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Rappelling & pack up after hunt time

W

wardergy

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Messages
19
This is will be my 3rd season one sticking. I use the rappel line as my tether. Love it…except the amount of time it takes to pack up platform, etc., rappel, retrieve the rope and get ready to walk out. Everything goes in my backpack with nothing on the outside to snag brush walking in the swamps I hunt.
My concern is the amount of time I have my headlamp on while packing up, the noise and not feeling like I can sneak out of a spot that I snuck into. And the packing up timing is when the deer are up and active.
I hunt 30 days a year and feel well practiced but not happy with the last minutes of my hunts. I would estimate from hunt mode to hike out mode is 20 minutes.
Suggestions?


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Why is it taking you 20 minutes to rappel and coil 2 ropes and tossing it in a pack? That seems very, very long. I’m switching to one sticking after climbing up and down 4 sticks and a platform, and that felt like forever getting down, stacking everything up, and strapping to Eberlestock X2 pack.

In my practice I can’t see it taking more than 5 minutes to drop out of the tree, coil tope, and strap stuff to the Catquiver VII I bought.
 
Get a small bag (or use your pack) and just stuff your climbing rope in the bag. It won't tangle or twist and is far quicker and simpler than coiling your rope. I know you mentioned 1-sticking but if you do a base anchor SRT or DRT, the stuff sack method also keeps your rope off the ground (and dirt).
 
I'm faster packing out after I ditched the roll up pouch and went to a dump pouch for my rappel line. Roll up was just too finicky and hard to repack properly. It is great for deployment though.
 
Just throw your rope in your pack, carry your platform in your hands or throw it in the pack also. Shouldn't take anymore than 5 minutes.

Coil up and tidy everything at home before the next hunt. Besides that, just take your time and be quiet. Do you make a lot of noise setting up? You should be able to do the opposite moves packing up, except for the actual pull down of the rope and quick link.
 
MNFarmHunter said:
Get a small bag (or use your pack) and just stuff your climbing rope in the bag. It won't tangle or twist and is far quicker and simpler than coiling your rope. I know you mentioned 1-sticking but if you do a base anchor SRT or DRT, the stuff sack method also keeps your rope off the ground (and dirt).
Click to expand...

Check out the jrb YouTube channel on how he could his rope. That’s how I do it. It doesn’t take much more than a minute, if that to wrap up my 100’ of rope I have for the jrb climbing method. 50’ would be done I. No time and it’s easy.


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I’ll only ever coil rope for long-term storage. My rope never touches the dirt/ground. It pulls from my stuff sack, to the tree and back to the stuff sack. If it needs to dry or be washed, it’s loosely flaked onto a clean surface and once dry, it goes back into the stuff sack.

This comes from high-angle rescue training.


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MNFarmHunter said:
I’ll only ever coil rope for long-term storage. My rope never touches the dirt/ground.
Click to expand...
How do u do that trick? My rope lands on the ground every time I pull it down outta the tree

20 minutes does seem excessive. I keep my rappel rope in a pouch on my saddle. Just take out what is needed to hang/hunt and leave the rest in the pouch. I have my platform and climbing method put away on my vest before I hit the ground...at the base of the tree I pull the rope down (and it lands on the ground) and stuff rappel and pull down into the pouch and pick up my bow, double check I'm not forgetting anything, and walking off. 5 minutes....10 max. I take the pull down rope out back at the truck and recoil it and put it away correctly.....some problematic trees with lots of branches/vines or thick stuff surrounding the base of the trunk can really give u a headache and can take forever to get outta there thou
 
Same here as the others. Sometimes I pack up nicely. Most times I just stuff everything in my pack and reorganize at home.
 
I'm no expert in this. But the little bit I have seen from guys like the hunting beast, the big bucks should be out of the cover by then your hunting. So my thoughts are they should be plenty far enough away by then. Maybe? Asking.. might not be as big of deal as you think if the deer are out by then.
 
Looking at the big picture, it really doesn't matter if you take 2 mins to descend and packout or 10, or 20. The deer will know that you were there. Just like if a stranger comes into your house and walks through your living room and slightly rearranges some of the furniture while you are sleeping. Really doesn't matter how quickly they did it. They did it, and you'll know.

So you just have to make each hunt count. Only hunt that spot when conditions are absolutely ideal, and greatly minimize the amount of times that you return if you don't get success on that first critical hunt. In other words, don't burn out that spot.
 
I do wish my climb down time was faster. I don’t think it’s 20 min but it feels like it. I have been training myself to just enjoy it. Take the time and set it up nice for the next hunt. What’s the rush anyway?

I flake all my rope into my pack for years. I never coil it nice and have never had a knot.
 
I figure 8 the rappel rope over my elbow and across my forearm and around my arm and then fold in half. Works great, flaking does too but I think it saves time (minimal tho).

Last year I rappelled using a figure 8, this year I’m using a safeguard. I do think the safeguard saves a good amount of time compared to the figure 8. The figure 8 I need to set up properly vs the safeguard you just pull a lever.. Im not sure what you are using, but this is likely an area you could pick up time. Not a ton, but maybe 3-4 minutes max.
 
I’m not sure packing up any other method is much faster to be honest. I also just throw everything in my pack after a hunt and organize it once I’m back home.
 
I use a chalkline with petzel throwing line and a carabeaner to retrieve my rope, just drop the line and it'll unspool itself otw down quietly,pull it down and wrap it up rope fig 8 and have a bungee cord to hold it, hunting to heading out is 10 min max and I keep all my gear in the same place so no fiddling after, im always ready to go once I pack up on site for next hunt
 

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I try to not be in a hurry. I pack everything up correctly at the base of the tree the same exact way after every hunt, so I know right where everything is for the next hunt. I attach my climbing method to my pack, then set it and my bow aside. I then pull down my rappel rope, properly coil my bow hoist/pull down line, figure 8 my rappel rope with steel carabiner and madrock setup attached so it stows nicely in my dump pouch, grab my gear and go. From sitting comfortably in my saddle hunting to walking away from the tree is between 12-15 minutes.
 
I use a gri gri which works great for break down of platform and single stick. I use a dump pouch for rap/,tether line. Pouch is always on saddle.
I could skip coiling the ropes
I could not put platform in pack but I would lose a free hand
I should time the process because maybe it just feels like it’s 20 min but it is less


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Spartan said:
Looking at the big picture, it really doesn't matter if you take 2 mins to descend and packout or 10, or 20. The deer will know that you were there. Just like if a stranger comes into your house and walks through your living room and slightly rearranges some of the furniture while you are sleeping. Really doesn't matter how quickly they did it. They did it, and you'll know.

So you just have to make each hunt count. Only hunt that spot when conditions are absolutely ideal, and greatly minimize the amount of times that you return if you don't get success on that first critical hunt. In other words, don't burn out that spot.
Click to expand...

That is what I have been saying to myself recently. And I don’t feel that I over hunt my spots


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