big shot max height

[ARLO]

Clients will be terrified...

Yeah, you have a point there Tyler. But I deal mostly with 0wls and tree voles, and they are usually pissed at me no matter what I use.

 

[Richard Mumford-yoyoman]

Richard, can you measure with your enforcer what you average pull is to get a 100 foot shot on an average day. It's pretty cold here now

Sorry, I'm a little late responding and for some reason have not received notification of posts, probably need to fix junk folders...just got back from climbing some 170, + white oaks and 175+ ceibas in Costa Rica......love my bigshot setup and had lots of great success with it hitting 160' shots, many times on the first shot.
treebing, to answer your question........I use just the standard (2) 4 foot poles, or sometimes (4) 2 foot poles or (1) 8 foot pole. I travel and sometimes I'm home. I don't have a need to stretch it more than that and have great longevity from the bands. Plus I don't want to risk breaking them when I'm in such a remote location.
So, with my set-up at 165 degrees the Enforcer shows about 110 pounds of force.
Briefly:
Using a 10 oz pouch and throwline gets me to about 120 feet. I find that if I try to pull more with this I will get a loop going up and likely a tangle, the speed that is needed to get more height just does not work with throwline.
Above that it is fishing line, stable braid about 30#, and an open reel. Holding it like a shotgun gives me great accuracy and time to take a shot. This gets me to up to 200'. I have climbed redwoods reaching 300' and dougfirs reaching 270' and don't want to climb a line so far up I have NO idea what it is in. Getting up these trees about 180 feet gets me to the limbs I can advance easy enough.
I cannot speak to using the bands in sub zero temperatures..........and don't want to either.
I'm open minded but I really have a hard time seeing the argument between a hand held shot and using an archer trigger, just don't buy it. When I use a trigger it is not like it sits there for an hour, nor does it seem like after a shot the band sits there and "shrinks" back into shape. Additionaly it would be imposible to hold the pouch so close to the end of the pole to get the same stretch using the same length of poles.
With the exception of cold weather, I'm very content with how my bigshot is dialed-in and if I did do cold weather I would probably warm up a tent and step out just in time to take the shot or better yet....a turret.

 

[Richard Mumford-yoyoman]

One more point. When taking shots high up in a canopy and the plan is catching several limbs etc, it really needs to be a solid weight. The weight needs to be able to bounce/deflect off of limbs to work its way back down. The standard throw bags tend to settle on a branch and the momentum is lost.

 

[gmcttr]

....I find that if I try to pull more with this I will get a loop going up and likely a tangle, the speed that is needed to get more height just does not work with throwline....

Interesting. I recently got an APTA and first used it attempting to place dynaglide throw line over a crotch ~100' up. I had more problems with birds nests that day than any time using the BS. I wondered if I was having a bad day or if the APTA reached it's speed more quickly and contributed to the tangling.

 

[Richard Mumford-yoyoman]

Just cranked the bigshot to about 96 pounds, after about 30 min it decreased to about 88 pounds. In the first few minutes, the amount of time it would take to get a shot off, the drop was maybe 2 pounds.

Maybe this was mentioned but to me the logical explination is that when a manual release is done the BS is set on the ground where no force is lost on the recoil. When shoulder mounted, a little push at release will make up for the recoil but some accuracy may be lost.

 

[Richard Mumford-yoyoman]

Interesting. I recently got an APTA and first used it attempting to place dynaglide throw line over a crotch ~100' up. I had more problems with birds nests that day than any time using the BS. I wondered if I was having a bad day or if the APTA reached it's speed more quickly and contributed to the tangling.

Yep, it is really hard to flake the line in such a way that when it plays out so fast, it does not take a birds nest with it. A hand wrap takes time but is more successful than a simple flaking.

 

[wheelforge]

The bicycle pump choice depends on if you ever plan on fixing it or replacing it in the future, and what kind of fittings your willing to deal with.
Silca is a pump brand that is entirely rebuildable, and has been for at least 30 years. With an average max psi of 22o.
Other than that, Giant has a house branded shop grade pump that sells for about $100 that's pretty durable.
I've burned through lots and lots of bike pumps, career mechanic for almost 16 years.