Simple SRT preset discovery: Pull up, bow line and pull down rope, all one loop.

[parsnip]

EDIT/PSA: Don't do this. It works sometimes and is slick. But sometimes it ties itself up in inexplicable ways 40' in the air, and the process of dealing with it, proximate to the the buck's bedding area you've been working on, in the dark, then in gray light, then at sunrise then hearing "SNORT" as you pull on the paracord and get blisters sucks. Going forward, I'm looking at presets like this:

• no continuous loop.
• One long piece of paracord, tied together into a loop with a slip not, at the base, to keep from losing it.
• Arrive at tree, untie loop, and tie one end to end of rope.
• Position rope, and leave paracord attached to the end, so it is easy to reposition at end.
• Leave a pull down paracord line attached just past the figure 8, and use this as my bow pull up rope too.

It worked in the yard...

I'm gonna put this at the bottom too, so I don't mess up anyone's game...


Hey all,

So I'm working out transitioning from MRS/DRT climbing to SRT climbing. Or at least adding it into the mix. I like DRT, but it is sometimes a hassle/slow/sweaty, and it is especially a pia on leaning trees. And I like messing around and trying out different stuff. I've got preset paracord loops I use for the DRT in the spots I hunt, and I was just playing around in my yard, about how to use them for SRT, and I think I figured out something useful, and minimalist re: presets that might be of use to someone. I hope so. Also, interested in feedback from folks about it.

One continuous pre set paracord loop can do it all:

• Pull line for the SRT rope, putting girth hitch up high without needing to double the rope length of your climb (lots of folks write on here about how to do this)
• Pull your bow up
• AND it serves as your pull down line to get your rope out of the tree.

Ok, here it goes:

1. First: Getting the rope positioned: Tie your paracord loop to the end of your SRT rope that does not have the figure 8 bight (or triangle, or whatever you are using in in it). On the end, I use the hot nail method, with a 3" loop of paracord always in the end of my rope. Pull on one side of the paracord loop so your rope goes up and over. When the end of your rope is coming back down at you and your figure 8 bight starts to rise up off the ground...
2. Slip the section of paracord loop that is pulling down through the figure 8 bight, so the paracord will pull your rope through it and end up with a girth hitch around the tree. This folks have written about a bunch before, and it is cool, because you don't have to use a rope 2x the length of your climb. But here is the thing I'm stoked about...
3. Before that figure 8 bite (or triangle or whatever you use) is out of reach: Tie the side of the paracord loop that is moving up behind it, in the same spot where most folks attach their pull down line.
4. Once that is done, keep pulling. The end of your rope will go through the figure 8 bight, and then get down to eye level. Untie it, and keep on pulling on it till the bight is snugly girth hitched around your limb or trunk. Your paracord loop will still be hanging down from the tree, and will be tied to your SRT rope, just behind your figure 8 (or triangle, or whatever)
5. Now for the bow pull: Take your paracord loop, and slip it through one of the holes in the top cam of your bow, then girth hitch the end of the paracord loop around your stabilizer.
6. Climb the tree.
7. Pull up the bow.
8. Ungirth hitch the paracord from your stabilizer, and either drop the loop back down, or bunch it up and put it in your pack. (Note: if you don't like to climb with your pack on, you can tie it to the end of your climbing rope before you climb, and pull it up once you are settled.)
9. Kill a massive buck with a crazy atypical rack, via a perfect double lung shot, and watch him run right to your parked vehicle and crash. Have a smoke. Descend.
10. Getting your rope down: Once you are on the ground again, pull your paracord loop in the opposite direction, and your rope comes right down again.

And there you have it. One preset loop gets your rope up, your bow up, and your rope down. I know it isn't earth shattering, but I like it whenever I find a way to have one component serve multiple functions. Anyone doing this? Feedback? Ideas to make it better?

 

[bj139]

It sounds like you have it worked out well. I use mason's twine at 1/4 the cost per loop but I have a piece of paracord tied to my climbing line loop at all times. Here is another thread that may be of interest.

Lost 35' of predator rope...frustrated

So i was able to get to my preset location of a tree on draw hunt. I was about 28 feet up this huge oak and was standing on the branch. I came down and my preset rope was still looped around the branch I used to get up the tree. As I pulled my rope down, I did not see the 550 cord going...

saddlehunter.com

Just thinking through this; don't you want to leave the loop in the tree for your next hunt?

 

[parsnip]

Yes. The loop stays up there the whole time. It just does work going one way (pulling the rope up and through itself), and then the other way (pulling the figure 8 bight back down). But the loop never comes down. I've found w/ crotches and bark, etc, sometimes I have to really pull hard on the paracord, so i avoided fishing braid or masons twine just because I figured it would be hard on my hands and more likely to cut a groove in the bark. But is it working for you?

 

[bj139]

Yes. The loop stays up there the whole time. It just does work going one way (pulling the rope up and through itself), and then the other way (pulling the figure 8 bight back down). But the loop never comes down. I've found w/ crotches and bark, etc, sometimes I have to really pull hard on the paracord, so i avoided fishing braid or masons twine just because I figured it would be hard on my hands and more likely to cut a groove in the bark. But is it working for you?

The rope is light so the mason's twine has plenty of strength to pull it up and no hand problems like I have pulling my 17lb pack up and down with the paracord. If I let it slip I will get a paracord burn. I can just walk into Lowes or HD and select from several different size rolls of mason's twine.

 

[loujo61]

I'd say getting the shorter SRT rope up in place with the paracord loop would work but when getting it back down in reverse it seems that the working end of the rope would be hard to fish back through the loop. Plus if the paracord got rapped around the rope you could get a reel birdie when you pulled it back up through the loop. Interesting though

 

[parsnip]

Gotcha. For my DRT rope, there are some trees where I really need to pull hard to get it through.

The rope is light so the mason's twine has plenty of strength to pull it up and no hand problems like I have pulling my 17lb pack up and down with the paracord. If I let it slip I will get a paracord burn. I can just walk into Lowes or HD and select from several different size rolls of mason's twine.

 

[parsnip]

I'd say getting the shorter SRT rope up in place with the paracord loop would work but when getting it back down in reverse it seems that the working end of the rope would be hard to fish back through the loop. Plus if the rope and paracord got rapped around the rope you could get a reel birdie when you pulled it back up through the loop. Interesting though

I dunno. When I was trying it tonight, it just acted like I was pulling down the rope w/ a separate piece of paracord like everyone else does (clipped beind the figure 8/triangle). I guess it could get tangled up. It didn't though. I'll play around with it some more and see if it gets gummed up. Right now, I'm digging the simplicity of just one loop.

 

[loujo61]

I dunno. When I was trying it tonight, it just acted like I was pulling down the rope w/ a separate piece of paracord like everyone else does (clipped beind the figure 8/triangle). I guess it could get tangled up. It didn't though. I'll play around with it some more and see if it gets gummed up. Right now, I'm digging the simplicity of just one loop.

Maybe attaching the paracord to the loop or quick link somehow before descending might work... Is that what you're doing?

 

[parsnip]

Yeah. That's what I'm doing. While I'm on the ground, getting the rope positioned, as the bight/figure 8 starts to rise up, I'm tying the side of the paracord loop which is rising as well to the rope, just behind the bight/figure 8 (with a really straight forward set of half hitches). They rise up together. When I'm back on the ground, pull the paracord loop in the other direction, and the SRT rope just comes back down. Make sense?

 

[loujo61]

Yeah. That's what I'm doing. While I'm on the ground, getting the rope positioned, as the bight/figure 8 starts to rise up, I'm tying the side of the paracord loop which is rising as well to the rope, just behind the bight/figure 8 (with a really straight forward set of half hitches). They rise up together. When I'm back on the ground, pull the paracord loop in the other direction, and the SRT rope just comes back down. Make sense?

Now I'm getting the picture, yup that makes sense

 

[bj139]

Do you untie the paracord loop to do all these operations? If no, I would have to try this to see what tangles I could create. I have been able to ungirth hitch my mason's twine loop from my rope before pulling up since I have 50 feet of rope and don't want to cut it.

 

[parsnip]

Do you untie the paracord loop to do all these operations? If no, I would have to try this to see what tangles I could create. I have been able to ungirth hitch my mason's twine loop from my rope before pulling up since I have 50 feet of rope and don't want to cut it.

I didn’t. I just left it as a loop. Sort of like a dumb waiter that brings the rope up and down.

 

[bj139]

I didn’t. I just left it as a loop. Sort of like a dumb waiter that brings the rope up and down.

That's how I use my mason's twine but I just pull the rope up with it, nothing more.

 

[Newhunter1]

It sounds like you have it worked out well. I use mason's twine at 1/4 the cost per loop but I have a piece of paracord tied to my climbing line loop at all times. Here is another thread that may be of interest.

Lost 35' of predator rope...frustrated

So i was able to get to my preset location of a tree on draw hunt. I was about 28 feet up this huge oak and was standing on the branch. I came down and my preset rope was still looped around the branch I used to get up the tree. As I pulled my rope down, I did not see the 550 cord going...

saddlehunter.com

Just thinking through this; don't you want to leave the loop in the tree for your next hunt?

I'll be headed back to get the rest of my rope this week.

 

[parsnip]

Oof. That is a bummer! Doing DRT this fall, I never had that happen. Lots of shenanigans with throw line and bags getting gummed up though, at first. I’m not sure how this would happen w the SRT preset situation I’m talking about though. As the paracord is just spinning in a continuous loop.

 

[parsnip]

EDIT/PSA: Don't do this. It works sometimes and is slick. But sometimes it ties itself up in inexplicable ways 40' in the air, and the process of dealing with it, proximate to the the buck's bedding area you've been working on, in the dark, then in gray light, then at sunrise then hearing "SNORT" as you pull on the paracord and get blisters sucks. Going forward, I'm looking at presets like this:

• no continuous loop.
• One long piece of paracord, tied together into a loop with a slip not, at the base, to keep from losing it.
• Arrive at tree, untie loop, and tie one end to end of rope.
• Position rope, and leave paracord attached to the end, so it is easy to reposition at end.
• Leave a pull down paracord line attached just past the figure 8, and use this as my bow pull up rope too.

It worked in the yard...

 

[loujo61]

I had a rough time getting the end of my rope fished through the quick link that was 8' over my head, I just clipped on my bow pull line on the link instead of tangling it up in the loop. i will bring my 65' rope for SRT/DRT next time and just use the 40' rope for one sticking/repelling

 

[parsnip]

Hmmm. I can’t imagine not being able to thread it through the quick link/or loop. Did you do the hot nail thing, w a little paracord loop in it?

 

[loujo61]

Hmmm. I can’t imagine not being able to thread it through the quick link/or loop. Did you do the hot nail thing, w a little paracord loop in it?

What's the hot nail thing? I put three half hitches on the rope end. i think with a tri-link (bigger hole) it would be easier

 

[parsnip]

I can’t find the thread where I learned about it, but you get a framing nail hot w a propane torch, and poke a hole in the rope about an inch from the end. Then make a little loop out of paracord, and then either wrap w electric tape or electric shrink tube. Makes a slick transition.