Most of the time I'm dealing with trees in a dense fir forest were I don't
want to go over more multiple trees, just the one I want to put a support
in. After many experiments I found that the lighter weights like a tennis
balls and arrows (even those with some solder wound around the shaft to add
weight) would invariably tangle and I couldn't get them to come down to
ground level or even get them back out of the trees. After trying many
different schemes, the arborist's slingshot with a nice lump of lead has
been by far the most reliable for me. By varying the pull on the slingshot
you can adjust the height and it is surprising how accurate the aiming can
be with a little practice.
I'm much happier using a heavy lead weight that will pull the leader-line
right down to the ground. To keep from going over multiple trees I usually
snub the line at a point where once the lead has cleared the target tree the
line forces it to drop straight down before it can go over another tree.
Of course an un-snubbed 16 oz sinker coming down from 100' or more, is
absolutely deadly. Obviously you would want to keep the neighbors and their
livestock out of the line of fire! I have never had the line break but then
I use 200 lb test braided Dacron fishing line and don't use the same piece
for more than two or three shots.
Despite using trees for supports quite often, I have never been happy with
lines into trees. While for the short term they work fine, over time
problems arise. I consider trees to be a last resort but sometimes they are
the only resort.
73, Rudy N6LF
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