A series of poor decisions and I've lost most of my gear in a tree

colb said:
Do you guys tie your throw line to the bag ring with a figure 8 with the tail as a slip knot? I find that a very hard pull undoes the knot. I use 2.2mm zingit, which is dyneema. I assume that the slippery nature of knotted dyneema has something to do with this advantage. I learned the knot from a Treestuff video a few years ago.

These stories of throw line incidents are really eye-opening. Thanks, everyone, for sharing!
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Yes this is how I do it. I think I’ve only had one case where I wasn’t paying attention enough and did not set the knot, after hearing the bag about 50’ away in the woods I decided not to even waste my time looking for it. It does take a stick wrapped around the tail to some times pull the knot. It can work if the bag is stuck in a tight union. I’ve tugged so hard on it when the knot slipped it catapulted the bag, and I busted my ass.

It’s not 100% reliable to always come undone. Doesn’t work when your bag takes a million wraps. Bag sometimes is stuck (but you get your line back).
 
cerviarborist said:
Slipped clove hitch. It's within a couple seconds of being as fast to install on a throw bag ring as a girth hitch. It won't find things to catch on like that open girth loop will though. Easy and fast enough to tie and untie that I never pull a bag back through the canopy on a missed shot. Just untie the bag, retrieve the line and then tie it back on for the next one. That in and of itself will resolve about 90% of stuck bag issues.
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Slipped buntline, if there's a chance a dropped bag could get lost in the underbrush. Otherwise, just a simple slip knot. In the trees I climb (and the usual dense undergrowth), trying to pull back a missed shot can increase the chance of getting stuck exponentially. Better to untie the bag. A sea of sword ferns underneath and several missed shots is truly an exercise in frustration.
 
I only own 2 COTS throw bags (that's Commercial Off The Shelf, aka store bought, not sure if "COTS" is a known acronym around here), a 10 and a 14oz.

I've had plenty of times I've gotten them both stuck so the thrifty boyscout in me, not being willing to throw biners when that happens started to look for a better cheap backup option and came up with these. They also work great for throwing from up in the trees since they're lighter.

5.5oz throw weights made from [literally] scraps of 1" webbing and BB's I steal from my son lol.
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I enjoy sewing so if that's not your thing it'll be easier to just use random objects. Takes about 30 min to hand sew one end shut, fill it with BB's (probably the hardest part) and sew the other end folded over with the ring.
 
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I had several old pairs of all-leather work gloves that I had stopped using when they got holes in each index finger from hard use. All the other fingers were OK and I cut them off and filled them with shot, sewed each finger shut around a ring, and had an assortment of different sizes of expendable throw bags within an hour or two. The first couple I made I used lead shot but then I remembered Richard's mag bag videos and used steel shot in all the rest. They are no things of beauty, rather homely actually, and perhaps even downright gruesome, compared to the nifty examples above, but they were very quick to put together (and I must confess I have already gotten several hopelessly hung up!).
 
Burrapeg said:
I had several old pairs of all-leather work gloves that I had stopped using when they got holes in each index finger from hard use. All the other fingers were OK and I cut them off and filled them with shot, sewed each finger shut around a ring, and had an assortment of different sizes of expendable throw bags within an hour or two. The first couple I made I used lead shot but then I remembered Richard's mag bag videos and used steel shot in all the rest. They are no things of beauty, rather homely actually, and perhaps even downright gruesome, compared to the nifty examples above, but they were very quick to put together (and I must confess I have already gotten several hopelessly hung up!).
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When you get them stuck do you feel like the bag is giving you the finger? :rayos:
 
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