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Reviews For: Big Shot Pro Sling Shot

Category: Antennas: HF: Verticals; Wire; Loop

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Review Summary For : Big Shot Pro Sling Shot
Reviews: 11MSRP: 117
Description:
BIG SHOT Standard Kit/ with two 4 foot poles and Big Shot Head
A SherrillTree original, the Big Shot makes quick work of getting a working line into position and helps get you get onto the job at hand. Used to launch a throw weight (with line attached) over a tree’s branch to tow working lines into position. This very simple, oversized slingshot uses commercial-duty fiberglass extension poles butted against the ground to eliminate recoil and maximize launching distance of 3 to 20 ounce weights. While hand-throwing straight up is nearly impossible… or at best, requires a great deal of practice, the Big Shot allows operators to launch nearly straight up into the tallest canopies, avoiding adjacent brush and limbs. Other mechanical launchers using gunpowder or pressurized gas have limited ability to control distance, leading to grossly over-fired shots. With just a little practice, you’ll be able to toss a weight high or low with near pinpoint accuracy. For peak erformance, don’t use the Big Shot with total pole length less than 8 feet.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.wtsherrill.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00115
K2WPM Rating: 2021-03-25
Buy it Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Awesome. Easy to throw line over 80 foot Virginia Pine. I take it on portable activations. Having a dipole 50 feet in the air really gets you heard. There is a company in Binghamton NY that manufactures and sells throw bags. Buckingham Industries.
Sgt Knots on Amazon sells black mason line in 450 foot spools.
N1TGE Rating: 2018-12-30
Awesome Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Why the hell did I try slingshots, fishing weights, ladders, etc.?

This thing is amazing! I have a 8 ft pole (Notch version that came with kit) and a 12 oz Weaver weight with 175 ft of sling ling.

I tired for 6 hours a few days ago to get a weight with a slingshot into a specific part of a tree with zero luck. The guy who delivers my firewood mentioned this contraption to me so I went on Amazon and bought it. NEVER LOOK BACK. This thing is incredible. BUY ONE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All you need is some nut. NO compressed air, leaks, or shitty plastic to break.

*STORAGE friendly. Collapses to two 4ft pieces.
*FAST. No need to refill air or wind up tangled fishing line
*INDUSTRIAL strength
*EAST to use
KC2X Rating: 2016-09-24
Best way to get an antenna wire into a tree! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Was able to launch a string on my second try 50 feet into a tree exactly where I wanted to put my antenna. Easy to use. Don't waste time and money on other products. This is the real deal!

WWW. SHERRILLTREE.COM

Big shot sling shot. Get the Zing it string and the 14 oz throw bag. You will not regret it. Can launch a string 200 ft into a tree!
WA2I Rating: 2014-03-22
Better than any other method. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have tried slingshots, toss bags and arrow: nothing beats the Big Shot. Without help, first shot, up and over. I got the "Xmas tree" lighting set. It comes with brightly colored toss line and a 16 oz wt. I thought the weight was too heavy, but it nicely pulls the line down the other side (unlike fishing weights and slingshots where the weight often gets stuck in the tree). It is also much easier to aim then a slingshot (at least for me) because you steady one end on the ground. They also make a (now obvious) suggestion to untie the weight before pulling back through branches.
The ONLY thing that I don't like about it is that it is too big to put in my backpack on a hike.
73
Bob
WA2I
K9YC Rating: 2010-10-17
Very Useful Tool Time Owned: more than 12 months.
My old ham club in Chicago owns one of these, which gets use on Field Day, and is loaned to members for their own projects. It's just right for the biggest trees common east of the Rockies. When I moved to a redwood forest in California five years ago, I bought one right away.

Selection of the rope and casting weight is VERY important to clear the tallest trees. If the rope is too heavy, range will be limited. The greatest heights are obtained by using the lightest line that won't break with weights of medium size, then use that light line to pull up a somewhat heavier rope, which is then used to pull up a third heavier rope that holds the antenna.

For quickie projects like Field Day that won't see a lot of wind, the second medium weight line may be sufficient to hold the antenna.

Sherrill Tree Service, who sells this product, is great to deal with, but the guys I dealt with on the phone (about five years ago) were not great about helping me choose the right lines and weights, so I initially bought line that was too heavy, and that limited my throw distance.

DO buy the yellow pouch that holds the casting line, and also a spare weight (and/or more than one size of weight). You CAN lose a weight, and they do get worn (they're leather bags of small pellets).

The pneumatic tennis ball launcher is more useful for my 170 ft tall redwoods, but the Big Shot is great for most other trees.
NV7E Rating: 2010-07-26
Best slingshot for wire antenna setup Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have now relocated to Kenya where I live next to a wild forest. I need to deal with tall trees. I got a Big Shot from Sherilltree. It's a slingshot used by professional foresters to put ropes through trees. I got the deluxe version with the reel and carrying case.

With other slingshots before I didn't get nearly the accuracy or distance I get with the Big Shot. With the Big Shot the pole is braced against the ground when you shoot. With lesser slingshots you can't aim as well or pull back on the shot as far. The optional reel lets you pull the line in more easily. I had my first wire antenna up in minutes using the Big Shot.

This is a great item for Field Day or DXpedition use.

5Z4EE
KD8CGH Rating: 2009-11-28
Ultimate weapon for putting wires in trees Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Here in the forest primeval of Ohio all of my antennas are wires in trees. Like many experimenters I started with a rod, reel and sinker to cast line up. Other than providing entertainment for my neighbors who asked if I was fishing for squirrels, this didn't work. I have also tried throwing weights, a wrist rocket/fishing reel combo and the traditional bow and arrow with fishing line. None of these worked very well.
I finally found an effective method. I use a "Big Shot" slingshot. This oversize slingshot mounts on an eight foot pole and launches bags of shot which can carry a light line 100 feet into the air and more importantly reliably comes back down. The slingshot is relatively easy to aim and the power is controllable.
One of my antennas is now at 90 feet, which I couldn't hit any other way. This year for field day we put up an G5RV over the top of four trees in about 30 minutes.
I got mine at Sherrill tree. Their website is full of interesting tools.
KC2RGW Rating: 2009-04-24
Incredible - Wire antenna...done. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
No question, this will do it, period.

It will launch a 14oz nylon bag of shot with a tether ring and 3mm poly line up and over a 100 foot tree with no trouble. It will do this either nearly straight up the trunk or from a good long way back to reach over adjoining canopies.

Various weights of throw bags are very nice, so you can use what you need to carry the line weight up and get it dropped back to the ground smoothly.

Don't want to use a paint bucket with line flaked out in it? Fine, get yourself a nice big surf casting spinning reel and mount it with some stainless hose clamps up at the head of the pole, done. Just buy a big one so you have a spool large enough for line capacity...this thing can throw a very long way.

Very well built, it's an industrial tool for daily use and it shows.

It's _quiet_ which to me is an advantage over using the air cannons. No undue attention if you are working in areas with neighbors near by.

No more screwing around with fishing rods snagging on things, broken lines, losing weights and all the rest of the fun of trying to throw a line up into the trees.
VK1KLW Rating: 2007-12-21
The best way to get a line over a tree. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.

In Professional tree care the Big Shot is the weapon of choice for setting lines in trees.

Arborists have tried every possible way of launching lines, as they need to set lines on a daily basis. Time is money, and they can't afford to take a dozen tries getting their lines set in a tree.

If the whole tree care industry thinks the big shot is the way to go, who was I to argue with them?

This is an excellent product that makes hanging wire antennas in trees trivial. Make sure you buy the verson that packs down into two 4-foot poles, as the single 8-foot version would be a pain to transport.

Zing-it is the best line to use, and it is best to store you line loosly spooled in a bucket (to save tangles with twigs.)
K3ANG Rating: 2007-07-08
Glad I Got It. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought just the head assembly from Urban H.A.R.T Rescue of East Stroudsburg, PA. in June, 2007 for $64 (s/h). It fits the narrow end of the standard RS 8-foot aluminum mast I had lying around. I *STRONGLY* recommend using safety glasses when attempting to launch. No problems here, but some close calls when the strong elastic snapped back snapped back further than I thought it would. Go to http://www.urbanhart.com/shopsite/rope_ropecare.html#1065