Recommended Method for Attaching a Haul Line to a Firearm

What is the recommended method for attaching a haul line to a firearm? Guns are weapons designed to kill. They are lethal in the hands of an experienced shooter, and even more dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced shooter, simply because the inexperienced shooter is likely to make more mistakes.

Hunting in the wild is a popular activity. The use of rifles and shotguns and even snipers are seen. Shotguns are still the most common choice of weapon. Shotguns are weapons. They are guns. They can injure. They must be handled properly.

A lot of people do not carry their guns properly and fall prey to common mistakes which can easily be avoided. The use of trees to wait patiently and hunt is popular. A lot of people, however, do not follow due procedure when lifting their shotgun up to their tree stand and lowering it back down.

They may use ropes or even just throw it down from the top of the three. The recommended method is to use a haul line. Let us discuss what a haul line is.

What is a haul line, exactly?

If you are using a tree stand to hunt, you will need to carry your tools and weapons to the top of the stand and carry them back down after you are done.

This is where a haul line comes in. The haul line will allow you to safely pull up your weapon and safely lower it back down once you are done with it.

What can serve as a haul line?

While there are plenty of ready-made haul lines available in the market, you can still use things that you already have as a haul line.

You don’t have to shell out big money to stay safe. Properly using a rope or a strong chain can also work. Here we list a few things that can act as haul lines should you decide to not get a commercial haul line.

If you have any loose cables or heavy chords, you can use them
Bag straps or straps from tents, or similar pieces of fabric that have relatively long lengths can be used
A chain if you happen to have any

While many of the items listed above can be used as a haul line, a store-bought haul line is still recommended.

The use of the following items are not recommended as a haul line:

A water pipe or a water hose
An electricity wire
A string or thread or rope that is weak enough to break because of the firearm’s weight

Some don’ts when hauling firearms to a tree stand

We will take a look at some don’t before we look at the dos. Most people tend to not look at the don’ts and end up making mistakes.

Do not tie the weapon from the barrel: doing so would point the weapon barrel directly at you as you pull it up or lower it down. This is not a safe position to be in, if something causes the trigger to go off, it can fire at you and cause damage which is a very risky situation indeed. We can avoid this by tying the haul line to the end of the firearm (the handle end).
Do not tie the weapon from its trigger or the trigger handle or the inner trigger: if you opt to tie the haul line directly to the trigger, it will definitely fire the gun. Some people might try to tie the haul line to the trigger handle of the secondary (inner) trigger if their weapon has one. These are very dangerous setups to have. One wrong pull and the gun will go off. We can avoid this risk by not tying the haul line to the gun trigger.

Some do’s when using a haul line

Make sure the knot is tied tightly enough: you do not want the knot to be loose and halfway down the tree stand the firearm falls. This can actually cause the firearm to fire and injure any person working on the ground.
The firearm should be pointing toward the ground, away from you: when lifting the weapon up or relaying it down, make sure the barrel of the firearm is pointed in the ground direction. If it is pointed at you or toward you, you are doing it wrong. Tie it from a different place to make the balance tip the gun in the downward direction.
Make sure the ground beneath is clear: in the off chance something sets the gun off, any people on the ground might get hurt. Avoid this by announcing that you are going to haul the weapon.
Haul the weapon the last thing when going up, first thing when going down: the main benefit of the haul line is that it connects you to the firearm and lets you pull it from a distance. If you pulling the firearm is the last thing you do, the chances of it firing and killing someone are drastically reduced. In the same way, when you’re done hunting, haul down the weapon the first thing you do. This will help you avoid setting the gun off by mistake.
Unload the gun before hauling it: whenever you decide to use a haul line, make sure the firearm is unloaded with due procedure. Double-check the barrel and the chamber to see if there are any rounds inside. Remove the magazine and the source of supplies. This applies to both hauling up and hauling the weapon down.

What is the recommended method for attaching a haul line to a firearm?

Now that we have looked at some do’s and don’ts, we can take a look at the full procedure in detail. Use this procedure in conjunction with the above-mentioned rules for the best experience.

Fully unload the firearm by following due procedure.
Make sure the action of the firearm is open so that it cannot fire before you start climbing up the tree
Secure one end of the haul line to the firearm. Keep in mind to not tie the line to the barrel or the trigger region. Make sure it will point down by raising it once by hand.
Adjust the haul line to make the barrel side heavier so that it points down when hauling.
Secure the free end of the haul line to your belt.
Start climbing the tree.
Once at the tree stand, haul the firearm up.
After the firearm is hauled up, you will need to reload it because you had unloaded it earlier.

Lowering the firearm by the use of a haul line

Lowering the firearm is slightly different since the steps occur in a different sequence. We will take a look at the due procedure here:

First and foremost, we unload the firearm. We do not want it to accidentally go off so we must unload it.
If your firearm has a sling or a fabric for this purpose, tie one end of the haul line to this sling or fabric. If the firearm does not have any sling or fabric that can be used for this purpose, tie it to the handle. Do not tie the haul line to the trigger or to the barrel as that would cause it to point toward yourself.
Gently start lowering the firearm toward the ground. You need to make sure that the muzzle (or the barrel) of the gun is not pointing upwards, at you. It needs to point downwards, away from you.
Climb down the tree and untie the haul line.

Conclusion

The use of a haul line can help avoid many accidental injuries when hunting in the woods on the trees. If due procedures are followed, the chances of mishaps are lowered down to zero. Follow the proper do’s and don’ts and keep everyone around you and yourself safe.

Resources
https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/Law/2010%20Combination%20Teaching%20Aid.pdf
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100101171423AAHjunW

Jack Armstrong

Ever wondered how you can have a cruising boat without getting into financial problems? The answer is here. That is the reason why we set up this blog to share with you, safety tips, answers to questions that have to do with fishing and hunting. You are going to love it!

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