Anyone using one of these yet?

[Zale]

The main reason I don't use a BS is more mental than anything else. When Toby first put them out, everyone was buying them and putting them on poles that weren't Jamison sticks. A guy in our company was using it on a none Jamison stick and the pole broke. The BS came back into his face and peeled his cheek off his face. Since then, I can't get that image out of my head and would rather throw by hand.

 

[Hoowasat]

The trigger for the BS is handy, really makes accuracy easier

I rigged an archery trigger to mine.

 

[CanopyGorilla]

I get it. As a group we tend to like shiny new things and cool toys that can shoot stuff. I have even used a BS when they first came out but I prefer to throw by hand. I just think the BS and this potato cannon tends to make us lazy. What happens when you're on the job site and your toys break? Pack it up and go home? Being able to accurately throw by hand is a necessary skill. IMO.

I do appreciate where you are coming from! I have only used a BS a hand full of times and throw by hand up to 50' daily. My best hand tosses are probably in the 75' range (I known because it maxes out my 150' rigging line). I live in an area where I get asked to deadwood a lot of REALLY BIG cottonwoods. Often 7' DBA and first limb sits 30'-40' off the ground. If I can successfully get my rope 180' off the ground with accuracy, and not spend the time advancing my line in the canopy that's well worth it to me! If you think you can toss 180' I will hire you yesterday.

 

[Zale]

I don't think I can throw 180' anymore. Getting older. I'm like you, in that 70-80' range. Anything above that is a gift from God.

 

[ATH]

If you can throw 180' accurately on a consistent basis, you are a fool to work in trees...somebody in MLB will hire you

 

[murphy4trees]

Yes, I drive a truck and use a chipper. On the east coast I don't need to throw a line 100' to reach a climbing crotch. If you don't have the skill to throw a line by hand, you should consider working in a different field.

I throw more than I use the BS, but don't like going to a job w/o the bs..
plenty of tight spots where there is undergrowth or a fence in the way of your throwing motion, plenty of brushy trees that the bs can blast through and some very tight targets that would be hard to hit first shot, simply make it well worth owning and carrying!

 

[beastmaster]

I want one and love shiny new toys. I can throw a line over a easy to hit limb maybe 50 foot, With a BS I can hit 100 feet or shoot all the way over a tree, witch work well for citria dora eucalyptus here in So Calif. But I some times get misfires on the BS, and im always waiting to long to replace the rubbers making it scary to pull far back for a long shot. I SRT a lot and line placement is the key to effective SRTing. I'm moving this tool to the top of my wish list. It has really good reviews on tree stuff. This is the first I've seen of this tool. I like it.

 

[millbilly]

I use anything that works, and enjoy trying new things. I have used bow and arrow, throw bags, sling shots of many sizes, as well as air launchers. I think it cost me about $30 to make a huge sling shot, the air launcher cost $15 to build. Mostly, I use throw bag, but find the air launcher puts the bag more precisely in the place I want the rope to be when the tree has tangled branches. It also took much less time to master launching the bag accurately. I made mine with sights and air gauge so we can consistently put most of the bags in a 8 inch circle at 100 feet. For getting into a low point nothing beats a throw bag.
Often we put a rope or cable in a tree that may need persuading to go where we want it to be without climbing by using one of these methods.

Woodchuck Im not sayin you can't, but, 8" circle at 100 feet? That's even a test with an open sight BB gun, let alone a throw ball with a line attached.

 

[Hoowasat]

Woodchuck Im not sayin you can't, but, 8" circle at 100 feet? That's even a test with an open sight BB gun, let alone a throw ball with a line attached.

Whoa! That sounds like a challenge! Shall we proceed to organize a throw-off?

 

[woodchuck357]

Woodchuck Im not sayin you can't, but, 8" circle at 100 feet? That's even a test with an open sight BB gun, let alone a throw ball with a line attached.

A BB shot from any thing but a close fitting smooth bore is an extremely inaccurate projectile, even then the max velocity for accurate shooting has to be close to 300 fps, any thing faster causes the BB to bounce around as it travels down the bore. Rifling makes BBs shoot wildly at all velocities. We use a snug fitting throw bag that resembles a shuttle cock or a pellet not a BB. The line is wound on a 6 inch bow reel that surrounds the bore so the line drag is equal on all sides and is the same for all shots. At a 100 feet my pellet rifle can hit a quarter 9 times out of ten. A BB gun might do that at 10 feet.
Our valve is spring loaded to open when a simple trigger block moves out of the way. Our sight is a two dollar yard sale 22 scope.
Ours is made from scrap stainless pipe and fittings, hydrostatic tested to 600 psi.