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How do you pull up your bow??

Another vote for the rappel line. Here's how I put a smaller loop on the end:

Here are the tools that I use- I start with a 2mm double point knitting needle to make the initial hole thru the rope, then follow with the 3mm & 5mm pointed crochet hooks to make the hole bigger (all of these are available at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or Amazon.)

7686A94A-7319-42BB-B87C-1C80CBEA8BA0.jpeg
Then I feed a loop of dyneema thru opposing sides using the long puller in the pic above:
01E456AE-EFF3-4206-A103-9686C96B0E29.jpeg
Then, I cover it with a piece of heat shrink-then I'm done!
4059B8A5-11D0-472A-B6C5-CCBA61FC00F5.jpeg

2450D62C-BBC7-481E-BF76-9ACBED0EBE0C.jpeg
I just feed the dyneema thru the top of my bow, & clip a plastic 'biner thru it & the rappel rope, & she's ready to hoist up when I need her!
 
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raisins said:
I think it's just a minimalist dividing line thing. I have a Doyle's and fully agree it is easier, but I don't want extra stuff hanging off me. So, I'm willing to put up with the inconvenience of the cord in order to have one less relatively big thing hanging off me.

I don't think anyone assumes folks can't do the figure 8 out of malice. I think we (rightly) assume that the average hunter doesn't know this trick and just uses the cord by wrapping in a basic loop and then tossing it on the ground around the bow. So, we make sure people know about the figure 8 when these discussions arise. It is a reasonable assumption and thing to point out. No offense is intended or should be taken.
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I agree completely with your minimalist dividing line comment. If you know how to wrap a figure 8 well it basically comes down to the slight inconvenience of wrapping your cord vs the slight inconvenience of the weight and bulk of a Doyle's.

Sorry for sounding cranky. Didn't mean it as harsh as it sounded.
 
Arrowsquirrel said:
I agree completely with your minimalist dividing line comment. If you know how to wrap a figure 8 well it basically comes down to the slight inconvenience of wrapping your cord vs the slight inconvenience of the weight and bulk of a Doyle's.

Sorry for sounding cranky. Didn't mean it as harsh as it sounded.
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I might have to break out the ol' Doyles this year when I plan to do all day hunts (and change spots midday), especially when not walking too far. Or when I go somewhere new and might have to reposition because I picked a bad tree.
 
I have used paracord and now I am using 7/64" amsteel. With either setup I attach a heavy duty mini carabiner on both ends. On end gets attached to my bow to pull it up and the other end to my saddle. When I reach hunting height, I pull up my bow, hang my bow and immediately attach that end of the amsteel/paracord behind my delta link on my rappel/tether rope so I can use it to pull down the rope when I get to ground. I remove the end attached to my saddle and figure eight it and store it laying on top of my pack that is hung on the tree. This way I see it and drop it before I rappel. I switched to amsteel because it is stronger and it could serve many uses other than as a pull down rope.
 
I have an old pull up rope with a clip on the end. Been using the same one for 25+ years and haven't seen any need to change. It's light, and pretty much fail proof. It's the last thing that comes out of my left pocket before I climb and the first thing back in when I come down.

It used to be tied to the left side of my climber, but I've moved on to better things...
 
Carry everything up on my back going up and generally the same coming down. Nothing touches the ground. Occasionally I will let my xbow down with the other end of my Dynaglide line that I use to pull my rope down. I put 40’ of dynaglide into a Harbor Freight dog leash, used it a couple of times. I agree, a retractable line is really nice, I just didn’t think 1 min of total use during a 6hr hunt was worth carrying it for several miles. So, went back to figure 8 Dynaglide.
 
TradBowGuy said:
Another vote for the rappel line. Here's how I put a smaller loop on the end:

Here are the tools that I use- I start with a 2mm double point knitting needle to make the initial hole thru the rope, then follow with the 3mm & 5mm pointed crochet hooks to make the hole bigger (all of these are available at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or Amazon.)

View attachment 82686
Then I feed a loop of dyneema thru opposing sides using the long puller in the pic above:
View attachment 82687
Then, I cover it with a piece of heat shrink-then I'm done!
View attachment 82688

View attachment 82689
I just feed the dyneema thru the top of my bow, & clip a plastic 'biner thru it & the rappel rope, & she's ready to hoist up when I need her!
Click to expand...
This is same thing I have gone to!
 
raisins said:
did you try it with dynaglide? I haven't, if so maybe that's why? i'm using 550 paracord (standard size)
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Yes, both Dynaglide and paracord. Worked out well enough in the yard but as soon as I was actually hunting things fell apart rather dramatically. To the extent that I stopped by Harbor Freight on the way home from the field and assembled my gizmo after I put the little one to bed. I tried a number of different ways to finish it. Mostly carried it in a pocket in my pack or a pouch on my belt. I really wanted it to work because it's such a simple (and cheap) technique. I'm glad it works out for you but I won't be going back to it any time soon.
 
I use my climbing line as it is already in use. I like to use one piece of equipment for multiple purposes.
 
Zero One Actual said:
I wear mine on my pack. Everything comes up at once for me. Im a traditional four sticks and a platform guy.
Stick one goes on at ground level. Platform and stick 3 and 4 get attached to tether. Sticks on the sides and platform on me bum. Stick 2 goes on as I’m on stick 1. I wear my pack and have an invention called the bow spider on the top of my pack that my bow attaches to. I can also attach it to my pack for longer walks and be totally hands free.

I also do the figure eight 550 cord method as well as a backup because it’s so light and takes up no space.
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This^^^ I 1 stick, but everything goes up with me, my bow on my pack. At height, I pull out my gear cord, hang my pack, then remove bow and hang on other side of tree. I do let my bow down before I rappel. I use paracord which is also my rope retrieve assistant……can’t forget that!
 
The number of u guys that play out ur entire rappel rope is surprising to me....do u guys leave it hanging or are u taking out and putting away the rope 4 times for 1 tree climb?

I like the auto retract of the gizmo... The extra little bit of weight is worth it to me. I have a doyels and the muddy 1 and they both about the same except the doyels is webbing which I like better. I had 550 cord, gutted 550, and mule tape prior to breaking down and buying the doyels and am proficient at 8 of the rope for tangle free. The gizmo is less problematic and it's a time saver......but, I had got to the point of ditching the gizmo because I was constantly changing my hunting gear while learning what worked best for me and punching holes and adding grommets and trying to figure out how to use in small fancy packs etc was getting kinda old. Once they started making the little pouch to store it in and made it modular to anything with molle loops I haven't ever questioned it's worth again. I use a separate length of mule tape for my rappel pull down rope. I keep my rappel rope in a pouch on my saddle and don't remove except what is needed to tether in and hunt...with the pouch top open the rope will play out as I rappel and u use only what is needed.....majority of my climbs are around 10-12 foot and that's all the rope that ever comes out of the pouch and nothing dangling when up there waiting to shoot at stuff
 
Weldabeast said:
The number of u guys that play out ur entire rappel rope is surprising to me....do u guys leave it hanging or are u taking out and putting away the rope 4 times for 1 tree climb?

I like the auto retract of the gizmo... The extra little bit of weight is worth it to me. I have a doyels and the muddy 1 and they both about the same except the doyels is webbing which I like better. I had 550 cord, gutted 550, and mule tape prior to breaking down and buying the doyels and am proficient at 8 of the rope for tangle free. The gizmo is less problematic and it's a time saver......but, I had got to the point of ditching the gizmo because I was constantly changing my hunting gear while learning what worked best for me and punching holes and adding grommets and trying to figure out how to use in small fancy packs etc was getting kinda old. Once they started making the little pouch to store it in and made it modular to anything with molle loops I haven't ever questioned it's worth again. I use a separate length of mule tape for my rappel pull down rope. I keep my rappel rope in a pouch on my saddle and don't remove except what is needed to tether in and hunt...with the pouch top open the rope will play out as I rappel and u use only what is needed.....majority of my climbs are around 10-12 foot and that's all the rope that ever comes out of the pouch and nothing dangling when up there waiting to shoot at stuff
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When I get to the tree I put my one stick on and attach my quick link. Then pull the rest of my rappel line out and hook the loop on the end to my bow. Climb, pull up bow and put rappel rope back in roll pouch. Easier than figure eight a cord.
 
If I’m DRT climbing I tie my bow or gun to the end of my Sampson predator rope. If I’m using sticks or any other method, I pull my bow or gun up using paracord.
 
I have a Doyle’s and one of the HSS hoists. I like the functionality of the Doyle’s more but the HSS is just more compact and easy to attach to a pack/saddle/harness etc. I think I’m going to use the grommet method for my Doyle’s with it inside my pack.
 
Weldabeast said:
The number of u guys that play out ur entire rappel rope is surprising to me....do u guys leave it hanging or are u taking out and putting away the rope 4 times for 1 tree climb?
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When I get to the tree, I ground my pack and weapon a few paces away from the trunk (so if I fall or drop something I won't crush my scope or fall on sharpened broadheads), set my stick and main line, clip in my dog leash and tie my pack onto the end of my rappel line. I "butterfly coil" my main line as per @John RB video so everything pays out smoothly, I just make sure that it pays out from the top of the coil rather than the bottom. Work slowly and quietly. When I get to height I set my tether and gear hanger, pull up and hang my bow, and finally haul up my pack, coiling my line as I do so. I generally stash my coil loosely in my hanging pack, or strapped to the outside.

Going back down the tree, my process depends on my pack. If it's just (soft) extra layers, I'll just toss it down. If I've decided to stash my bino pack in it, or have a (noisy) Thermos in it, I'll pass the end of my main line through the carry handle or pack strap, tie the end off to my linesman's loop, and lower it as if it were on a pulley. I'll generally pendulum-swing it away from the tree so I don't accidentally step (or fall, etc.) on it at the end of my rappel. Since I'm using my dog leash as my pulldown rope, I can't lower my bow on it, so I finally tie the end of my main line to my riser and (gently!) lower it on top of my pack. On the ground, I'll coil my line again and stash it in the MOLLE waist pack I carry it in. So I'm really only putting it all-the-way away once I'm back on the ground, even if I do manipulate it more often than that. It might sound like a hassle but I've never had issues with tangles or snarls so it goes pretty smoothly and silently, even if I am making some pretty big arm movements while coiling it. I guess I could use my waist pack as a stuff sack, and thereby stash my rope in the tree with less movement, but honestly never thought of doing so until just now.
 
Iron_llama said:
When I get to the tree, I ground my pack and weapon a few paces away from the trunk (so if I fall or drop something I won't crush my scope or fall on sharpened broadheads), set my stick and main line, clip in my dog leash and tie my pack onto the end of my rappel line. I "butterfly coil" my main line as per @John RB video so everything pays out smoothly, I just make sure that it pays out from the top of the coil rather than the bottom. Work slowly and quietly. When I get to height I set my tether and gear hanger, pull up and hang my bow, and finally haul up my pack, coiling my line as I do so. I generally stash my coil loosely in my hanging pack, or strapped to the outside.

Going back down the tree, my process depends on my pack. If it's just (soft) extra layers, I'll just toss it down. If I've decided to stash my bino pack in it, or have a (noisy) Thermos in it, I'll pass the end of my main line through the carry handle or pack strap, tie the end off to my linesman's loop, and lower it as if it were on a pulley. I'll generally pendulum-swing it away from the tree so I don't accidentally step (or fall, etc.) on it at the end of my rappel. Since I'm using my dog leash as my pulldown rope, I can't lower my bow on it, so I finally tie the end of my main line to my riser and (gently!) lower it on top of my pack. On the ground, I'll coil my line again and stash it in the MOLLE waist pack I carry it in. So I'm really only putting it all-the-way away once I'm back on the ground, even if I do manipulate it more often than that. It might sound like a hassle but I've never had issues with tangles or snarls so it goes pretty smoothly and silently, even if I am making some pretty big arm movements while coiling it. I guess I could use my waist pack as a stuff sack, and thereby stash my rope in the tree with less movement, but honestly never thought of doing so until just now.
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See? that's what's cool...some dumbie asks a silly question and u think of something u hadn't considered before....there's really no wrong way as long as u being safe..
 
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