Ok since you probably won't take my tannerite suggestion this is how I do it for real. That was about a 24 inch oak. Threw a line over, then used the line to pull a chain around it. Then anchored the winch to another big oak and pulled it down. Took 15 minutes to set up but only 5 seconds to pull it down. That's really one of the only safe ways.
Yeah, this thing is scary. I won't go back in the woods until next weekend at best. I really wonder how mother nature of going to take care of this on her own. We had Darth near record winds, and it's still there. Yes Dennis, zooming in, it's barely hanging in there. I want to hope that some of the suggestions brought up really didn't see how precarious the hinge is.
Yeah, that's a good way. My only thing is that the top of the tree is up there. It's well over 20' up, probably 25' + in reality. One of those rope guns would be gooder.
Get some rope and tie something with weight to the end. You can make what they call a monkeys fist around a rock. You can throw a line with a weight 20 feet really easily. Then use that line to pull a cable, thick rope, strap or chain up and around. Easy peasey
Leave it alone and let the good Lord take care of it. One two inch snowfall and it's coming down by itself. God Bless FWIW, you appear to have a deer problem. Shoot some deer.
I didn't think about a snowfall adding weight and swaying the trees. What would clue you in on the deer "problem"? There are always deer here. I just hunt up in the northwoods of Wisconsin. However, I might pick up bowhunting again, or do muzzleloader season down here.
You mean the lack of low browse? This woods had always been like that. Trails for the tractor/ sleds and quad.
Yep. There is absolutely zero woody browse. Not even shade tolerant browse. Which is usually far less favored. So, when it isn't available, you've got a serious forest problem. l In time, if you don't correct it, species composition will suffer. I don't doubt for one bit your stand has always looked like that. I'd say a lot of Wisconsin stands have looked like that for a while. Proven by the decline the deer herd has suffered there. There are a lot of variables in that decline but, the leading variable in any deer population drop like your state has experienced is habitat quality related. God Bless
Watch that area where you took those beech trees for the next few years. More light should be getting to the forest floor and the beech roots should send up sprouts in abundance. Along with the stumps sending up shoots it should become a beech thicket. See how hard they get browsed. The test will be if any can get beyond browse height.
There isn't much holding that together and just looking at that thing scares me. Whatever you decide to do, think first and don't rush.
Horkn This is how I have done these trees in the past. I'm crap with a bag and throw line. Always have been. I've used something like this for many years now. Another example. Neither of these are my work btw. I think my reel is a cheapy diawa but anything that will handle around 100-150 yards of 20# hi vis monofilament will work. When I was doing this 15 years ago I just tossed the spool of line on the ground and shot the egg sinker into the tree. Didnt work the greatest, but it was better than my throw line skillz. You could probably put one together today for 20-30 bucks. Much cheaper than buying the APTA gun or the Big Shot. Get a good 200 ft 5/8 inch rigging rope and put a running bowline or similar knot in it. Sampson, New England, and Yale are a few that make great rope. I like the running bowline because it won't ruin your rope after being put under tension. And the knot will come out easy after your done. Attach to your puller of choice. Again bowline is your friend. Pull all the slack out and give it a little "tug" with a truck, tractor, come along, etc. near the bottom of the snag where it broke. Should come down pretty easy. Make no mistake, I'm not trying to trivialize this. Its a dangerous job for sure. Be safe brother. Wish I was closer to you I'd come over in a heartbeat and help you out.
I'd be there too if it weren't for the distance When I pulled that tree off the side of my buddy's house back in August, it took a lot of planning, with the house, power line and such at stake; not to mention my life, working in those conditions, et al. Be careful(as I'm sure you will Horkn) moving forward-whether you wait for it to come down on its own or not.
Sheesh. A 12 oz. throwbag and a hank of throwline will set you back about $25 and you'll have a way to deal with these in the future. I could hit that widowmaker on the first shot, blindfolded and standing on my head. I'll assume you own a rope, but if not, it's nice to have a good one around when you need it, and you don't need anything expensive for this stuff. A decent, 1/2" 3-strand rigging rope will fit the bill for the kind of stuff you're likely to encounter. About $50 for a 150-foot hank. You can learn to splice this rope watching a YouTube video and probably get it right on the first try. That thing will pull down off of there with just you pulling on it. Lawn tractor will for sure pull it down. If you need any help or have questions, feel free to PM me. With a little practice, you can easily hit a crotch in a tree at 40' and more with a throwline. And your neighbors will be in awe of your badazz skills. If you don't want to splice eyes into the rope ends, tape them up and melt the ends a little with a BIC lighter. A bowline knot is easy to learn and will get the job done. Just keep your distance until the thing is on the ground, there's no need to get within 20' of it, really.
I had a black locust nearly identical to that one, except it was about 40' up. It hung up there for at least a year or two through some pretty high wind events. I got a rope around it (2nd shot w/ throw bag) last fall, but I was still afraid to pull on it due to the proximity of the phone lines. I left the rope in it, and a week or two later, the top had snapped free of the trunk on it's own. However, the new problem I have (and it appears likely that you will too) is that the top did not drop free. It's still hung up in the other tree, cantilevered off of the ground.
Some heavy rain will help get that thing down too. The water can add a lot of weight and then some wind with the movement of the trees usually will take them down. We have one, elm I think that is similar but not nearly as high as yours. We'll be taking that one down soon and are amazed it hasn't came down on its own.
With all the farm fields around, there's no shortage of deer. The amount send to be sustainable as it's been like this for over 30 years.
I understand. I also know there is no shortage of deer, proven by the looks of the under story in your wood lot. Farm fields don't determine carrying capacity of the land either. Quality of woods habitat does. If your neighboring lands look like yours, that area is at the end of the road in terms of sustainability. It won't be too much longer before a bad winter, disease, or just a lack of cover and browse, find the herds that call your area home, decreasing in population count. Good luck and God Bless
I wish you were closer too. You've got a dolmar 7910 with extra bananas. I'm an eagle scout. Tying a knot or 3 isn't an issue, but I'm handy with a lighter and nylon rope too. Yes, I own some rope as well. I have a feeling that this top will come down with only a little effort if mother nature doesn't. There's really not much to that hinge.
