"... and since I wasn't aiming at anything in particular, I've succeeded in hitting what I was aiming for" I love this guy.

For higher limbs and tree crotches I've had good success using a bow and arrow, with heavy duty fishing line secured above the notch end of a target arrow. Sometimes I'll add weight to the tip of the arrow to encourage its descent despite the drag friction of the line. Then, with my rope secured to the fishing line, I pull the line to get the rope over the limb, or through the crotch.

Mr Hale you do a fantastic job. Your clear voice-without throwing in unrelated material is much appreciated. Your illustrations are extremely well done and helpful. I’ve watched dozens of films on this topic none can compare with yours. I am instrument rated pilot and orthopaedic surgeon-have seen some talented instructors, but none any better than you. THANK YOU-FOR YOUR UNSELFISH CONTRIBUTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE AND SAFETY of those of us enjoying our time in the woods.

Thank you Terry for your video. I was prepared to watch several except yours pretty much covered it and answered my questions. I have cut well over 100 trees and other than climbing what I use to have access, to which was a neighbors 40-ft ladder, I have never scaled a tree ( other than climbing branches) to place a rope. I have done pretty much everything you show in your video but just not with the expertise and grace you show here.

Someone else said, "You are an excellent instructor. " I wholeheartedly agree! Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

I have been cutting trees for firewood for many years, learning by the school of hard knocks most of what I know. Your video's explain the science physics of this type of work in a manner that is down to earth (not a pun ) and easily understood. You are an excellent instructor. I have no doubt you have prevented hundreds of possible injuries. Great job!

The very experienced arborist that does many tall pines in our cottage area always twirls his throw line from one side and lets it go after building up his speed and diameter until he lets it go. He is amazingly accurate and obviously comes with decades of experience. I remember gathering a group of neighbours to have them watch his skill but most of them missed it because he nailed the toss on his first attempt before everyone had time to gather together. The lowest branch was probably 75’ in the air and a leaner to boot.

Old guys rock. Excellent vid.

Thanks for taking all the time to put this series together. Excellent instruction. I hope the back leaner doesn't end up in my buddies house

The best advice he gives that pertains to most all his videos is written at the end of this video!

You are such a great teacher. I REALLY REALLY wish you would keep making tutorials like this

He got the "like" for the Wilt Chamberlain reference alone, much less the other great content.

Thank you for your knowledge and wisdom

Sir: Congratulations on this amazing series of videos. This is really high quality material. Very professional, technical and informative. Thank you very much! Plus it's fun and the "weakened" stuff made me smile all along. Great job.

"And since I wasn't aiming at anything in particular, I succeeded in hitting what I was aiming at." LOL!

Gosh I sure wish I was even a quarter as smart as you are! Just found your videos and am loving them! Thanks so much for taking the time!!!

You are amazing teacher and consider myself very lucky to be able to subscribe to your site. Thank you!

Great series. Loved every minute of it. Even the math.

Great series of videos! I particularly appreciate the mathematics on dealing with backleaners. I have felled numerous trees and have frequently "cheated" by using a line to be sure the tree went where I wanted. Although I violate one of your preferences, here is my setup: I have a 2-ton "More Power" type winch (comealong) which I attach to a heavy duty web sling around the anchor tree and then hook this into a 3/4" nylon twist rope. The rope is then run through a sling which I place as high as I can on the tree to be felled. I put good tension on the comealong, notch the tree, make a bore cut and insert wedge(s) if needed, then go back and put some more tension on the winch, and then finish the back cut. Sometimes I do these two steps a couple of times. It's time-consuming, but I'm not getting paid for it, so I take my time and avoid injuries/accidents. As for getting the rope high into the tree, if I can't get it where I want it by throwing, I have a 16' plastic tube that was used to bring electricity down to my well. I run about 18 ft of a 50 ft mason line through it with a small weight on the end and then maneuver it into the crotch, hold onto the end of the mason line while I withdraw the pipe, and then tie the mason line to the rope and lower weighted end of the mason line to the ground and pull the rope as you do.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you making this video it was helpful, practical and technically instructive. With warm regards

You might want to try using a bowline attachment to the throwbag, if you haven't already. Make a bowline with a loop large enough to go around the throwbag; pass the bowline through the ring, then the throwbag goes through the bowline loop and gets girth hitched to the ring. No need to retie the bowline each time, just the girth hitch. I think it's a lot easier to get the line on and off the bag.

I just went through this exercise in my backyard today. Used a bowline at the throw bag. caught two branches with the throw and pulled up the cambium saver. Had trouble because the two rings of the cambium saver were not together - they were seperated by the second branch. was able to pull the climbing rope into the tree, but due to the lay of the large ring against the branch, was not able to retrieve it normally. Had to pull the entire throw line through and let it fly down with the throw bag, not the controlled decent I had planned. Thanks for the video!

...since i wasn't aiming at anything in particular, i've succeeded in hitting what has aiming... haha! Positive way of life! Personally, i just don't wear no watch, so i'm never late! =D

THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO!

Good video, good subject and really well narrated. Thanks for putting this up. One thing to emphasize strongly is to ALWAYS wear at least safety glasses when using the Big Shot device. A few folks even recommend full-face shields like those used by chainsaw operators in the arborist profession. I own the Big Shot and have used it very often in Vermont to place suspension lines for large amateur radio antenna wire arrays. The trees in question require 60-80 foot shots. One major problem with the Big Shot, at least for me, has been figuring out the optimum way to position my throw bag in the slingshot pouch. Sideways ? Ring first ? Ring following ? MANY times I will get all set up, pull the rubbers down smoothly, double check my aim, then release the pouch only to get a huge misfire--something happens at the moment of release that either is causing my throw bag to hit the fork, or else that is tumbling my throw bag out of the pouch in just the first milliseconds after release. Result: My throw bag goes 0 to 8 feet. A second problem (this may be the key here) has been figuring out the correct way to grip the release tab on the underside of Big Shot pouch. I have tried different ways of gripping that tab and nothing tried yet seems to be the correct solution. The throw bags I have are standard 12 or 14 ounce oblong bags, commercially obtained from the usual manufacturers. To sum up: Something that occurs at the moment of releasing the grip tab is "upsetting the apple cart" and dumping my throw bag out of the pouch. I only get a successful launch maybe one out of five tries at best. Any suggestions Terry ? Thanks.

There aren't lots of good videos on how to get the rope up in the tree. This is the first one I've found

I use 1" galvanized pipe cap and plug to the get an 8 oz weight, with a hole drilled for small eye-bolt for line attachment. (fill with bbs and epoxy to get 12 oz weight) Attach 65 lb braided fishing line to #4 snap swivel (Bass Pro Shop) and attach to line. I loosely stack line into a 5 gallon bucket instead of a throwing cube. With this light-weight line an 8 oz weight can be thrown over-handed high. Make several in case the weight gets stuck in the tree which does happen a lot.

Want to give million likes for that guy, that's exactly what I'm searching for

Never knew about that anchor knot, I'll be using it for a lot of thing!

thank you sir

thank you terry. I mainly use a hatchet works almost every time.

If you have trouble throwing high enough into tall trees, just use a golf ball launcher. Run an eye bolt through the golf ball for a rope and put some slits in it where it seals along the barrel - that will slow the ball down a bit. You don't need it going at 1,000 ft/sec :) I imagine a potato gun could be used in a similar fashion.

Well done.

I understand the frustration of misses... I got tired of trying to throw a weight where it needed to go and started using a slingshot (copy of a Wham-O Sportsmen) to shoot a lead weight with fishing line attached. The line feeds off a youth sized fishing pole. Once the fishing line is in place I attach a rope and pull it over the branch/crotch with the fishing reel. With the slingshot I usually hit my target on the first shot... far less frustrating than throwing and a lot easier to hit branches/crotches 50+ feet in the air. It was all stuff I had laying around so the marginal cost for this rig was zero! ;~)

WoW, the Big Shot Slingshot can quickly be made into the mortar tube of slingshots. Add a small universal, connecting to a 15 lb base. Add a fence jack to the tube, to triangle forward supports. Add a big protractor showing the angle of the tube. Use the same size weight every shot. Mark off different draw lengths on the tube. Develop a chart. Fire for effect, out.

Have you ever done any teaching? You have a very professional delivery. Reminds me of a college professor.

Throwline is life saver! Slick, light pee-line is best; and bag of shot that absorbs shock and doesn't bounce out/slides down into target instead. . Can get by on baby parachute cord and mechanix bag of dirt to fit the needed characteristics for more of a home owner under 50ft. 1xQuickie; but if need a bunch of times, real bag/pee-line is fair investment. Store, clean; and 'flaked' loossely into container, don't tell it where to lay, let the loosseness of line work out the tensions naturally and free quick them off the end of the line w/o restrictions or the bag on it. . Sometimes make or even aim for wrong limb; sometimes can turn this into a success, by pulling bag up to about 3-4' under limb; then snap down hard to make it pull bag up quick and get it to come off limb and back flip over onto correct target limb!! We call this 'walking the dog' and can even be used on a lucky day to succesfully walk up the stairs with ball to proper target!!! . For palms, broken tops etc: mytreelessons.com/rl/images/throwline_no_branches.png limits to use; are your own creativity! . i prefer tie pee-line to ring with Slipped Anchor Hitch; others like a Bowline or other eye large enough to slide thru ring, around bottom of ball to lock in Girth Hitch on other side. Any way you go, the utility of quick on/off for ball can be very important to focus/lack of frustrations. . Some guys can throw the thing crazy good overhand 1handed . i need the between the legs balanced 2 handed sling throw for accuracy. Tho facing away from target and sling between legs backwards over gives best leverage/least accuracy. Big Shot is a miracle worker!

i would like to really thank you for all your efforts. i have watched a lot of videos and read several books and thankfully just finished felling a dozen or so 30m trees safely. your series is by far the best and will no doubt reduce a lot of accidents. i only have a couple more to go and i will wait til the leaves are off. i have a mature Ash (English) with a horizontal half metre thick limb that needs to go for the sake of light to the house. do i just treat this as a severe leaner?

use a drone to fly the rope over the branch? awesome vids

15:54 Brilliant!

thanks, that was quick. beats reading a book.

Trying to find specifically, the Yale Cordage slickline/throwline is an exercise in futility. Every site I go to, including any listed on Yale's site of vendors, gets me nothing but Weaver and other companies that just don't look like what you are using. Have a link that you are certain sells that specific throwline?

On huge dying 100 year old cottonwood trees I have used a bow and arrow with light Line first working up with larger ropes to 1/2 in cable x 150 ft using a 4x4 or a tractor pulling them over and then the work starts

What a great educational video. The "line that is leaving" is the "load line".

It seems most all the trees I take down have no branches to toss a bag over. So I use an extension ladder. And a shorter length of rope, most likely. Yes, less moment arm as a result.

Love that humor. Lmao

Thank you for sharing your information. Would've liked to see the knot tying better, though.

9:09 - I’m 60 years old: I grasp & appreciate the Wilt Chamberlain reference! Terry, what is your profession? I can tell that you’re a professional at instructing. And even though you don’t flaunt it, you can’t hide the fact that you’re an intellectual. I suspect that you’re a university professor. Please confirm.

16:16 This is the other channel 'Climbing Arborist' video "Throwline tips & tricks": kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ibWPi82Eu63IeIU.html

Is "weakened" intentional, or did you mean weekend?

Gotta have one of those big shots...watch out neighbors! JK! Great videos, thanks!

A canon with a six pound ball would get it up half a mile. 🤣 Nice video series, with good info. I decided long ago to leave tree felling to the pros.

Like the slingshot, but I'm considering a bow and using something similar to a bowfishing rig.

Ever considered a bow or crossbow set up for bow fishing?

Ok. How about an 18mm box end wrench tied to 100 feet of nylon string? Works for me.

Try a nut tied to 30 pound fishing line and a slingshot to get it over a high limb, then tie a rope to that and eventually your chain. It's more accurate and you can get it up higher than you can throw.

I use a bow and arrow with fishing reel attached to the bow

I use a shanghai, a sinker and fishing line to start it off, then I tie it to much thicker fishing line, and finally to a rope.

to get a rope over a high tree limb i often use an old trick the Natives use for setting fishing nets under the ice. or at least part of their trick. Dene will set hundred foot nets under ice by using this method to pass a rope from one hole to another until they have the full net length under the ice then tie one end of the net [weighted to sink below the ice] to each end of the rope and pull the rope out from under the ice while pulling the net under the ice tie a short piece of stick to the end of your rope and using a pole with a short y crotch near the top reach the rope and stick up and over the limb [ tension on the rope keeps the stick at the y] then use the y crotch to hook the stick and pull the rope back down the tree. generally i tie the rope off to 2 anchors either side of the direction i want the tree to fall and tension the rope by pulling to 2 anchor tropes together. I don't pull down the tree but get it leaning in the required direction then cut the tree with a bow saw to complete the job

How about repurposing golf ball or tennis ball?

Potato gun as a launcher for the throw weight.....?

I've used a lead sinker, fishing line and slingshot... tie the line to the rope, shoot the sinker with the slingshot... well you get the idea... I found it more accurate than your method...

when you teach knot tying you might try keeping your hands on camera. Speaking of which, Do a knot vid.

IMHO the anchor knot is a pain, easier to ti a simple loop not and use it to girth hitch thru the ring. I will gaar raun tee you are going to hang that bag and when you really tug on it that anchor knot is going to be a pain to get loose. When you are ready to pull rope use the same girth hitch to attach throw line to climb line with a couple half hitches on the lead end.FWIW

BC faller training youtubes this guy when they want to make a video

I wonder how a potato gun would work for that job either using compressed air or an Ignition source

Just fast forward to 15:38.

Good stuff, Terry. I really enjoy your analyses. FYI, the "anchor knot" is actually not a knot, rather it's a hitch (that which attaches a rope to an object). More bizarrely, it's most commonly known by its misnomer: anchor bend (Ashley book of knots 1723). But a "bend" of course refers to a rope/line attached to another rope/line, which it is also not. To me, it appears you're not including the final turn and half-hitch about the standing part, which certainly makes it easier to untie, but is not nearly as secure. Here's one of many correct demonstrations of how to tie an anchor hitch: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i72erM2fz7zcfHU.html which is indeed a good choice of hitch for the throw bag. Enjoy! @wesfree ps: love the "Hale postulates" to the laws of Thermodynamics...

im not sure home owners should be doin this, 2 reasons 1 they dont know what to do after setting line" 2 dangerouse if you get it wrong"

Dog tennis ball thrower works for me.

15:46 at last he shoots

Weakend or weekend

i wonder if a tennis ball launcher used by dog owners at the park would launch those shot bags ?

he mentions a 'Throwing TUBE " ?? WHAT is that ? He mentions it ,BUT doesnt Show or EXPLAIN it ??? Poor Explaination : (

Y'all are praising this fella . me not so much. He needs to tuck them ears in fore he gets them caught in the slingshot

10 minutes talking to through a line

more show off then anything else

again talking to much and no action at all