Leaving your main line out?

[DeathFromAbove]

I’ve always made a habit to take my climbing (srt) line out after almost every sit; maybe leaving it unattended for a couple hours at most to take a break, this year I’ve gotten in a new tree and am relatively confident that squirrels/chipmunks don’t make use of it; I’ve left it out overnight a couple times now; it does seem to save me some time getting setup in the mornings and let’s me keep the lights off for sure. What’s the general consensus here for length of time to leave a line out?

(fwiw: using run of the mill rei pmi 11mm static)

 

[LoadedLimbs]

@DeathFromAbove - Based on your question, you understand that the main concern with leaving SRT climbing rope attached to a tree unattended over the course of several days is rope damage inflicted by squirrels or other tree-climbing critters that chew on it.

I won’t leave my climbing rope in a tree unattended.

If you have the intention of climbing the tree again, then it’s easy enough to install a pre-set loop of paracord or masons line (which is much less expensive than paracord) to facilitate reattaching your SRT rope to the tree at a later point in time.

This transfers the risk of rodent damage from your primary climbing rope to an inexpensive cord that won’t have negative consequences for your safety if it gets compromised while you’re not present to witness it. For me, the difference in setup time is small enough that it’s worth taking the extra time to put a loop of masons line in place and take down my rope so I know that it is still in good condition the next time I climb on it.

The other thing to consider is whether you really want to hunt from the same tree over and over again. This lets the deer pattern you. They will smell your scent and the giant scent wick (aka your rope) when they are passing by your stand at night when you aren’t there. They’ll quickly learn to avoid your tree due to the human scent you leave there over the course of your multi-day hunts.


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[bj139]

I left a Bluewater Assault Line 11.4mm in my backyard tree for about 4 days and later noticed a spot that had been chewed. It was hardly anything and I still use it. I don't know if the squirrel chewed on it for 5 seconds or 5 minutes. If they sat in the crotch of the tree chewing for an hour, I imagine they could chew almost through and you would not notice if it was in the crotch. Maybe if you made a big loop to the ground and tied the ends you could pull the loop around a little at a time and check it before you climb.

 

[JoyRyd]

I leave three mainlines out for the month of September (destination spots...Wallows and ponds). I be sure to give the line a “good tug” before I climb........so far, no trouble. I’m in Colorado FWIW.

Update Note: I’m hunting Elk not deer.....If that matters.

 

[DeathFromAbove]

That’s pretty much the same program I’m on @JoyRyd, but up in WA. Yeah elk won’t be the same as deer in this regard especially in the month of September, + our deer up here, blacktails, (Columbia not mulies) behave differently, and Mother Nature actively helps reduce or remove residual scent almost daily up here. We just had a real thorough activated carbon treatment, then followed up with a very intense rinse, I was in this tree for both. I can breath now and I’m dry this morning, hopefully it can stay that way for today.....

I’ve already got this tree “preset” with a loop as suggested; I’ll just keep retrieving each night, I guess it will only takes once, so better paranoid than falling 30’ out of an alder right?

thanks for the inputs folks!