I can be honest. I never saw myself using one of these. But, over the last year or so I’ve learned about saddle hunting. That combined with me having to give my brother his climber back forced me to rethink my stance. Enter the Sit Drag. I had heard of a few people using modified sit drags as a saddle. From what I read, many people were using it as a low cost way of trying saddle hunting. The following is my Sit Drag Review as it relates to saddle hunting.
Sit Drag Review – The Intended Use
I’ll first start off with the intended use of the sit drag for those that are only interested in that portion. For it’s intended use, the Sit Drag definitely lives up to the hype. It’s extremely easy to set up, especially if doing so from the safety of ground level. It takes some getting used to in terms of how high to put the girth hitch, but not much. The height of the strap is determined based on the size of the tree and the length of your legs.
The Sit Drag is plenty comfortable. I have now sat 3 all day sits in it (using it as a saddle) and had no problems at all. Depending on your size and the height of the strap there can be some some hip pinch, but it’s fixable. All it takes is a little adjusting of the strap on the tree up or down.
As for the dragging portion of the equation, I can’t officially speak on that. I have not yet used it in that capacity but I do believe that it absolutely works to get the job done. The concept is pretty simple. You girth hitch the neck of the deer and put the “butt” portion around your shoulder. This will distribute the weight evenly across your shoulder in order to avoid a rope or smaller strap digging in to it instead.
Can It Work For Saddle Hunting?
Honestly, I loved it. I would have never tried it if I didn’t have to give up the climber I was using. I’m glad I did. Not only did I gain a lighter weight setup but I also was able to start hunting a much wider variety of trees. No longer do I have to pick straight tall limbless trees. I’ve sat in crooked trees, trees with lots of branches, and even trees that were way too small to use the climber in. I wont say that there are not downsides, but none of those have anything to do with the sit drag as a saddle. Instead, it’s the difference between hunting from a traditional hang on or climber with hunting from a saddle. There is a learning curve.
Sit Drag saddle – The Bad
I’d say there are no downsides, but I’d be lying. There is one huge downside to using a sit drag as a saddle. There isn’t a lineman’s belt. I found myself struggling at times to hold on to the tree while trying to fish out my gear hanger from my backpack with only my hand holding me to the tree. It was scary at times. The sit drag does not attach to you like a saddle does. You can modify it by adding a belt buckle, but it doesn’t come with one. Again, this is not the intended use of this product. Use in this manor at your own risk.
In order to dig further in to the learning curve, we will discuss shooting. Shooting out of a saddle is much different than shooting from a traditional hang on or climber. Offside shots are tough without a platform. Not really an issue if you don’t have a budget, but the leading platform sells for over $120. Not something I want to spend. It has taken me a while to figure out how to set up with most of the trails either straight in front of me or to my strong side. Facing the tree is much different than facing away from the tree. They say you can shoot 360 degrees with a saddle. That may be true, but it’s not all that easy to get used to it.
If I had a platform, my camera and camera arm would make turning around difficult. Without the platform? Shooting to my offside is almost impossible. Well, I should say impossible. I will say that I haven’t figured it out yet. To be fair, I have less than one season under my belt and I haven’t even used a real saddle yet.
Conclusion
All in all, I approve of this product. It works as a saddle. If it can do that then it can certainly work as intended. I wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest to use the Sit drag either as intended or as a saddle. If I need to be at ground level, it works. Up in a tree? It also works. The Sit Drag is a perfect DIY budget saddle. I will however highly recommend some modifications. Namely, adding a lineman’s rope to keep you attached to the tree on the way up. The other would be a belt buckle to keep it from falling off of you.
Honestly, the belt buckle is number 1. Without that, there is no use in adding a lineman’s belt because you cant have it around you on the way up anyway. In order to add a belt, you will need to have a sewing machine handy or know someone who does. Thanks for checking out my Sit Drag review!