ralphbsz
ArboristSite Lurker
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2003
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Could you use a shotgun for tree trimming, using them to remove medium-sized branches?
Here's the situation. I have a whole lot of madrone and oak trees around the house. They aren't very big (often only 12" diameter at the base), but often quite tall, 30 or 40 feet. I want to trim quite a few medium-sized branches on them; typically these are 2" or 3" diameter branches. There are no easy ways for me to trim these branches: they are way too high for pole pruners or pole saws, the terrain is steep, so leaning ladders against the trees is difficult and unsafe, plus I refuse to use pole saws or chainsaws while on a ladder, the trees are too small to climb safely, and I'm not a good enough tree climber anyhow, and the saw-chain-on-a-rope (toss a weight over the branch, then two people run the chain back and forth) is way too difficult to use among dense branches, and too time-consuming. I have no idea how a professional would be able to get these branches efficiently.
So the idea is: Use a 12-gauge shotgun, with a long barrel, and a good choke that gives a tight pattern, then shoot at the branch and sever it.
Safety: We live on a large lot (10 acres), far away from the nearest house (which is about 1/2 mile away). Bird shot doesn't fly far (AFAIK range for fine shot is about 100 yards), so even if shooting up at a 45 degree angle, this would guarantee that the shot can not hit anyone. We are allowed to fire guns on our land.
So the real question is: would this even work? How many shots would be required to sever such a branch? Is it even possible to damage a tree branch enough to break it off using a shotgun? Is this too crazy to try?
The other easy option is to simply fell all the trees that have offending branches - but that's obviously silly, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. By the way, why do I want to remove these branches? They come in a few categories. First are dead branches on otherwise live trees, that look unsightly, and I've heard that one should remove dead parts of madrones quickly, to reduce the spread of the blight to healthy parts of the tree and to other trees. Second are branches that are growing towards the house and are going to start whipping the house in a storm. Third is that I'm about to set up a wireless internet connection, and a few of these small branches are in the way of the receiving antenna. Last are branches that grow over the private road we share with several neighbors, and we like to keep vegetation above the road down, both to get more sun and light (road dries faster, and looks better), and to reduce the amount of leaves falling onto the road and collecting in the gutters and culverts.
Here's the situation. I have a whole lot of madrone and oak trees around the house. They aren't very big (often only 12" diameter at the base), but often quite tall, 30 or 40 feet. I want to trim quite a few medium-sized branches on them; typically these are 2" or 3" diameter branches. There are no easy ways for me to trim these branches: they are way too high for pole pruners or pole saws, the terrain is steep, so leaning ladders against the trees is difficult and unsafe, plus I refuse to use pole saws or chainsaws while on a ladder, the trees are too small to climb safely, and I'm not a good enough tree climber anyhow, and the saw-chain-on-a-rope (toss a weight over the branch, then two people run the chain back and forth) is way too difficult to use among dense branches, and too time-consuming. I have no idea how a professional would be able to get these branches efficiently.
So the idea is: Use a 12-gauge shotgun, with a long barrel, and a good choke that gives a tight pattern, then shoot at the branch and sever it.
Safety: We live on a large lot (10 acres), far away from the nearest house (which is about 1/2 mile away). Bird shot doesn't fly far (AFAIK range for fine shot is about 100 yards), so even if shooting up at a 45 degree angle, this would guarantee that the shot can not hit anyone. We are allowed to fire guns on our land.
So the real question is: would this even work? How many shots would be required to sever such a branch? Is it even possible to damage a tree branch enough to break it off using a shotgun? Is this too crazy to try?
The other easy option is to simply fell all the trees that have offending branches - but that's obviously silly, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. By the way, why do I want to remove these branches? They come in a few categories. First are dead branches on otherwise live trees, that look unsightly, and I've heard that one should remove dead parts of madrones quickly, to reduce the spread of the blight to healthy parts of the tree and to other trees. Second are branches that are growing towards the house and are going to start whipping the house in a storm. Third is that I'm about to set up a wireless internet connection, and a few of these small branches are in the way of the receiving antenna. Last are branches that grow over the private road we share with several neighbors, and we like to keep vegetation above the road down, both to get more sun and light (road dries faster, and looks better), and to reduce the amount of leaves falling onto the road and collecting in the gutters and culverts.
