I love hunting out of giant trees... and it's a natural capability of rope climbing. Did it for years on DRT, and I'm using all of those same presets on my JRB systems.
I didn't take a photo, but last night i hunted on a new property in a new tree, a giant maple, easily 3ft thick and 10ft around at the base. I prefer large trees simply because their bulk helps conceal us... and I can tell you from experience that even when a deer sees you in a very large tree, you get more respect and less suspicion than you do sticking out on a sapling or telephone pole tree. Just sit still... if I haven't been winded, that deer will typically calm down and provide a shot opportunity if I want one.
I did the throwball work 2 weeks ago and it took a few throws to hit a higher crotch, about 45 ft off the ground. I don't use a platform and had two choices for horizontal branches which serve as my positioning and pivot point. I headed for the higher one, but it was close to 30 ft off the ground and when i got there I didn't have the clearest shooting Lanes. I backed down to the one about 17ft up and as I chose my most comfortable and preferred position and leaned back, my doubled ropes were bending around the upper crotch and effectively determining my TIP. And so, my system felt like I had thrown over the branch at 30 ft. I always stay on my climbing rope and do not use a tether. I am comfortable with a crotch way up over my head. If I've got a branch under my feet, I can make room for a shot across basically 360°.
My saddle is very comfortable and I'm able to vary the amount of weight on my legs and the branch without adjusting my friction hitches. Sure, a platform is a handy device. But I don't know how I would have installed one on a tree this thick. I also just enjoy the challenge of not using one, and I hate to carry anything I don't absolutely need, because I have some pretty long walks in and out frequently.
I understand and agree with anyone who would say that we don't want to use a throw ball in the dark. If I was in that situation, I would likely just stay on the ground until there was enough light for me to pick my tree and that I would not be too aggressive and not for try for anything that I didn't think I could hit on the first throw. But I always like to be prepared, and on a morning hunt, I like to know where I am going. Just like it would be difficult to use a throw ball in the dark, and it's difficult to see if we have shooting Lanes in the dark. And that's going to be a problem no matter how we climb. Another thing for us to recognize is that the woods we hunt in might look awfully different. My words are generally pretty thick and shooting lanes are not a given thing. The average Tree in my Woods has zero shooting Lanes or maybe one... On private property, I have permission to trim them, and I do so when I put up my presets on my exploratory walks.
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