Eric Morken: My top-three reasons why saddle hunting for whitetails has been such a benefit

Whitetail buck — Eric Morken with a buck he shot during the 2020 archery season while using a hunting saddle. Morken was hunting about 10-12 feet high at the time when this buck came into 10 yards and stopped for minutes to examine his surroundings after the doe he followed in had gotten downwind of Morken and was on high alert. After a long wait, the buck eventually let his guard down and presented a 15-yard shot. The ability to blend into the tree and not get picked by a deer's sight even while hunting at low elevations has been one the top reasons Morken loves hunting out of a saddle.

By Eric Morken

June 16, 2022 at 4:22 PM

ALEXANDRIA — Hunting out of a saddle that a person can either wear into the woods or pack in has become a popular and effective way for whitetail hunters who want to be mobile and carry the least amount of weight possible.

In this video, Eric Morken of Northland Outdoors breaks down his saddle-hunting setup and goes over the top three things he has loved about hunting from a saddle over hunting with hang-on stands since he made the switch about five years ago.

Hunting Saddle — Hunting out of a saddle like this Cruzr XC allows hunters to be extremely light weight with what they pack in and out of the woods.

Two bucks he shot with his bow during a September hunt in Minnesota and then in North Dakota during the rut in the 2020 season are good examples of how versatile saddle hunting can be for those who really want to be mobile and hunt multiple locations.

By Eric Morken

Eric Morken is a sports and outdoor editor at the Echo Press Newspaper in Alexandria, Minnesota, a property of the Forum News Service. Morken covers a variety of stories throughout the Douglas County area, as well as statewide outdoor issues.

Eric Morken: My top-three reasons why saddle hunting for whitetails has been such a benefit

In this video from Northland Outdoors, Eric Morken breaks down his setup for hunting out of a saddle and the top three reasons he loves this style of hunting over the hang-on stands he used for so many years.