Hiking into a hunting area with a tree stand strapped to my back is a labor of love that I’ve endured many, many times. It’s also one that I don’t need to endure again, thanks to saddle hunting.

WHEN YOU HUNT from the leaning-tree stand, you never know where the deer might come from. It’s an inexpensive two-person ladder stand, old as dirt, not quite rickety, but you can see rickety from ...