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How long to get out of the tree and walking back?

How long to get out of the tree, pack, and be walking out??

  • Less than 5 minutes.

    Votes: 14 23.0%

  • 5-10 minutes

    Votes: 29 47.5%

  • 10+

    Votes: 18 29.5%

  • Pick my bucket up and go.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    61
MattMan81

MattMan81

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
5,022
Location
The Mitten
So a lot of conversation about how long to get up the tree to hunt. What about coming down? @kyler1945 made a comment about time to descend with a platform vs the amount of time to un tangle ropes on the brush and sticks if you rappel. Would not rappelling actually save you time?
So on an average evening hunt where you don't come down until after shooting light. How long does that pack up take you on average. Yes the hunt is over. But that's still extra time you are messing around in the woods.
To be fair. Base this on no pre packing. You hunt hard right until it's time to call it. You start the clock and go. What would you say your descent to walking time takes on average.
 
I know mine is consistently between 3-5 minutes once I have a few times a year to get dialed in. One so inclined could do yard practice. Probably should. I know because some nights I am really rushing home to help with bedtime so I don't have to sleep in the doghouse.

Pack everything I can in the tree. Undress to my hiking out clothes in the tree. Fanny pack on. Milk every last minute of shooting light.

Very last thing I do unnock arrow, lower bow.

Pull stand and stick, strap together, rappel down with them on my back.

On the ground first thing I do is deal with all those miserable tangly ropes. It takes all of 30 seconds. I always reading about all this trouble people have with pulling their rappel rope down, but I just don't get it. I've done the climb of shame a couple times, but it's due to forgetting to move the fender washers I use as a tether keeper. Otherwise, no issues. Learn to coil a rope for crying out loud.

With ropes coiled, wrapped, and put away, just pack it all on my stand and I'm off. 5 minutes tops. If I'm really flying, 3.

Stay organized and have a system. Nothing good happens when you have a yard sale out there.
 
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Three to four minutes to 2TC down, put items back into pack in order. Bow hanger, then ring of steps, then the two tethers, then the knee pads, then saddle. Now it is packed for next time. Detach bow rope and figure 8 it. Stow it in front pocket of pack. All that takes 3 to 4 minutes. Put pack on back, pick up bow, walk out. So, from when I call it a day at hunting height to when I walk away from the tree is 6 to 8 minutes.

If I'm on the ground with the Torges seat like yesterday, unhook the seat, wrap the rope, stuff it in the pack and go, like 2 minutes tops.
 
For me it depends, mainly on my clothing. I wear thin base layers in and out. So after my hunts I have to strip down and pack up my clothes. I’d say quietly, less than 15. Tearing down my stand and sticks is pretty quick maybe 5-10 minutes. That’s slow and quiet though. Total time for me includes taking boots off, putting them back up. Strap everything down.
 
My heading out process at dark is quicker than setting up. A big part of it is because I carry my sticks (4 Hawk Helium w/daisy chain) out in my hands at dark. Versus if/when I walk in during legal shooting hours, the sticks are on my pack so I can be able to shoot if needed. So, under 10 but over 5. Usually I have my in tree gear packed in 2 mins, down and sticks hanging on my waist in 4 or so, and sticks tied together and gear hoist packed back up in another 2 mins. Then headed towards the truck. I will be practicing/hopefully transitioning to 2TC (no rappell) next season so we’ll see how much that effects my times.
 
I haven't timed it so I voted 5-10. I don't think 5 or less is out of the question. Like Elk and NMS said, have a system. Know where everything goes and it's pretty simple. Layers only come off on top if they went on, I don't mess around with bottoms in the woods
 
I'm quicker after dark than mid day packing up. hunting until the end of legal light means I have to break down my gear hanger and lower my bow and pack, begin my 2TC down, after the first move or two take my platform/ROS off and attach to my saddle, finish my 2TC down the tree, which is faster than my climb up by a long shot. Once on the ground the rope I used to lower my bow and pack gets coiled up, then my two tethers than my pack goes on my back and I start walking. conservatively it's between 5-10 minutes, I could do it faster if I didn't worry about stealth, but still pretty quick and streamlined with very little "fussing" over getting things packed back up
 
Bolts or bolts/aider - 2-3 minutes from start of climb down to walking away.

Sladder and single stick with aider 5 minutes from starting climb down to walking away.

Above doesn’t include clothes packing - that’s always the same regardless of method.

I don’t bring enough stuff in a tree for it to need to be packed.

Any other method takes me significantly longer total time involved from start to finish so I currently don’t use them. I’d rather not get into a tree.


Unless the wife wants to hunt. Then I bring sticks. I hate sticks. Can’t wait to get her some practice with sladder
 
Is the scenario:

You hit a timer once you want to go. You time hooking up bow, lowering it, getting everything in your pack, taking down your platform, and then descending safely while taking down sticks/steps whatever, and then pack up on the ground and be starting to walk to vehicle?

If so, I can't imagine doing that quietly and safely in under 10 minutes while keeping my gear somewhat organized.
 
elk yinzer said:
What gear is there to pack? Like filming gear? Other than taking off my cold weather gear, I don't really have any other gear.
Click to expand...

If it doesn’t fit in a bino harness and small hip pouch or pockets, it doesn’t belong in a tree on a deer hunt for me.

Exception:food and water if it’s an all day sit or a super hot long walk type day. For 1/2 mile and under from access half day hunts, I’m amazed at the stuff that gets brought to hunt
 
elk yinzer said:
What gear is there to pack? Like filming gear? Other than taking off my cold weather gear, I don't really have any other gear.
Click to expand...

I put my saddle and ropes in my back and also my climbing gear (sticks or steps) and also wrap up my cord I lower my bow with and then put my pack on correctly (up on hip bones).
 
I have timed it. 30-40 minutes from the time I stop hunting up in the tree to when I start walking on the ground. The variable is the amount of clothing I’m wearing due to the temperature outside. The process is pretty much the same: Lower bow, unscrew hooks, attach lineman’s rope, remove platform and lower to ground, climb down, removing 5 sticks as I go, put pull up rope back into saddle, remove saddle, pack sticks into platform, remove heavy layers, pack everything up into backpack, put boots back on. No way all that can be done in “3-5 minutes”.
 
Maverick1 said:
I have timed it. 30-40 minutes from the time I stop hunting up in the tree to when I start walking on the ground. The variable is the amount of clothing I’m wearing due to the temperature outside. The process is pretty much the same: Lower bow, unscrew hooks, attach lineman’s rope, remove platform and lower to ground, climb down, removing 5 sticks as I go, put pull up rope back into saddle, remove saddle, pack sticks into platform, remove heavy layers, pack everything up into backpack, put boots back on. No way all that can be done in “3-5 minutes”.
Click to expand...
So even if you didn't change your clothes you couldn't hit the 5 minute mark??
 
Red Beard said:
HARD derailment here...

Bro you got married!?!? Don't know how I missed that. CONGRATULATIONS MAN!!!

And now please return to your regularly scheduled program.
Click to expand...


I view marriage in America much like I view climbing a tree:

- significant tail risks that are underestimated by most folks engaging in the behavior

- these tail risks only make sense with a significant upside worth betting on



The tax incentives and betting half of everything I own that we’ll tolerate each other enough to share the same house till one of us dies, only made sense once we decided to have a litter and got that process rolling.

Yes, she’s annoyed by the way I view the world too. Don’t worry, it’s not just y’all. Just distracted her long enough to set the anchor.
 
kyler1945 said:
Above doesn’t include clothes packing - that’s always the same regardless of method.

I don’t bring enough stuff in a tree for it to need to be packed.
Click to expand...


Maverick1 said:
No way all that can be done in “3-5 minutes”.
Click to expand...


An important detail is leaving all the things you do regardless of climbing method out.


Baking it back in as a percentage of time spent doing all huntjng related activities is a good exercise if that makes sense to you.

I just try to carve the riskiest and most annoying thing I do out from the rest and manage it on its own.

I have timed myself several times from standing up on my platform to walking away from the tree in under 5 minutes.
 
I've timed myself a couple of times this year. 12-13 minutes pretty consistently. Remove arrow and lower bow. Remove gear hanger strap and put it away. Remove tether and put it away. Rappel down a couple of feet and remove my platform and hook on the back of my saddle. Rappel to the bottom of the tree. Pull down rappel rope, coil, and stuff in backpack. Attach platform to backpack. Coil up paracord pull down/pull up rope and put it away. Seems like it shouldn't take that long, but I don't know how to do it any faster...
 
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