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High Limb removal

Started by beenthere, August 03, 2006, 07:31:39 PM

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beenthere

Came home this afternoon to find a 7" hickory limb hanging down, apparently loaded down with nuts and maybe broken in last week's wind. Break was up about 30' high, which was too high to reach on a ladder and I don't do the 'Chet' and 'Kevin' climbing tricks. 



So I got out the 12 ga shotgun and a box of slugs and some No. 8 shot shells. Laid in a few rounds of the slugs, with splinters flying everywhere, and a couple No 8 shot. Saw some progress.



I lassoo'd the end branches with a rope and pulled it tight to see where it was still holding.



I could tell there wasn't much left so I placed a couple more No 8 shots at this location, before giving it another tug.



I was concerned the limb would fall, stand on it's upper branches and the limb would fall against the house.  After breaking it loose with a final tug, and pulling the top quickly away from the base of the tree, all fell according to plan.



Now, after a dozen shotgun blasts, my shoulder really feels the abuse of aiming almost straight up into the tree.  ;D


south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Mike_Barcaskey

sorry beenthere, but that's really stupid
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Don P

 I saw the title and thought you might be asking advice. I was going to tell you how we used to get mistletoe. You done figgered it out, good shootin  ;D.

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

rebocardo

You know, this is EXACTLY the reason you need to own a Barrett .50 MG. All it would have taken was one or two rounds of HE to do the same job.   :D

pigman

You could have just cut the whole tree down. Then it would have been easy to remove the broken limb. ;) Or even better, get a lot bigger tractor. 8) A person only needs a small reason to get a big new toy. ;D
Bob
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

beenthere

I must have insulted Mike's profession. 
Sorry if I did, but this limb needed to be dislodged right away, and in 5 minutes, I had it down and not dangling over my drive.

I will take off the entire limb in a "professional" way with a nice clean cut when I have time. In the meantime, the 'blasted-off' limb stub left in the tree will just have to fend for itself and may even decay some, but will never heal over.  :o  There is still a split limb right beside the one I removed.

As for the lead flying, there are no houses or buildings for at least a mile in that direction to the East.

As for the sore shoulder, that is getting better be the minute. May be black and blue tomorrow though.

Puzzles me what was "stupid" about it.  Bro-noble has stupid cows. I wonder if he knows what was stupid.  ???

Mike.  What gives?  ::) ???

As for the rope pull, this was a lawn tractor and the rope wasn't stretched. Actually a single pull in two directions brought the limb down as planned.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Woodwalker

Some years ago when I was younger I made a living climbing and trimming trees. Wouldn't have given a second thought to climbing and taking out a limb.
I'm a lot older now and I've used tripple ought buck in a 12ga. to trim limbs back from a TV antenna.
Just cause your head's pointed, don't mean you are sharp.

Jeff

I sure dont see whats so stupid about it either. Probably no more stupid then me using the bow and arrow to shoot lines over high limbs for hoisting Christmas Stars. Probably no more stupid then Me giving Tom Stacy's air soft pistol today to shoot at ducks in our swimming pool. ;D
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Tom

Been there,
I can understand how you came up with your solution.  My sons and I used to shoot down mistletoe, with 22 shorts,  for them to take to school.  It was a lot of fun.  Course 22's don't bruise shoulders.  :)

Norm

Geezzzz beenthere what's next.....silos. ;D

Max sawdust

Quote from: Jeff B on August 03, 2006, 10:55:54 PM
Probably no more stupid then me using the bow and arrow to shoot lines over high limbs for hoisting Christmas Stars.. ;D

Hey I thought I was the only one with the bow and arrow with a string trick :D :D

Beenthere,   
I would not call it stupid, just a little odd ;)
max
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

Mike_Barcaskey

stupid being a broad term to cover a couple of issues
I think it's irresponsible to be shooting slugs up in the air like that. Miss the branch, how far is the slug going to go and where is it going to come down.
I think it is a waste of shotgun shells.
And it is poor tree care.

I in no way think you insulted "my profession". not even on my radar.
It's just not the healthiest thing for the tree. How many other wounds did you make that are now potential entry points for pathogens? And soneone still has to climb up there to cut the stub off at the branch collar.

And while I do think it is stupid, I'm not the All Powerful And Benevolent Ruler Of The Universe, so shoot away   ;D



It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Jeff

Generally us midwest or Lake state boys with guns are hunters. We are well aware of the power of the guns we use, the range they have and the consequences resulting from pulling the trigger. Having said that, many of us shoot in the air often with shot guns. Birds fly. Squirrels climb. Clay pigeons soar.  Shooting at a tree or something in a tree is a rather common occurance. Its not only common its fun and for us, not stupid or dangerous as we know what we are doing. We are responsible enough to know what lies beyond our shot and give it forthought. Shooting with a high powered rifle might be a little over kill, probably why beenthere chose to use a short range weapon. 

Come on Mike, what really up?  Its unlike you to second guess yer forum buddies. Fill the car with gas and take off for Michigan and the pig roast. I'll let ya shoot at ducks in our swimming pool. It does a body good.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Burlkraft

Hey Jeff,

Want some more ducks for the pool ??? ??? ???

We're just packin' up gettin' ready to leave........I got a couple I could bring ;D ;D ;D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Mike_Barcaskey

Quote from: Jeff B on August 04, 2006, 09:45:36 AM
Come on Mike, what really up?  Its unlike you to second guess yer forum buddies. Fill the car with gas and take off for Michigan and the pig roast. I'll let ya shoot at ducks in our swimming pool. It does a body good.

sigh, it's just not the correct way to do it. sorry, I should keep my trap shut.

I'd love to come out, no time or money to do so.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

beenthere

I'll accept Mike's concern for my actions.  But did consider them when coming to the conclusion that I was going to use up the old deer slugs that were just sitting on the back shelf (no longer use that old gun for deer hunting, as now I have a rifled-barrelled slug gun with a scope that is as accurate at 100 yards as my .308 rifles). The immediacy of the situation was expecting the UPS truck to drive in any moment with a delivery, and he would be stopping right under where that tree limb hung in the tree. By the looks of it, I thought at first it was hanging just by a few wood fibers and didn't even walk under it. I considered a ladder, but my 24' extension wouldn't reach the limb and I don't like cutting limbs that size standing on a ladder. The thing I don't like is not knowing where the stub will land after it is cut off, as it usually aims for the ladder from my previous episodes. Then I even considered briefly putting the ladder in the bucket on my loader tractor and raising it up to reach the limb, but I did a 'stupid' trick like that when I painted the side of a 50' barn when I was 16 and only had a 40' extension ladder inside a bucket on a small farm tractor (worked great until the ladder came down the side of the barn with me riding it down). Dropped that stupid idea.  :)  

Now, I'm jealous of those who are making it to the 'roast' of beenthere. Not planned, but it was expected, is a funeral that I need to attend at 2 pm tomorrow afternoon. My mind will wander to the fun you all are having, and I won't even be able to watch the webcam.  Going to be painful, for sure, for sure.
Considered the 'wound' to the tree, but that damage was already done, with the limb split horizontaly, along with a limb still remaining that is also broken. Being a shagbark hickory, they are not as prone to the tree suffering from transported disease through entry points like the red oaks are with oak wilt. It looks bad, but this tree will get a proper pruning when cool weather prevails.
As to using the shotgun and have bullets flying, as mentioned there are no houses within range, even if I had missed the limb. The heavy slugs do not go very far. Now if I was in town, it'd be a different story.
Considered making a pole saw long enough to reach with a 24' length of 1x2 redwood that I have under the deck and bolting a tree saw blade to the end of it. Figured I'd just get it pinched in the cut, but did give it serious consideration before continuing with the shotgun approach.
Thought about the great Silo Shoot, but didn't see near the fun or dramatics in what I was doing.
But never considered it 'stupid' or irresponsible or poor tree care, although my criteria for such are admittedly not at the same level of refinement or standards of others.  ;D
No hard feelings to Mike for pointing out where I might have gone astray (hey, it even crossed my mind to hire the tree arborist brother of my nearest neighbor to drop by with his boom truck and for a couple hundred, trim that tree - nah - I'd settle for Pigman's method of cutting it off at the ground before doing that, but I like this tree. It is a producer of some of the best quality hickory nuts of the 50 or so hickory trees I have on the premise).
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Mike_Barcaskey

ifn I was rich with lots of time, I'd come out and prune it (without spurs) for a couple of beers,
unfortunatley, I aint
please don't use the word refinement around me, I work real hard to keep some rough edges  :D
on the other hand pruning with a shotgun is just too redneck  ::)

funny thing is, over on Arboristsite, I'd probably be argueing for your side
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

PineNut

Quote from: Max sawdust on August 04, 2006, 07:56:03 AM

Hey I thought I was the only one with the bow and arrow with a string trick :D :D


Never used a bow and arrow but I have used a sling shot and string.  It works for me.

TeaW

Beenthere, thanks for the great post and pictures . That is why I come to this site to learn different way's to get things done,
TeaW

thurlow

I would guess that out of the 'who knows how many thousands of rounds' I've fired, the third highest number would have been into/at trees.  First highest would have wound up on or in the earth;  Second would be into the air (included in the first highest);  Also a few into living creatures.  I see no problem shooting into a tree, if you know what you're doing.  We won't talk about the .45 round I accidently discharged in the BN XO's office many, many moons ago and how many times it ricocheted around the room ;D
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

rebocardo

> And it is poor tree care.

Yes ... maybe ... though it looked fun  :D   I think it was a post that someone should not take too seriously  ;)

> how far is the slug going to go and where is it going to come down.

It was shot, shot straight up. It is going to come down 100 or so feet away and when it does, you would be lucky if it made it through a well built cardboard box. I do not think you can make it through a winter coat at 150 fee,t even if you tried, with shot. Though the results would be much different at 30 feet.

Ever see that episode of MythBusters about shooting up in the air?

> Hey I thought I was the only one with the bow and arrow with a string trick

I used a dog trainer before (slingshot for tennis balls) with a 5/16 or 3/8 shackle before I got my BIG SHOT.

FWIW: I would take a dangerous branch down with a shotgun over my driveway in 1/2 an hour then wait a day for someone else to take it down.

Dangerous would have been what Red Green would have done. Throw an electrical cord up there, pull the socket end down, DUCT TAPE the handle -ON- for an electric chain saw, and use the cord to pull the chain saw up there and position it up and down for the cutting  :D

Don P

I dunno, I prefer " Crimson Knaped"  :D :D

Woodwalker

I had a pole buddy that worked for a REA CoOP several years ago. He told me that during ice storms the CoOp would furnish shotguns and shells to the service men that would shoot and break the ice laden limbs that bridge the conductors causing the outages. A lot easier and quicker than cutting em.
Just cause your head's pointed, don't mean you are sharp.

barbender

I had an aspen I was falling hang up in the crotch of a birch, and I couldn't even pull that thing down with the skidder. So after wrestling it for quite a while, I finally got out my twelve guage, full choke and some 3" mag steel shot. Took about 5 or 6 shots if I remember right, took it right down. Sure was a lot safer than trying to cut that birch down with the other tree hung on it.  So Beenthere, I guess I'm saying I'm all for your method ;)
Too many irons in the fire

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