Putting the Gun in the Run and Gun
By: Justin Hunold
Spend any amount of time on the dark corners of the internet we saddle hunters inhabit and inevitably you will see this question creep into the conversation:
“Can you gun hunt from a saddle?”
The answer my friends is a resounding, unabashed ,”YES.”
After getting my Trophyline Ambush Lite kit about midway through a first year of parenthood shortened bow season, I was relying on my gun season to take my first deer from my Trophyline. This wasn’t how I pictured it happening but hey who am I to be picky?
It was the opening morning of gun season, and it was the coldest day of the year so far. I crept up my climbing sticks and set my ring of steps into place. Once I was securely attached to my tether I hung my Savage 116 by the sling onto my gear strap. It was still plenty dark and I heard my knee pads hit the tree as I hunkered in to wait for light.
This was my first sit with a saddle and a firearm. I had hunted out of a saddle for the previous two seasons but not with a gun. I normally hunt from a platform like the Trophyline Mission, but I had opted for a ring of steps because I thought that it would lead me to be able to shoot 360, all while using the tree and my tether as solid rests for my shots.
As the light snuck up over the distant ridgeline I heard the familiar stagger of whitetails up some 100 feet of elevation on the hillside I was on. I tried to pick out a clear shot through the brush this deer was cruising through but failed to establish more than glimpses of hide and legs. Yet, I noticed that I had been able to make my way around the tree to use it as a rest just as I had thought would be the case. This observation worked to my advantage later.
Your saddle is such a versatile tool that it actually makes shooting from a tree a more accurate proposition than it would be from a lock on stand. You see, if the deer is unaware of your presence the saddle presents you the opportunity to put yourself in the very best shooting position both in terms of angles and rests. From the 9 oclock to the 2 oclock position a right-handed shooter can hold their tether and rest the gun on top or grip with the left hand or use the tree just like if you were able to post your forearm against a tree from the ground. This is all without moving excessively. With some side steps and a normal season’s worth of comfort in moving around the tree in a Trophyline a gun hunt becomes a 360 degree proposition.
She was moving uphill at a good pace. I was able to step to my left around the tree, hold my bridge with my left hand and rest my rifle on that up turned arm to make the matter a forgone conclusion. I centered my crosshairs on the golden triangle and felt the rifle buck. Her pace came to a sudden halt.
My First deer with a gun from my saddle. Using the bridge and tether can lead to amazingly stable shooting from an elevated position.
Some things to consider when gun hunting from a saddle would be footing( Ring Of Steps or Platform), your choice in firearm, whether to hang or hold your gun, and which angles are best suited for using either the bridge or the tree as a point of contact.
Looking back, I will use my platform from now on. I am able to fully turn on my Mission and I could take an “Offhand” shot behind me if need be. As far as firearms go, you can use whatever you already have. I have seen quite a few people transition to a modern sporting arm (where legal) because of the length adjustability, especially when taking moving over the bridge and tether into account. Any “old school” brush gun would be an excellent choice as well. They tend to be short and nimble, making them easy to maneuver around all of your rigging. In certain places where needed I wouldn’t hesitate to run my 870 with the 21” slug barrel or if buckshot was the ticket my Retay USA Gordion Turkey Gun with a 24” barrel. When we are talking about Saddle hunting we generally aren’t thinking about this as a super long range affair, sub 200 yards. In the end shooting with the tree or the tether or both can be a huge difference maker.
Speaking of the tether and bridge, something cool about that set up is the ability to lay your gun across your bridge, between you and the bridge itself. It is a secure position that allows for minimal movement. Another great thing about the tether coming down where it does is the ability to lean forward and have it brace against the backside of your shoulder of your dominant hand at some angles. So, between posting your front hand with the tree and forend as one point of contact the tether pressing you into the gun makes for a very stable shooting platform when shooting from 9 o'clock to about 11 o’clock as a right handed shooter.
If you are lucky enough to be in a place where you can screw a bow hanger into a tree the points of contact become even more ample. I would run a screw in hanger of sorts on both the left 9 o”clock position on the tree and the 3 o’clock position on the right. You can then rest your firearm on the hanger on either side for a solid shooting position.
As I was waiting the customary time to get down and begin the work I was going to be lucky to partake in, I heard something coming through that same brush from above and behind me again.This time I was able to adjust my bridge to tether connection and step to the opposite side of the tree. While resting my feet on my ring and my rifle on the tree I was lucky enough to anchor a 2.5 year old public land buck , with a 125 yard uphill shot.
The nice public land buck that I was able to shoot just a bit after my first deer with a gun from my Trophyline.
I think that with these two deer, I had made up my mind. The Trophyline Tree Saddle is the absolute best way to gun hunt from an elevated position.