Thread: What rope and knots do you use when hunting

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Of course it's only as strong as the thinner cord!

strength depends on how tight the thinest cord is bent, depends on the knot but i have found the if a rope has tight kinks in it that it fails there. have a length of old rope with muliple knots in it that i cant get undone and it keeps getting shorter as the rope fails at the knots i cant get out

I like that version for quick undoing.

Originally Posted by Gibo

Another goody is the handcuff knot

In combination with whipping

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

In combination with whipping

Don’t encourage him MH. I am still scarred by Gibo’s antics in his fishnets at the last Toby Shoot.

As recommended by Gibo

Very elegant, the alpine butterfly knot puts a loop in the middle of a rope when you don't have access to the ends, without weakening the rope too much. It can be used to pull on the rope, to attach as person or pack in the middle or as hand / foot loops for climbing the rope. If you load it with body weight, it can go a bit tight to undo. It's not used all that much, not really an essential knot for hunters, but very nice to have.

Rope without ends. Normally you wouldn't put an "in use" climbing rope down on as greasy old bench like this but this rope had been retired for many years.


Make a double twist.


Take the bight down behind the twist.


Feed the loop up through the space in the twist.


Here is the form of the knot displayed but not tightened.


Here it is tight showing the front, with the loop upwards. Each end of the rope forms a turn around the loop.


Here is the back side of it, showing small turns on each side.


You can load it from the right ...

or the left.


Here are some clearer sketches showing the key stages. This one from the 1987 NZMSC Mountaincraft manual 20



and from Mountaineering The Freedom of the Hills 2003

Good topic thanks.

I nearly always have a bit of cord in my pocket. You just never know when you'll have the opportunity to use it. And naturally I am seldom without a pocketknife.

I take cordage with me everywhere. I have quite a stock of it at home. I've found the best places to get it from are the companies that supply commercial fishermen. Here in Nelson I go to Quality Equipment, Hampidjan or Bridons. It is generally much cheaper in one of these places compared to hardware stores (although you mostly have to buy a full spool of it). I like braided nylon cord in a variety of sizes. It is nice to handle, doesn't kink, it stretches to absorb shocks... and it is strong and reliable with reasonable resistance to ultraviolet damage.

Dang Micky Duck, you used the word 'Pikau'. It is something I don't hear much nowadays. I can't be sure, but it may have been a hunting writer like Barry Crump or Rex Forrester who first introduced me to the pikau. I've used these for years. The early ones were sacks with a stone in each bottom corner to help hold the rope (I think the aforementioned hunting writer suggested that a potato and an onion were a good idea for the same job). An acquaintance made me a beauty out of light canvas.... and I've made a couple out of polarfleece type material which is pretty darn strong... and quiet when a branch brushes it. My older fleece pikau has a hole in it now, but it has lasted me maybe 12 years. My recent pikaus have webbing straps instead of plain rope.

Here are three pikaus:



When I'm hunting I will generally have a couple of decent lengths of nylon braid with me.... and these might have a breaking load of 350 or 400 kg. And if I'm hunting somewhere when I might want to drag a whole animal I will take a bit of relatively thick braid that won't cut into me as much when I'm pulling on it. I'm not your average pig hunting magazine cover boy. I seldom lift a whole carcass. I will drag one if the trip is short and is level or goes downhill. Otherwise, if possible, I butcher the whole thing on the spot and stuff the meat into a pillowslip or plastic bags (yes, I've been made aware of the risks of putting warm meat into plastic bags) and carry it home in my pikau.

I sometimes also carry two light pulleys with me. These may enable me to pull an animal to a position where I can work on it (rather than on a steep hillside for instance), or I may even be able to hoist it into a tree to make it easier to skin it and cut it up. A single pulley can give you some mechanical advantage if you rig it right, but sometimes you need a lot of cord to utilise it. Below is a photo of a pig that I was pulling into a better spot to work on it. The cord I used was strong, but thin. In a case like this I might wrap the cord around a strong stick to make a comfortable handle to heave on. One end of the cord was tied to a tree... it passed through the pulley and I was pulling on the other end. It is hard to see, but there is a relatively thin bit of cord that connects the pulley to the pig. I was probably overloading this rig, but because the pig wasn't going to drop on anyone if something broke, there wasn't a significant risk.



Here are a couple of knots I like. The first one, I think, is called a slipped buntline hitch. I like it because when you pull the end of the rope, the knot virtually disappears if you've tied it right.



And here is a nice-looking knot that I use to join two similar cords. It is called the Zeppelin bend. In most cases where it hasn't been under a huge load, it is relatively easy to undo.



When I'm tying the Zeppelin bend, I find it helpful to remind myself that both the initial loops are formed in a clockwise direction... but one tail goes under the main rope, and the other tail goes over the main part of the rope. You could tie this with loops going in an anti-clockwise direction, but the point is they have to be the same for the knot to be correct.

I also use cord as a casual rifle sling for my rifles which don't have slings. I just form a noose at each end of a nice soft bit of cord and keep it in my pocket. That way I can have a sling when necessary, but I can also quickly remove it when moving through scrub. Sometimes the rifle will have to be slung upside down to be secure with a rope sling like this. It isn't a wonderfully descriptive picture, but below is a photo of my Rossi levergun hanging by its nylon cord sling. The sling goes around the wood just behind the lever, and the front noose pulls tight on the barrel. The billy goat also has nylon cord attached to it.

awesome! those are some very useful knots coote!

Sometimes I carry a small sheath knife in my pocket.... the Mora knives with their clip are good for that. Mostly I like to have a knife on my belt. A knife on your trouser belt can sometimes be difficult to move to a different position quickly. I find it more convenient to use a cord around my waist to hang the knife from. I can quickly slide it around my body to be in the most convenient position... and every knife can have its own cord.

I've made quite a few knife and machete sheaths from black, low-density polypipe (alkathene). I typically heat it to around 115 degrees in the oven, then force a dummy knife into it and squash the blade area between a couple of boards using G-clamps. These sheaths won't get used to make advertising images for 'The American Rifleman', but they are sturdy, safe, hygienic and inexpensive. I like to keep my knife and sheath clean, and i can use a bottlebrush to scrub it out in the kitchen sink.

The cord belt has a Celtic Button Knot at one end... and on the other end is a bit of smaller cord which has a Dutch Bowline designed to fit over the Celtic Button Knot... and on the other end it is attached to the main belt (green) cord with a Prusik Loop. This loop easily slides along the cord to adjust the fit of the 'belt'. There is a Double Overhand Stopper Knot which gives me something to grab when adjusting the Prusik Loop.

The green belt cord was made long enough to tie around the sheath in the form of a Turks Head. Hidden at the back of the Turks Head is a bit of stainless wire which passes through the pipe and around the cord to stop the cord slipping.

There is a heap of info on the internet showing how to make the various knots. The Dutch Bowline differs from the standard Bowline in that the tail end is on the outside of the loop. Nowadays I have come to prefer the Yosemite Bowline which is a neater-looking design.

I've never had one of these belts come undone while wearing it.

Great ideas and photos. For day hunts I avoid paracord for any application where I will cut it and waste it. I have found manilla style gardening string and twine a cheap and environmentally friendly option. May not hang a whole animal but it can hang the quarters of a decent red stag to cool down.

BTW not many people mentioned the round turn and two half hitches which is good as it can be untied underload.
Bowline, Clove hitch, round turn and two half hitches, and truckers will allow you do most things in the bush.