Your previous post puts throwing a bag at a level far above the many joys this life has to offer.
How high can you throw ball?
- Thread starter RBJtree
- Start date
Your previous post puts throwing a bag at a level far above the many joys this life has to offer.
treebing
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Detroit, Mi.
Cormac Nagan and Jack Richardson are two of the best throwers I have ever known and were both star baseball players that could have played pro. I saw cormac hit a 60 foot shot overhand. Incredible athletes.
treebing
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Detroit, Mi.
I would agree with that sentiment. That doesn’t mean I am not capable of getting joy out of other things. The fact that other people don’t find joy in it is Sad in my opinion. But as you said, to each their own.
moss
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Carlisle, Massachusetts, U.S.
Super interesting disagreement! A big part of human joy is the experience of total mind/body integration. It is exhilarating. Most of the time our mind/thoughts are dominating the show, when we find the spot where mind and body melds to near perfect result, things are good. A lot of ways to get there, a great throw is one of them.
-AJ
I don’t know what the fuss is about. I love setting lines and I really love doing it on my own. If I need a big shot I’ll get it but if I can hand throw it I will. I’m looking into getting into the competition side of the trade and I don’t grab the big shot very often for practice purposes. Also train all of the new climbers that come through our shop after hours and I don’t allow them to use big shots. Mostly because the pecan we train in you don’t really need it but still 60ft throw to the top but also some of the frustrations you can face as soon as you start a job. That’s where I’m finding most of the new climbers choke on is throw ball. First piece of equipment I bought was a throw ball kit and glad thts where I started
treebing
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Detroit, Mi.
Some people spend their days golfing or thinking about golf. I think I would enjoy golf. Never really had the opportunity to play. If I could get paid for it then it would be really appealing. Now there are other joys in life but many of them are much more complicated:
JeffGu
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Osceola, Nebraska
I fall asleep if I even LOOK at a golf club or a bowling ball.
My younger brother and I were alway really tight but life sent us down different paths. I headed for a life working in the woods and my little bro was destined to be a kickass pro musiscan. We alway made sure to get together a few times a month on a Saturday morning and go golfing with some of my logger buddies and a few of his musician buddies. Just a bunch of hungover hacks talking smack, slinging shit, laughing our asses off, and having some of the best days of our lives!!!
Last edited:
The tool that was most responsible for me transitioning to SRT wasn't a Wrench, Runner, HH2, or a BigShot. Nope. It was an APTA. Without it I would not have proper access to 90% of the trees I work with. Now I'm down with that wet gooey feeling some get from the beautifully simple act of hitting their spot when throwing by hand, but that same feeling can be had when you thread the needle and hit your mark at 160 ft in a tightly limbed Red.
Over shooting the throw ball can be controlled by letting the line pass through your hand. When the ball is just over the branch, squeeze on the line for a second or two to get it to stop and it will start to try to wrap around the branch. But release the line when the ball starts to come back to you.
I am a climbing purist. I can be because of my location. I just really enjoy the climbing experience. I have some top quality tree gear both rigging and climbing. I will never own a tracked lift or bucket. I will never own a chipper. I might one day own a mini which would be very useful for me. I own a bigshot. Just bought new strands. it is only used in one variety of tree. A casuarina where lines can be a bitch to set. I do not care about production as I make really good money on all my work. I am efficient and productive but it is not my focus. Quote right and do high quality work with safety as foremost, all else seems to fall into place for me. The low ballers do not stand a chance. All this being said is because I agree with Bing, walking up to my tree and hand tossing to set my line feels so awesome. Eric Whipple is who got me into hand throwing in the summer of '12. when I spent a month with him. I never looked back. I love my kids but climbing is a close second in my happiness department. I eat sleep and drink climbing. If that is sad shoot me. I abhor iron and it's awful impact on the environs. I am lucky that here I can do without it. Labor is a better source for me.
Jan_
Participating member
- Location
- Rheinland-Pfalz ,Germany
I like to step on the Throwline if I see that I am going to miss, this saves me some time getting it back.
moss
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Carlisle, Massachusetts, U.S.
Let it run! ;-) Feathering the throwline with your fingertips as Brocky mentioned is a strong strategy to limit an overthrow or bad throw. A hard stop is not good, will cause the bag to do multiple wraps around the nearest twig or branch. The only good that comes of that is forcing you to climb to places you would never go voluntarily to rescue the bag, awesome climber training technique.
-AJ
Burrapeg
Been here a while
- Location
- Puget Sound
We had a line throwing gun on a salvage tug in the Gulf years ago, simply made from an old 12g shotgun cut down to just slightly longer than the minimum legal length. This was for getting a towing hawser to another vessel stranded on the beach or needing a tow in rough weather where we could not come alongside. It had a kick like a mule but would easily toss a line two or three hundred yards. We also had its bigger brother for heavier long distance work, an actual line throwing cannon with a bore of about 2 inches off a WWII fleet tug. Not sure how useful that would be to an arborist! LOL. Probably end up in jail!I met an electric utility company pole setting crew out in the sticks on the La Jolla Indian Reservation, just below Mount Palomar, and their foreman showed me his naval line setting gun, and demonstrated how easily it could reach way out across a canyon.
It was a 45-70, like this.
Naval Company Bridger Line Gun Kit - Fire Department Model w/Pelican Case - Rock N Rescue
Capable of throwing a line up to 850′ (259 M) or more depending on the cartridge and line used. This extremely accurate 45-70 caliber gun is used by the U. S. Military, U. S. Coast Guard and many leading fire departments. U.S. Coast Guard approved #160.031/6/3. Includes gun, lines, cartridges...www.rocknrescue.com
Cool ole guy, with an interesting job.
Jemco
Kenny Sanchez
New member
- Location
- Small part of the world
About 70-80ft with mine big shot slingshot. Going to be be buying APTA here soon, longer distance, more control and better aiming.
Having owned both, this is why I still own an APTA and no longer own a BigShot.
Burrapeg
Been here a while
- Location
- Puget Sound
I can totally understand the pure joy of a great throw and the finesse and zen involved. One becomes one with the line and throw bag, total focus and shutting out any distraction. And then the satisfaction of watching the arc of the bag as it passes exactly through the crotch, or in my own case, into an irretrievable tangled mess. (But as Moss said, it has gotten me into some interesting climbs I would never have made, to save the pricey little bugger. Why do throw bags cost so much?) Anyway, there are far more curious joys. Take collecting for instance: people will collect anything and get totally passionate and excited over it. My neighbor collects stamps and he came running over one day banging on my door with one in his hand. Looked perfectly ordinary to me but he was having an absolute orgasm. It was from some place like Uruguay in the 1800's and obvious quite rare. I once teased him about all this and he pointed to my own machine shop and asked me how many people can say that their entire hobby and workshop can fit in a slim briefcase? The most extreme thing I ever ran into was a guy at a military airshow who collected military toilet paper from all the World's armies. going back to its first introduction I think in the Boer War or WWI. Of course, it would be very rare to find intact rolls of the stuff but he had done this and had some very obscure examples from military forces all over. He had rolls found in abandoned underground bunkers under farmers' fields in France, etc. He had rolls off a British nuclear sub. He had rolls from the Canadian Army in the Thirties. One of his prizes was a roll with Nazi markings. I swear to God I am not making this up; it was the guy's passion. I see there is a website for a couple that collects toilet paper signed (and presumably used) by famous people:
www.tissueworldmagazine.com
So enjoying a good toss into a tree is not so strange.
The Whole World Toilet Paper Museum - Tissue World Magazine
From the Kremlin to the McMurdo Station in The Antarctic and with celebrity signatures including Madonna and Woody Allen, Boston, Massachusetts couple Rich and Flo Newman have amassed a tissue treasure trove. We started collecting toilet paper in 1978 as a fun alternative to our other collecting...
www.tissueworldmagazine.com
That is pure fucking rasshole shite....skuntnipple proportions...I can totally understand the pure joy of a great throw and the finesse and zen involved. One becomes one with the line and throw bag, total focus and shutting out any distraction. And then the satisfaction of watching the arc of the bag as it passes exactly through the crotch, or in my own case, into an irretrievable tangled mess. (But as Moss said, it has gotten me into some interesting climbs I would never have made, to save the pricey little bugger. Why do throw bags cost so much?) Anyway, there are far more curious joys. Take collecting for instance: people will collect anything and get totally passionate and excited over it. My neighbor collects stamps and he came running over one day banging on my door with one in his hand. Looked perfectly ordinary to me but he was having an absolute orgasm. It was from some place like Uruguay in the 1800's and obvious quite rare. I once teased him about all this and he pointed to my own machine shop and asked me how many people can say that their entire hobby and workshop can fit in a slim briefcase? The most extreme thing I ever ran into was a guy at a military airshow who collected military toilet paper from all the World's armies. going back to its first introduction I think in the Boer War or WWI. Of course, it would be very rare to find intact rolls of the stuff but he had done this and had some very obscure examples from military forces all over. He had rolls found in abandoned underground bunkers under farmers' fields in France, etc. He had rolls off a British nuclear sub. He had rolls from the Canadian Army in the Thirties. One of his prizes was a roll with Nazi markings. I swear to God I am not making this up; it was the guy's passion. I see there is a website for a couple that collects toilet paper signed (and presumably used) by famous people:
So enjoying a good toss into a tree is not so strange.The Whole World Toilet Paper Museum - Tissue World Magazine
From the Kremlin to the McMurdo Station in The Antarctic and with celebrity signatures including Madonna and Woody Allen, Boston, Massachusetts couple Rich and Flo Newman have amassed a tissue treasure trove. We started collecting toilet paper in 1978 as a fun alternative to our other collecting...
