Red Oak Hung Up

[Knute]

24" red oak hung up in white oak by branch about 6" in diameter. Do you think I can bust that limb with 12 ga. slugs to bring it down? If so, how many do you think it will take? I'll try to add a couple of pictures which are a little fuzzy.

 

 

[Southside]

What's down range when you miss? 

[Hooterspfld]

Think, I'd be more likely to attempt to drop the white oak and drop them both at once. . Looks like the lean and weight of the red oak combined with maybe a 20-25 degree lean from the white oak are both headed in the same direction. (hard to judge by the pictures though). Curious to see what the pros here suggest.

[doc henderson]

can you throw a chain on the base of the stump and winch it back to pull it out of the tree.  a come-along might work if you cannot get in there with equipment.

[Hans1]

I had a nice veneer walnut locked fork to fork with a big bur oak. I could pull the but of the walnut way off the ground but wouldn’t come out. The bur oak was a giant old wolf tree and I didn’t want cut it. I shot the walnut  limb with a 45/70 took about 8-10 shots but got it.  

[doc henderson]

that sounds like more fun anyway!

[hacknchop]

I usually just keep cutting em down until it works or I get to a clearing or field .

[Texas Ranger]

I have cut 5-6 inch sweet gum limbs with a .22 rimfire with a scope, not much over penetration if you watch your shots.  The whole idea is to break up fiber.

[Woodpecker52]

Dilbert says just shimmy up the trunk of the red oak and cut with a chainsaw after you tie off a rope around your waist  and unto the white oak. Carry an extra rope to lower yourself down and carry a cell phone to call 911 if this does not work out right.  Or You could just let nature take care of it in about 3 years.

[Riwaka]

I would not want to guess where the weight and tension is off pictures. 
If the white oak has a rotted out center things could get interesting.

Deluxe Pocket Saw | Camp Tools | Coghlan's  (various 'pocket saw chains' to put on long ropes)

det cord

safe T cut explosive clamp overhead powerlines tree removal   (safe-T cut - clamps det cord onto up to 12 inch branches etc) 

Fiberglass Hot Sticks ? Fiberglass Spline Hot Sticks, Telescopic Sticks, Shotgun Sticks, Ground Operable Telescoping Hot Sticks   (hot stick - up to 50 feet height) to get the clamp up to the branch)

[Firewoodjoe]

Is the tree cut or blown over? If it’s only on one limb on one side it should role off if the hing is cut free.

[Old Greenhorn]

Is the tree cut off at the stump? If not, do this first, it may just roll off, or drop enough that you can cut saw logs. If it is cut, you might want to try the 'post in a hole' method. Bore a rectangular mortise through the base of the tree about 4x6 inches, the shove a timber in the mortise about 8 feet long. Attache a chain to the end of the timber and give it a tug. This could make it roll. Without standing on the ground it is tough to call, looks like it is still attached, or is that other fork hung up too?
In my younger and dumber days, we tried to cut down a 6" half rotten maple at hip level with .45's. It took about 500 rounds before we could push the tree over. (don't ask what led to this)
It could be worse, it could look like this:



 
That photo was taken after I removed the first of the 4 trees all hung together, leaving only the 3 tough ones. Took me a while, but I got them all down without any heavy equipment.
Be very careful cutting off at the stump, the tension and compression is very hard to figure on theses trees. Use bore cuts to make it safer, have a second saw available, just in case.
 What type of equipment do you have to work with?

[Crusarius]

Can you just hook something up and pull it sideways? I know all the ones I stuck like that I was able to just rock them back and forth by hand and finally get them to drop. took alot of energy but it worked.

I have done what many have said and tried to shoot a tree down. It takes alot of lead to do it. 

[Simple Jack]

I find this a little funny, because I had a white oak hung up last week! My first tree dropped right where I wanted it to. second tree was going to lay right next to the first until limbs caught on another tree and changed the direction of how the tree was falling, got hung up in two trees. I had to cut another one down to get close to the ground. I tried lifting the trunk with the skid steer to see if it would slide a little, just wasn't going to happen. Ground is now too wet to get them out, going to have to wait until May or June to get them out now.

[Knute]

Thanks for all the replies. I may need to try different things to get it down. It is completely cut off the stump but won't roll because of some other smaller branches in nearby trees. Will try to pull sideways first. Then maybe jack up the butt, put some slabs under it and pull. I know if that branch lodges in the white oak crotch I won't pull it down. Using an Allis Chalmers D-17 which is about 57 hp.

[Old Greenhorn]

 Then maybe jack up the butt, put some slabs under it and pull. I know if that branch lodges in the white oak crotch I won't pull it down. 

Just a word of warning here for you to consider. Again, I can't see the tree or guess the loading, but there is a high probability that if you jack up the butt, as soon as it is free of the ground it will slide back, flip your jack, etc. This could be very hazardous. You are going to need one heck of a jack. I tried jacking a log that size once to get out a pinched saw, gave up after I had humped my biggest floor jack down in the woods, set up planks under it, and could not budge it.
 Just saying, be very careful here, there are LOTS of different forces working here, many are against you. Besides, we all want to hear the rest of the story.
Perhaps scratching out a hole in front of the butt giving it a place to slide in would work. Not sure what you have on that tractor, I you could do that, you might be able to pull it into the hole.

[Firewoodjoe]

If u till it sideways put your hook or choker bell on top and opposite side of the direction u pull it will roll it rather than just drag it. Good luck.

[barbender]

I shot a snagged fork down with 12 ga 3" duck loads once. Took a few shots, but I didn't have to worry about what was down range as much. There's no way I'd be shooting a rifle up in the air .

[Knute]

Thanks. I can try digging out under the butt and put some slabs under it to slide on. Frost is coming out so it may sink somewhat now. Will let you know when I get it down, but may take awhile. I have had a couple of other large trees hang up over the years that I just left, but would like to get this one since it is hanging over my woods road.

[Old Greenhorn]

Just take your time. If it isn't going right, walk away, think about it some more, and come back tomorrow and try something else. That snag I showed you above took me 3 weeks to figure out, but I didn't get kilt, so it all worked out. Be patient, the tree will wait on you.