you believe the buck might be doing after getting bumped. And if you think you spooked the deer out of the county, you can head into an all new area the next sit.  

Mobile Hunting Challenges

Pulling off mobile hunting isn’t a walk in the park. You have to become proficient at it, because often times you are hanging a set in the dark or pulling sets in the dark. There needs to be a good balance between speed and quietness. When it comes to climbers, if that’s the route you end up going, look for the lightest climber you can find. It’s not necessarily about being big and roomy. You might be hiking a long way with that on your back. Once you get one, practice with it, and get comfortable.  

Mobile Hang-on Treestands

When it comes to a hang-on stand, you want to get a lightweight stand and sticks—like the Hawk Helium XL Hang-on stand. It weighs only 12lbs and is built for portable, run-n-gun hunters. It’s important to have a lightweight hang on, because this will not only make carrying it in easier, but it also will be much easier to physically setup. When it comes to climbing sticks to combine with a hang on stand, the helium sticks are a great option. These only weigh 2.9lbs per stick and stack very nicely to make hauling them in a breeze. With this setup, you’ve got many options on how you can pack them in, given what kind of pack you have, etc. They are very versatile, and you can get into almost any kind of tree easily.

How To: Mobile Hunting Setups for Success 3 helium xl hang on

Saddles for Mobile Hunting and Platforms

And there are the saddles. These have come increasingly popular over the last few years and will be your lightest weight option. These are perfect for the mobile hunter that consistently has very long walks into the tree. When using a saddle, you have many different options for what kind of steps to use to get up to your desired height in the tree. The helium sticks can play the perfect role for this, given their ultra-light weight. If you are looking for a lightweight saddle hunting platform that doesn’t break the bank, the hangout tree seat might be something to look into. 

How To: Mobile Hunting Setups for Success hang out tree seat 4

Lightweight Climbing Stands

When it comes to choosing your preferred method of pulling off a mobile hunting setup, look at your style of hunting, and the areas you hunt. What makes the most sense? If you hunt big wide-open timber with short walks, it might be a lightweight climber. Climbers are easy and quick systems to handle for mobile and even public land hunting. One stand can take you just about anywhere if you are hunting heavy timber.

How To: Mobile Hunting Setups for Success 4 ultra lite climber

When it comes to mobile hunting, it can take the right level of commitment for it to be successful. But once you go at it full force, not only can it produce very successful hunting, it can be a lot of fun. You’ll consistently be hunting new spots, with scenery always changing, and it can lead you to some of the best hunting you might experience.  

How to Pack out a Public Land Deer

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Packing out a whitetail on Public Land

Public land hunting can be intimidating for a variety of reasons–from hunting pressure, lower number of deer, large tracts of land that can be difficult to scout, the list goes on. A lot of public land is only available via foot travel, which can create issues in itself. Mainly, long walks to the stand also mean what feels like a longer drag out when you’re successful. So how do you go about packing out a whitetail on public land, especially when you’re a mile or even further back? While a number of options are available to aid in your drag, one of the easiest lies with the HAWK Crawler Multi-Use Cart. 

How it Works

The Crawler brings an amazing level of strength, stability, and versatility to the deer cart world. With dual rotating axels and four all-terrain tires, the Crawler makes any obstacle in your path nothing but a bump along the way. Often times, old logging roads further than a half a mile in on public land are littered with downed trees, overgrown brush, and other terrain that can make a drag out extremely difficult. The Crawler’s construction results in the ultimate balance and weight management, preventing shifting and tipping allowing you to cross creeks, downed trees, and other obstacles with ease. Once you’ve gotten your trophy safely out, the Crawler folds up compactly, making transportation and storage a breeze. 

The Deer Crawler Put To Use

Imagine this. You’re hunting a big piece of public land an hour from the house on a Sunday night. You have to work early in the morning, but the weather is perfect for a sit in the stand. It’s roughly a mile hike back into your spot. You’ve got numerous hills you have to hike over, and it’s what you’d consider a heck of a walk back to where you know the mature bucks are most likely to appear in daylight.  

After getting back to your stand, you get all setup. The thought goes through your head that if you do take down a buck, it’s going to be a long night– you’re an hour from the house, and it takes a solid twenty to thirty minutes to hike out of your stand. Dragging a buck out of here would be next to impossible, even if your good hunting buddy is able to make it out to help you. But, you remember that your Crawler from Hawk is in the back of your truck, because you keep it in there most of the fall for instances like this. That eases your mind just a bit. The night goes by and right at sunset, a mature eight pointer makes a mistake and gets out of his bed just a little early that night. He comes by you at twenty yards and you’re able to make a perfect shot. Now, with thirty minutes left before dark, you’ve got some decisions to make on how to execute this recovery.  

You call your hunting buddy and tell him the news. He’s able to come help you track and recover the buck, so that makes you feel better about how the night is going to go. You decide to wait the thirty minutes to dark, and then go check the point of impact. At dark, you go over to your arrow and it looks great. You decide to mark the spot and then walk out to your vehicle. By then, an hour will have passed, and your buddy should be arriving to your location.

Now comes the easy part. Your buddy shows up, the two of you grab the cart, and the two of you head back in. You go back to the point of impact, track the buck, and find him. Instead trying to map out the easiest drag back to the vehicle, you load him up on the Crawler and head out. Within an hour, you’re back to the car with your buck and it couldn’t have gone smoother. You’ll get home in time for a good night’s sleep and make it to work in the morning just fine. At the end of the day, the Crawler not only saved you time, but it saved your back and legs too! 

Conclusion 

Moral of the story, public land hunting hosts an array of challenges and often leads to long drag outs once you land that perfect shot. It can be a real pain to have to drag a deer through thick brush, across a creek, or up and down uneven terrain. The Crawler makes these worries a thing of the past, and lets you enjoy the hunt, without having to consider the downside of taking down a buck on your hit list way back in on public land.  

Treestand Safety Month | Hunting Your Stands This Year Safely and Successfully

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Treestand Safety 101: Tips to Hunt Treestands Successfully

Hunting out of treestands is one of the most popular ways to deer hunt across the U.S. There’s all kind of treestands, ranging from climbing stands to hang-on stands, and ladder stands of all sorts. The most important part of hunting from a treestand though is safety, above all else. The last thing you want to happen is to have an accident because of improper treestand use. Today, we’re going to talk a little bit about treestand safety, and the different safety precautions you can take to ensure a successful trip up a tree and back down every time.

Hanging Stands

Some of the most common ways to fall from a treestand are not while you’re hunting, but when you’re hanging a stand. Hanging stands can no doubt be more dangerous than hunting from them. When hanging treestands, a lot of time hunters are trying to do it quickly, and for various reasons, it can create opportunities to fall out of the tree if you aren’t using safety precautions. Whether you want to get in and out fast or are in a rush because you’ve got to hang multiple stands in a day, a lot of time you are trying to do it quick. A major tool you should be using is a safety harness and lineman’s belt. A lineman’s belt connects to your safety harness at your waist, goes around the tree and then connects to the other side of your waist. This allows you to lean back and use both hands while hanging your sticks and stand. You simply slide the lineman’s belt up the tree as you get higher, hang a set of sticks, slide it up the tree and repeat until you get to your stand. You never have to worry about holding on to the tree with one hand and doing the rest with the other. We’ve probably all been there, trying to prop up a stand against a branch or your leg or something else. Spend the small amount of money and make sure you have a good hunting safety harness and linemen’s belt, it can and will save you from falling while hanging a stand.

Hunting

Every time you hunt from a treestand, wearing a safety harness shouldn’t even be a question to you. There are so many great hunting safety harnesses out there now a days, and you can get light, comfortable ones that you barely notice. If you’re not wearing a safety harness every single time you get into a stand, you should change that right now.  

And to take things to the next level, once you have a stand all set, there are products out there that allow you to be clipped in from the ground up. Hawk Treestand’s makes one of the best out there, the safety line. A safety line goes around the tree above where your stand is and has a thick rope that goes all the way to the ground and you tie it off at the base of the tree. It then has prussic knots where you clip in to. As you climb your stand, you slide up the prussic knot which you’re clipped in to, therefore keeping you attached at all times. Should you slip and fall climbing up the tree or into your stand, the prussic knot will cinch and keep you from falling to the ground. Once again, every stand that you have set and ready for the season would highly benefit from you having a safety line with each setup.

Treestand Safety Conclusion  

At the end of the day, deer hunting is something that most of us love to do, and it’s fun for us. We should do everything we can in our power to make sure that when you head out for a hunt from a treestand, that you’ll return safe. People have become seriously injured or even worse because of an accident from a treestand. Taking the necessary steps to prevent this is crucial. Whether it be a safety harness, lineman’s belt, safety line, taking more time when hanging a stand, etc. there are multiple things you can do to ensure your safety when either hanging or hunting from a treestand. Deer hunting is awesome, and we want to be able to experience it for as long as possible. Don’t let an accident take that away from you.  

Getting The Most Out of Your Hang-On Treestand

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Multiple Uses For Your Hang-on Treestand

As a deer hunter, there are countless different ways in which you can go about hunting. Ground blinds, permanent stands, saddles, climbers and of course hang-on treestands. Where hang-on treestands have an advantage over other types of hunting is you can use hang on stands in a variety of ways. Most notably are through the uses of running and gunning or setting up a given property with multiple hang on stands, or even a combination of both. Depending on what kind of scenario you will find yourself in can also determine what kind of stand you might want to use.

Running and Gunning Tactics

Running and gunning or being a mobile hunter is a great scenario in which to use a hang on treestand. When doing so, you want to make sure you have the correct stand though. Lugging around a big and bulky stand won’t cut it with this type of hunting. Having a smaller, slimmer stand is what you’ll want to use when running and gunning. This is where having a stand such as the Hawk Combat stand can play a big factor. Sporting a platform size of 21×27”, it’s big enough to be comfortable, all the while being small enough to be packable for any kind of running and gunning hunt.

When utilizing the running and gunning style of deer hunting, often times you’ll have a spot picked out on a map, or a general location in mind. What this can mean, is you may not know exactly where you’ll be setting up or what kind of tree it will be, etc. Because of this, it’s even more important to have a lightweight stand such as the Hawk Combat. Not only do you want a lightweight stand, you will also want one you can trust. When running and gunning, you can be put in a multitude of scenarios, including hunting close to buck bedding and all day sits during the rut. In these situations, you want a stand that is quiet, sturdy and comfortable, which the combat stand provides.

When it comes to running and gunning, it is one of the most popular uses for a hang on treestand. The hang on stand gives you the ability to be mobile and a flexible deer hunter. If you are a public land hunter, someone who likes to save money, or simply an aggressive hunter that doesn’t like to sit in the same tree again and again, consider investing in a stand such as the Hawk Combat to be your running and gunning partner.

Having Multiple Hang on Stands

Another great use for hang on treestands is through the use of setting up multiple stands on a given property. Whether you are someone who owns a big tract of land and wants to set it up just how you want for multiple different hunting situations, or if you operate an outfitter, having multiple hang on stands setup throughout your property can be a big deal for many different reasons.

By having multiple hang on stands setup on your hunting property, you can set it up to tailor how you want to hunt. You can set up multiple stands for certain wind directions, as well as for morning hunts or evening hunts. You can have stands setup for early season, rut hunts and late season. By having all of your stands setup and ready to go, what it allows you to do is have options to choose from, and when the time comes to hunt, you can look at all of the conditions that are present and make a decision as to what stand to hunt. This is especially nice if you share a hunting property with others and need a lot of setups.

When you are going the route of having multiple hang on stands to set up a given property, you can afford to have a bigger, roomier platform. Since you won’t be hauling the stand in when you hunt, the bigger platform can make your sits much more comfortable. This is where a stand such as the Hawk Mega Combat shines. Coming in with a platform size of 24×30’, the mega combat stand provides you with a little extra room. When using multiple stands on a property such as in this scenario, you can hang the stands over time in the off-season allowing you to use a bit of a bigger stand. When you are running and gunning, the smallest stand possible is usually preferred since you are hauling it on your back every time you hunt. But when it comes to using many stands and setting them up at a pre-determined time, having the extra room can be useful for a couple different reasons. Not only is it more comfortable, but they can be great for setting up for others. Some people need a bigger platform, whether that is because of their size or comfortability issues. Either way, if you know others will be sitting the stands you setup, having a bigger platform can be a big plus.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you want to have the right stand for your style of hunting. The nice thing about hang-on stands is they can suit multiple hunting situations. If you are a mobile hunter and love to run and gun, a small and slim hang-on stand is a great option. You can still be comfortable in the tree while not having to haul in anything too heavy. And if you have a bigger hunting property where you can setup multiple stands, having a hang-on stand with a nice sized platform can be a great way to go. It all comes down to your style and preferences. No matter which way you go, or what scenario a hang on stand is useful to you, Hawk has a selection that can fit your needs. If you want to learn more about the Combat series of stands, head over to our YouTube Channel to check them out.

Tips for Picking Up Velvet Bucks on Your Trail Cameras

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Want More Trail Camera Pictures of Velvet Bucks?

While some folks enjoy the activities that summer offers, many of us are also keeping an eye on the horizon. We know full well what’s to come. Before we can kick back in a tree stand again, though, it’s nice to keep tabs on the local deer with trail cameras. The problem is that when we get the perfect trail camera picture of velvet bucks hanging around, it’s pretty much game over in our minds as far as summer is concerned. But what if you’re not getting any pictures of deer in velvet? Does that mean you have no bucks on your property and that you should just pick up golf instead? Not necessarily. Here are some tips for you to get the most pictures of velvet bucks without putting pressure on them or going crazy in the meantime.

Understanding Velvet Bucks

If you have a farm or are frequently on the property you hunt, it’s likely that you get to see deer fairly regularly as you go through various summer preparation steps. During the summer, bucks have one primary goal, which is to eat as much food as possible. All the extra calories in this time of surplus fuels body growth and antler development. Bucks often hang out in bachelor groups during the summer, which has a few advantages for them. Having more eyes helps detect predators, but it also helps bucks in velvet to learn their place in the social hierarchy before it becomes an issue worth fighting about in the fall. Bachelor group bucks are also nice for trail camera purposes because it concentrates their movement patterns and increases the chance of you seeing a few on camera. Whitetail deer antlers can look so impressive when they’re growing and covered in velvet, but it’s even better when you manage to get pictures of a few of them!

During this time period, bachelor bucks often hang around high quality food sources, such as big agricultural fields, lush food plots, or openings with lots of tender regrowth. You can often find them coming out to feed throughout the day rather than just at night like they did last November. Ideally, it benefits them to eat as much as possible and move as little as possible so they can devote the most calories (and ultimately energy) into body and antler growth. As a result, they also typically bed fairly close to food sources.

How to Target Velvet Bucks

If you’re specifically looking to get more pictures of whitetail deer in velvet, you will need to be a little cautious about how you do it. While bucks are much more forgiving this time of year than in the fall, they will still get camera-shy if you’re constantly out on their turf switching things up and spreading the scent of humans everywhere. Here are some tips on where to put your trail cameras, how to access those locations, and how to set up your camera so you get the best-looking pictures.

Where to Put Cameras

As mentioned above, velvet bucks spend most of their time feeding and loafing nearby. Soybean fields are especially attractive and nutritious this time of year, as are summer food plot mixes or young forest regrowth. If there’s a large sumac grove or some mature shaded woods adjacent to the field or food plot, all the better for a buck to escape the summer sun. And if you also have a natural water source (e.g., creek, pond, etc.) or a buried tub that holds water, you can bet that velvet bucks will work that location into their daily rounds too as they stay hydrated. When you get to the access point (discussion below), look for trails coming into field corners or going past shaded spots with water, and you should find some evidence of deer in velvet using that location.

How to Access Camera Locations

This is where many people often go wrong. Thinking they can do absolutely no harm to spook deer in the summer, they charge right out into some of these best spots and toss a camera up, while sweating profusely and touching every tree as they go. Bucks can be forgiving, but mature bucks aren’t stupid either. They can quickly put a pattern together and learn to avoid a spot if they feel like they are being pressured.

To avoid that issue, you need to be a little more covert. Start by glassing fields for a few nights. Try to figure out exactly where the velvet bucks are entering and exiting the fields. Once you get the general idea, go in during the middle of the day when bucks are likely resting nearby. Put on some rubber boots (yes, you will get hot) and avoid touching vegetation as much as you can. Try to be as quiet as possible since bucks might bed within 50 yards of the field edge in the right conditions. Then slip back out as quietly as you can. If you do this right, you can still sneak back in and adjust the camera if need be.

Trail Camera Tips

Although new trail cameras are capable of taking very high quality pictures (including the Ghost Cam HD 16 or Ghost Cam HD 20), you need to set them up correctly to get the best looking ones. Start by positioning your camera so it is not directly facing into the sun throughout the day. While you can get some cool shots at dawn and dusk, most of your pictures will likely look washed out. If possible, keep it in a shaded location just off of the field edge because pictures in the shade turn out much better. Also, position your camera so it is facing the direction of deer travel. For example, if you find a lot of tracks going into the field from the woods, try facing your camera away from the field so you can get pictures of deer approaching. This gives the camera more time to trigger than if it were facing directly perpendicular to the trail, and it gives you a better view of their velvet antlers than if they were walking away.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change

If you go through the steps above and still don’t capture any pictures of velvet bucks, there are likely two reasons. Maybe your property just doesn’t attract or hold bucks during the summer. It’s painful to accept, but it’s just true in some cases. If neighboring properties offer more food and security than your property does, the bucks might just be elsewhere. Or two, maybe you just haven’t found where they use your property yet. After leaving a camera out for 2 weeks and getting no velvet deer, try moving it to a different location or adjusting it to face a different direction. Repeat the steps above and see what happens. If there are bucks on your land, you should be able to get some good pictures to plan ahead for hunting season.

Consequently, if you’re dreaming of early season deer hunting and putting a new velvet buck mount in your living room, we hope you can use these tips to get the best summer pictures of them. If you can pattern them around their summer habits, you stand a chance of taking one before the bachelor groups break up and it’s every buck for himself.

The Advantages Of The Hawk Helium Kickback Tree Stand and Helium Climbing Sticks

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The Hawk Helium Kickback Tree Stand and Helium Climbing Sticks

Hunting season might seem like a long way off right now, but you know as well as we do that it will be here before we know it. That means it’s never too early to start planning your hunting strategies or tree stand locations. If you’re lucky enough to hunt private land where you can hang several tree stands ahead of time, you’re probably always on the lookout for new tree stands. The Helium™ Kickback tree stand by Hawk Tree Stands is a great hang on stand to add to your collection, and the associated Helium Climbing Sticks are top notch too. Check out the features and advantages of these two products and see how they could fit into your hunting season plans.

Why Try This Hang On Tree Stand and Sticks?

Although other types of tree stands work great for different scenarios, it’s tough to beat hang on stands when it comes to private property or mobile hunting. You can easily hang a few stands in different locations to allow for hunting in different conditions. For example, you could hang a tree stand on the east and west side of a pinch point to allow you to hunt regardless of the wind direction. Or if a certain location isn’t working out for you, it’s fairly easy to move them around to another site. The other advantage of using a hang on tree stand is that you can utilize large, twisted trees to hunt out of. Climbing tree stands are limited to straight, limbless trees, while ladder stands are restricted to a certain height and may not fit in a given tree very well. But gnarly, twisted oaks with lots of branches are no problem with hang on stands. You just have to navigate the climbing stick sections around the branches, and then you’re set. Check out the Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks below for more information.

Helium Kickback Hang On Stand

The Hawk Helium Kickback stand is very solid, lightweight, and comfortable. It is made from durable aluminum to lighten the pack weight to only 10 pounds, yet it is extremely strong (able to support a load of 300 pounds). The platform is large enough to move about and the thick seat cushion is constructed of memory foam to ensure an enjoyable sit on any fall day. Teflon washers help remove any little squeaks between the pieces before they happen, keeping you undetected in the tree. Like the stacking Hawk Helium sticks discussed below, the Helium Kickback stand features Tree-Digger™ Teeth to anchor you in the tree so you can focus on hunting.

Advantages Over Other Tree Stands

  • Coming in at up to half the weight of other popular hang on stands, the Helium Kickback tree stand can really make a difference when hanging tree stands for mobile hunting or when you face an extra-long hike into a hunting spot.
  • Staying rock-solid is critical with climbing or hang on stands, and the aggressive teeth on this stand really sink in. By adding a simple strap around the stand and tree, you will stay securely anchored.
  • At some point, you’ve probably hunted in a squeaky tree stand and maybe even had it ruin a hunt for you. Teflon washers help this stand remain quiet when you shift your weight.

Helium Climbing Sticks

These climbing sticks (to accompany the Helium Kickback tree stand) offer a new level of quality than you’re probably used to with many other products. The Helium 3 Pack Climbing Sticks are constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum to make them super durable and each 30-inch section weighs only 2.9 pounds to make them extremely packable. The steps fold up and the stick sections quietly and securely nest together using Hawk’s new silent lock technology suction cups. They essentially lock together (via these suction cups) without even using any additional straps. But to further add to the stealth and make the setup in the field even easier, we have added a new versa button and silent strap setup to keep them secure and make setup on the tree a breeze. They are very sturdy on the tree too, using Tree-Digger™ Teeth to bite into the bark and stay there.

Advantages Over Other Climbing Sticks

  • At 2.9 pounds/section, the Hawk Helium climbing sticks weigh on the lower end of most of the market’s options. Yet they are still rated to hold up to 300 pounds.
  • The versa button and silent strap design allow you to quickly and quietly secure these climbing sticks to the tree without using a noisy ratchet strap.
  • The dual-sided steps allow more flexibility while climbing than many of the market’s every-other step design. Additionally, each step has rough grooves to improve traction, which is important for stability on rainy or cold days.

Planning Next Season

As you start to prepare for next season, here are some hunting tips to help you make the most of your new Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks.

  • First, always bring (and use) a safety harness when you are hanging or hunting from a tree stand. There’s always an element of risk when you leave the ground, so don’t take any chances. Connect to the tree as you hang the climbing stick sections and especially when you get to the top to connect the platform itself.
  • Before you climb the tree, connect a rope from your belt line to each climbing stick section and your tree stand. That way, you won’t have to come down to get new sections each time – you can simply pull a new one up as you go.
  • As mentioned above, try to find a tree that is wide enough or has enough cover (e.g., branches, leaves, etc.) to hide your profile. For example, you can tuck hang on stands into some ancient oak trees to remain invisible to deer below you. Whereas you would stand out more if you were in a wide open aspen tree.

We think you’ll enjoy the Helium Kickback tree stand and climbing sticks. They have many advantages over other tree stand options, including being much lighter, very durable, and extremely silent. With any luck, they will help you get that much closer to a mature whitetail next fall!