# Stuck throw bags



## brycelunsford (May 7, 2013)

While trying to set a line in a red oak this past weekend I managed to get four throw bags hung up!! Three of them were the sherrill tree highballs which I can't stand and won't be using anymore! Anyway I had one left that flew true and did the job. Talk about embarrising, and feeling like an idiot. Has this happened to anyone else or is it just my luck?!


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## deevo (May 7, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> While trying to set a line in a red oak this past weekend I managed to get four throw bags hung up!! Three of them were the sherrill tree highballs which I can't stand and won't be using anymore! Anyway I had one left that flew true and did the job. Talk about embarrising, and feeling like an idiot. Has this happened to anyone else or is it just my luck?!



It happens, I haven't ever got more then 1 stuck, seems like it always happens on maples to me! It's a pisser for sure! lol! :biggrin:


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## Oak Savanna (May 7, 2013)

It happens. Sometimes helps to take the bag off before you pull it back down if you didn't get the shot you wanted. If you can get it to the ground that is.


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## jefflovstrom (May 7, 2013)

Oak Savanna said:


> It happens. Sometimes helps to take the bag off before you pull it back down if you didn't get the shot you wanted. If you can get it to the ground that is.



:msp_confused:
Jeff


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## Oak Savanna (May 7, 2013)

jefflovstrom said:


> :msp_confused:
> Jeff



If you throw and don't get the shot you want and you go to pull the bag back to the ground it usually gets stuck on its way back through the tree. If it made it to the ground, take the bag off then pull your line back down and re-attach bag for next shot.


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## Grace Tree (May 7, 2013)

My throw bag retriever. Shoot a bag through the opposite direction and tie it mid line so you can work both ends. Usually works.
Phil
View attachment 294161


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## jefflovstrom (May 7, 2013)

Oak Savanna said:


> If it made it to the ground, take the bag off then pull your line back down and re-attach bag for next shot.



Ah, I get what you are saying,, thought you were joking. (Climb up and untie the bag), lol.
Because if it made it to the ground, you could srt or shoot more balls. 
Jeff :msp_smile:


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## Oak Savanna (May 7, 2013)

jefflovstrom said:


> Ah, I get what you are saying,, thought you were joking. (Climb up and untie the bag), lol.
> Jeff :msp_smile:



Lol. No no. Should have made first post more clear.


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## ATH (May 7, 2013)

jefflovstrom said:


> Ah, I get what you are saying,, thought you were joking. (Climb up and untie the bag), lol.
> Because if it made it to the ground, you could srt or shoot more balls.
> Jeff :msp_smile:



I usually end up getting them via climbing...after throwing a second throw line on a second bag. I have 4 bags and 3-4 throw lines (I keep the old ones that I know are going to break soon) just in case. Unless the tree is just too spreading, I almost always aim for the "final tie in", rather than re-throwing. By the time I lost the 3rd bag, I'd probably throw to the shortest branch, and work my way up resetting the line. I guess I don't know what I'd do if I lost all 4...take the hint that it is not my day and go home?


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## KenJax Tree (May 7, 2013)

jefflovstrom said:


> Ah, I get what you are saying,, thought you were joking. (Climb up and untie the bag), lol.
> Because if it made it to the ground, you could srt or shoot more balls.
> Jeff :msp_smile:



:looser:


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## TreeAce (May 7, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> While trying to set a line in a red oak this past weekend I managed to get four throw bags hung up!! Three of them were the sherrill tree highballs which I can't stand and won't be using anymore! Anyway I had one left that flew true and did the job. Talk about embarrising, and feeling like an idiot. Has this happened to anyone else or is it just my luck?!


Sounds like tough luck. I think that "high ball" is sweet when used with a big shot. Otherwise it doesnt matter what type of throw bag I use cuz Im not any good at throwing one anyway . But i got some skills with that big shot.


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## treeclimber101 (May 7, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> While trying to set a line in a red oak this past weekend I managed to get four throw bags hung up!! Three of them were the sherrill tree highballs which I can't stand and won't be using anymore! Anyway I had one left that flew true and did the job. Talk about embarrising, and feeling like an idiot. Has this happened to anyone else or is it just my luck?!



I can't believe you did the same thing 4 xs expecting different results , does suck though !


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## jefflovstrom (May 7, 2013)

KenJax Tree said:


> :looser:



Because?
Jeff


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## imagineero (May 8, 2013)

There's one old trick that works every time to stop you from every getting a throwline stuck; don't carry one ;-) Sometimes you just have those days. I carry two on hand casting reels, and one in a cube. When I buy a new line, it always goes in the cube, and the cube line goes onto a reel. I keep the cube for really high shots with the big shot. I use the reels so often! I use 2.2 zing it, and that stuff is crazy strong. We pull trees over with it all the time. 3 guys pulling as hard as they can still can't break it. It often gets used in combination with rigging too - butt tying a branch, having someone get a throwline into the tip from the ground, then side scarf it and they can pull it round to clear obstacles. 

I've had all 3 hung in the tree once. Then you just gotta old school it and re-throw your way to the top. +1 on untying the bag if you didn't get your target. I'm too lazy to do it most times though. I just want to get my line in the tree and get going!

Shaun


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## sgreanbeans (May 8, 2013)

I like the Hi Balls, but they suck in a thick tree with a bunch of garbage and tight crotches, they will not contort at all, where as a bag, you might be able to manipulate it thru a tight crotch. The balls,no chance. But they are great on hi shots and nice open canopy, they don't ricochet near as bad as the bags. I am still in favor of training a squirrel to go up and set my line, but they just take the food and leave, a holes.


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## mic687 (May 8, 2013)

Red Oaks seem to be the worst for hang ups for me, I have had two stuck and had to use the third to advance my way up the tree. This is a bad way to start the day pissed off and cussing at at a throw bag. When using the big shot I will often have someone stand by to grab the line as soon as it clears the spot I am isolating, so that the bag will not continue to spool out and go somewhere unintended.


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## brycelunsford (May 8, 2013)

Yea this tree was a tight crotch nightmare! The highballs would either wedge in the crotch or when pulling back the momentum would wrap it around a small limb and virtually tie itself! Anyway the main reason was I was in too much of a hurry. I had a group of concrete contractors ready to build a barbeque pit in this backyard and the owner wanted the tree down at the last minute. So it was the makings of a disaster. But after everything was over the was down and everybody was happy. I really appreciate the positive comments and advice from you guys! I'm probably a little greener than most of you and I really appreciate the help!


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## smokey01 (May 8, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> Yea this tree was a tight crotch nightmare! The highballs would either wedge in the crotch or when pulling back the momentum would wrap it around a small limb and virtually tie itself!


Just a couple more thoughts to add to the already good ideas.

I did not read a mention of strumming the line, it amazes me how well that works sometimes.
If it looks like the tree will be a problem, I secure the throw bag with just a girth hitch that after some persistent pulling will slip off the ring of the throw bag (you won't have to break your line and often when the line lets go, the bag pops out and falls to the ground) but yet it holds long enough during a good shot.
It is a gutsy move but you can attach another bag to the other end of the throw line and go backwards thru the stuck crotch and get your bag that way. (or you will loss both of them and the line)
Getting short on throw bags, take a couple of potatoes with you if your using a Big Shot. No loss if they get stuck or hit a stem and make potatoes salad.
Working the throw bag back thru the tree means so much more than just pulling the bag back thru the tree. You have to watch the bag and walk it, hop it, swing it, boomerang it and maneuver it where you want it to go and don't want it to go.


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## TreeAce (May 8, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> Yea this tree was a tight crotch nightmare! The highballs would either wedge in the crotch or when pulling back the momentum would wrap it around a small limb and virtually tie itself! Anyway the main reason was I was in too much of a hurry. I had a group of concrete contractors ready to build a barbeque pit in this backyard and the owner wanted the tree down at the last minute. So it was the makings of a disaster. But after everything was over the was down and everybody was happy. I really appreciate the positive comments and advice from you guys! I'm probably a little greener than most of you and I really appreciate the help!


It was a take down?? I would spured that thing prolly before the first one got stuck. But thats just me, kinda old school I guess. N old timer who taught me alot back in the day said the best thing about a throw bag/line is that it fits nicely in a purse. Not to say I fully agree but I think he may have had a point. I miss that guy sometimes, he was a trip. RIP John Bradstock


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## ATH (May 8, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> ......the tree down....



Well, that changes my answer...SPIKE the thing!


Edit: TreeAce beat me to it...I left the window open and didn't refresh before hitting reply.


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## miko0618 (May 8, 2013)

a break away point at the throw bag. I use those tiny keychain carabiners to attach mine. they break at about 100 lbs. I set in the highest tangle free crotch I can hit. I rarely go for the highest from the ground.


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## smokey01 (May 9, 2013)

brycelunsford said:


> ....the owner wanted the tree down at the last minute. So it was the makings of a disaster. But after everything was over the was down ...



I think you are using a very safe practice for wanting your climb line suspended, with or without spikes, as it will offer you a quick escape in case of injury or other threat. The photo of the climber that took a hit to the face with his saw and was able to get back on the ground where he then passed out weights on my mind when I think of only using my spikes.


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## nelson727 (May 9, 2013)

The best ‘throw line’ weight for coming back down out of a tree in my opinion is the RopeArmour sold by TreeStuff. I bought one knowing I was going to want it some day on a really matted canopy that normal weights would get stuck in. Looked at the instructions for all the ways to use it and my mind went into vapor lock and I put it away for weeks. When I went to do a job with 25 Cypress trees with all kinds of matted dead throughout I finally tied it on my BigShot reel.

Not only did it work well for those and other difficult trees, but I went on to use it as my primary shot line weight and carry others to put on for specific occasions instead of the other way around. Being lazy at heart I found I don’t even need to take the weight off the end of my throw line when I pull my climb line back over most of the time, I just use a clove hitch. This configuration has the weight trailing a few inches behind the lead of the climb line as I pull the throw line back over the crotch. Interestingly that helps in difficult crotches to ‘jump’ the climb line up and over crotch. The inventor of RopeArmour has a YouTube video of that up somewhere.

Cost kept me from getting one originally, having it in my hands and using it has me swear by it (for me) because of the results I can produce with it. Adding up the time saved on one job had me feel like it paid for itself. Now I won’t be without it and bought a second one for limb isolation and it’s ability to slip down through a canopy.

Another odd but beneficial feature of the RA is that when I have ‘wrapped’ a limb with a throw line by retrieving too fast and was using a throw bag, it was often stuck till I climbed up. The RA will pull around from several wraps and a partial hitch. Thats in vids too.


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## TreeAce (May 9, 2013)

smokey01 said:


> I think you are using a very safe practice for wanting your climb line suspended, with or without spikes, as it will offer you a quick escape in case of injury or other threat. The photo of the climber that took a hit to the face with his saw and was able to get back on the ground where he then passed out weights on my mind when I think of only using my spikes.


who said anything about only using spikes? Thats just crazy imo. I would climb up to the top and tie in and set work ropes and have at it. I may cut out some targets of opprotunity on my way up but would almost always be tied in with my climbing line (and safety lanyard) when cutting those easy ones on my way up.


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## ATH (May 9, 2013)

TreeAce said:


> who said anything about only using spikes? Thats just crazy imo. I would climb up to the top and tie in and set work ropes and have at it. I may cut out some targets of opprotunity on my way up but would almost always be tied in with my climbing line (and safety lanyard) when cutting those easy ones on my way up.



+1


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## sgreanbeans (May 10, 2013)

Did something change while I was on vaca?, Smokey is allowed to be in CTC and C? I dont think so, u shouldnt be posting in here.

Funny that this thread is up, I shot the hi ball yesterday with the big shot, it was a very hi shot and I nailed it first try, nice wide open crotch. As I was pulling it thru the crotch, it gets stuck and stuck hard! When I got up there on another line, I found that there was a pocket of rot that must have been made for the hi ball, it fit perfectly down in the hole. SON OF A BEYAAATCH! I had pulled on it hard enough to bury it in and the slick line pulled down in to a crack, I had a hell of a time just getting it out when I was right there! The 
other crotch that I decided not to go for at first (set my second line there) of course was as smooth as a baby's butt and would have been perfect!


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## Erwin (May 10, 2013)

Luckily, never happened to me for during my 15 years of climbing. It's hard to explain all the tricks, but one has to know hoe to pull, shock, and what size bag you use for a particular situation.


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## jefflovstrom (May 10, 2013)

Erwin said:


> Luckily, never happened to me for during my 15 years of climbing. It's hard to explain all the tricks, but one has to know hoe to pull, shock, and what size bag you use for a particular situation.



You are Amazing!
Jeff


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## TheJollyLogger (May 10, 2013)

Erwin said:


> Luckily, never happened to me for during my 15 years of climbing. It's hard to explain all the tricks, but one has to know hoe to pull, shock, and what size bag you use for a particular situation.



I know it's hard to explain, but go ahead, give it a shot, just use small words so we can understand. I, too, would like to learn how to never ever get a throwball stuck.

BTW, did I ever tell y'all about that 150lb. marlin I caught on 4lb test? Now that was a day!


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## imagineero (May 10, 2013)

TheJollyLogger said:


> I know it's hard to explain, but go ahead, give it a shot, just use small words so we can understand. I, too, would like to learn how to never ever get a throwball stuck.
> 
> BTW, did I ever tell y'all about that 150lb. marlin I caught on 4lb test? Now that was a day!



That's easy... To never got a throw bag stuck, all you have to do is make sure it comes down every time ;-)


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## TheJollyLogger (May 10, 2013)

imagineero said:


> That's easy... To never got a throw bag stuck, all you have to do is make sure it comes down every time ;-)



Ahhhhh, that's why I switched to the new Weaver 48 oz.


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## imagineero (May 10, 2013)

TheJollyLogger said:


> Ahhhhh, that's why I switched to the new Weaver 48 oz.



The 48 oz. is fine if you're a sissy. I use the liebherr 5 million oz. throwball. It never gets hung up.


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## Treepedo (May 11, 2013)

nelson727 said:


> The best ‘throw line’ weight for coming back down out of a tree in my opinion is the RopeArmour sold by TreeStuff. I bought one knowing I was going to want it some day on a really matted canopy that normal weights would get stuck in. Looked at the instructions for all the ways to use it and my mind went into vapor lock and I put it away for weeks. When I went to do a job with 25 Cypress trees with all kinds of matted dead throughout I finally tied it on my BigShot reel.
> 
> Not only did it work well for those and other difficult trees, but I went on to use it as my primary shot line weight and carry others to put on for specific occasions instead of the other way around. Being lazy at heart I found I don’t even need to take the weight off the end of my throw line when I pull my climb line back over most of the time, I just use a clove hitch. This configuration has the weight trailing a few inches behind the lead of the climb line as I pull the throw line back over the crotch. Interestingly that helps in difficult crotches to ‘jump’ the climb line up and over crotch. The inventor of RopeArmour has a YouTube video of that up somewhere.
> 
> ...



Glad to hear it works well for you and your acumen has paid off. Cheers.
Its funny now to think we used to throw a bag. It almost seems stone age.
My groundies do quite a bit of throwing for me now and recently a day with Luc throwing into 
centuries old Red Oaks. I can trust he can hit the targets using the RopeKnight and the BS and isolate the TiP because there is no fear of the RK getting stuck or hung up and retrievals are smooth and easy.
Status quo sucks and bags do get stuck. It just takes time for innovation and those who recognize it to lead others to greener pastures.

Nelson727, We really appreciate your thoughtful recommendation.:msp_smile: 

Also, Thanks to dealers like ATREAS, FREEWORKER and TREESTUFF who believe in and support arbclimbers and the tools they use.


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## StrataTree (May 12, 2013)

Last week, got one stuck, me and a co worker yanked, pulled and tried our darnedest to free that thing but finally gave up and used a bag on the other end to hit a lower branch. I body thrusted up to clear a stuck broken branch and get the stuck bag, just as I got to the bag, the coworker grabbed the throw line and the stuck bag fell to the ground all by itself... We were dumbfounded. Maybe a squirrel helped us out, I dunno but we laughed bout it for a bit...seems just leavin the thing alone for 10 minutes was the trick?!?


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## mitch95100 (May 12, 2013)

.410

Sent from me to you using my fingers


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## smokey01 (May 12, 2013)

Treepedo said:


> Status quo sucks and bags do get stuck. It just takes time for innovation and those who recognize it to lead others to greener pastures....


...and an even greater thanks to those who recognize the need for the innovation, create a solution and help other with it. Thanks Treepedo!




treeclimber101 said:


> I can't believe you did the same thing 4 xs expecting different results , does suck though !



Doing the same thing over and over, expecting to get *better *at it, is called PRACTICE, does work too!


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## ropensaddle (May 12, 2013)

50000 shots never been stuck yet


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## cfield (May 12, 2013)

I've found your either a hero or zero when it comes to throw balls. They are one of our best tools when they work, or they can completely ruin your day. I've learned to carry multiple over the years.


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## ckliff (May 12, 2013)

I never seem to get a throwbag stuck...


















until the homeowner comes out to watch.


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## Treepedo (May 12, 2013)

smokey01 said:


> ...and an even greater thanks to those who recognize the need for the innovation, create a solution and help other with it. Thanks Treepedo!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



A coach of mine would always say PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Thanks Brother Ed Benson!
Analyze your throw, their is always something that can be tweaked a touch to gain accuracy.
If you haven't seen our LONGgun technique, give it a chance and you should experience an increase in accuracy of up to 35%
View attachment 295143


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## smokey01 (May 14, 2013)

Erwin said:


> Luckily, never happened to me for during my 15 years of climbing. It's hard to explain all the tricks, but one has to know hoe to pull, shock, and what size bag you use for a particular situation.


Just wondering if "stuck" to you means in a permanent way where the stuck others are thinking of means, stuck for now but I'm going to climb up and get it or bring it back down to me with the tree still attached. If I never got one "stuck" how would I ever get any practice at getting it "unstuck". Pretty sure everybody had fun with the concept though.


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## ropensaddle (May 14, 2013)

imagineero said:


> The 48 oz. is fine if you're a sissy. I use the liebherr 5 million oz. throwball. It never gets hung up.



What a whous I use this 

Car Catapult - YouTube


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