Throwing Your 800 Pound Gorilla

We looked at height measurement and evaluating lean of trees you plan to fall in previous posts; this time we will be figuring whether or not we can push a tree where we want it with wedges, and giving you some useful numbers that are easy to remember, and to use in the woods.  I like to measure the diameter early in the process of sizing up a tree, because the diameter guides your design of the hinge.  This tree measures 38" diameter at breast height (4' 6" above the ground), and the hinge should be 80% of that in length, or 30".  The thickness of the hinge can be up to 10% of the diameter, but 4" of wood is a lot to bend, so let's figure on a hinge no more than three inches thick.

We are checking the height of the tree here.  Charlie is standing at one chain (66'), where you would use the Biltmore stick to measure merchantable height.  I found the spot where my stick showed that I was away from the tree the same distance as the height, and paced in 125'.  That's a tall pin oak!

We decided where we want the hinge, and measured across that spot to see how a 30" long hinge would fit, measured back 3" for the thickness, and then measured to the back of the tree, where we would pound in the wedges.  We had 30" between the back of the hinge and the wedging point, so we break the tree down into 30" segments.  If we raise the back of a 30" segment 1", the opposite corner will move forward one inch.  The far corner of the next 30" segment will move forward 2"; and so on.  This tree is 125' tall, or 1500".  Divide 1500" by 30", and you have a 50 segment tree.  This means that each inch you raise the back of the bottom segment will move the top of the tree 50", or just over 4'.  The crown and weight of this tree appears to be no more than 1 foot behind the stem, so this tree can easily be wedged over against its lean by driving in a set of parallel wedges that are 1" thick.  This one was just for practice; now we will drop one.

We are standing at the aiming spot for a black oak snag, and this spot was chosen because there is no side lean from this vantage point, and there is a relatively clear spot for this tree to fall into.  A quick measurement and pacing in showed this tree to be 50' tall.

Viewing the snag from 90 degrees around, we see that this tree has quite a bit of back lean.  Check the lines added to show where the top is, and you can see that we had about 5' of back lean to overcome.  We checked our segment size next.

From the back of the hinge to the wedging point we had 9".    Nine goes into 600" 67 times, so we have a tree that is close to 70 segments.  Raising the bottom segment 1" will move the top of the tree between 5 and 6 feet, so this looks do-able, but you also need to know some practical limits to guide you before you start cutting.  The numbers you should remember are these:  For a 50 segment tree, you may be able to handle up to 10' of back lean, if the wood is strong, you have built the hinge right, and you feel like pounding parallel wedges until you are blue in the face. 60 segments, 8'; seventy segments, 6'; 80 segments, 4'.  As trees are taller and thinner, you can handle less back lean; as they are shorter and stouter, you can handle more back lean.  These numbers are not absolutes, and it is not much fun pounding wedges on trees that are at the limit, so don't push your luck.  The largedistributed, being much stronger on the outside of the hinge.  This means that the limits on side lean are somewhat less than 1/2 of the limits for back lean.  Practice the evaluation process several times before you put it into use, until it becomes second nature to you, and never push your luck around high value targets.

We have raised the back of the tree not quite an inch, and the hinge is handling the stress just fine.

The stem is nearly vertical at this point in the process.  The problem you will find frequently with small trees is the lack of space in the stump to work.  The wedges have run into the back of the hinge, so we had to stack two wedges to bring the tree over.

Cross your wedges when you stack them and they will not jump out when you pound on them.

All done.

Practice your measurements, and practice your cuts on trees that don't have any big problems or risks.  If you want to test your limits on trees, do it on ones that can't fall on anything of value; and that includes you!

United States Marine Corps' 250th Anniversary

 Monday, November 10, 2025, the Marine Corp will be 250 years old. Fifty years ago in 1975 the Marines planted trees with school kids around the country to commemorate their bi-centennial. I was involved with their project at Pikeville, Kentucky.  You can see that tree project on Google Earth today!  There are white pines on the point behind Pikeville Elementary School visible in the aerial photo and the drive-by on Google Earth.  I would love to go up there and see how those trees are doing. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Wednesday Windage: Sight-Seeing

 

I nearly gave up on iron sights for a while. Cataracts made using irons nearly impossible, and driving was difficult, and dangerous at night with bright lights causing trouble. I tried several red dot sights, and traditional scopes on pistols, and found that Bill Llewellyn's Bullseye ghost ring sight blades worked well on my Ruger pistols.  I had my lens implants done in 2016 and can shoot with irons again, but I had a minor panic attack lately when I realized that Billll's Idle Mind blog no longer listed Billll's Bullseye sights. I got in touch with him and he still had some, so I bought four. They are pretty darn useful in pistol shooting, but you do need to change your technique a bit to get the most benefit.

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These are some of the pistols I provided for a recent carry class at the Carmi Rifle Club. L to R, Single-Ten (.137 rear sight notch), Mk III Target (Bushnell Red Dot), Mk IV Target (.118 rear sight notch), Mk III Hunter (Billll's Bullseye Sight .205 aperture), Mk III Target (Billll's Bullseye Sight .205 aperture, with top half of ring removed).

Stock Ruger target sight, Billll's Bullseye, and Billll's Bullseye abbreviated.

I was hesitant about putting a peep/ghost ring out for a carry class, but I am glad I did. The fellow I was coaching did OK at the beginning of live shooting with a red dot sight, but when I switched him to irons, he began putting all his shots above his target. I stopped him to point out how he was missing, and he told me, "I don't like revolvers."  I responded that "The revolver isn't the problem, I don't think you can see your sights." He then said, "Well, I have cataracts." So, I switched him to the pistol with the ghost ring. I told him to look at the target through the window of the rear sight, move the front sight onto the target, and shoot. The important thing with these sights is to focus on the target and not fuss about the sights. He immediately was putting his shots into the black on his target. He was amazed, and I was, too. It is such a simple solution to use a rear sight that lets you see the target instead of covering it up and using a tiny notch. We had him go back to the red dot when we shot qualification targets, and he was a happy camper.

Rearranging guns for the class for qualifications, I had to take a red dot gun away from the lady on the left for my man with cataracts.  I handed her the Mk III Target with the cut-down ghost ring. She had not shot that gun at all during class, and I gave her the quick rundown on focusing on the target through the window of the rear sight. Illinois law has us shoot ten rounds from 15, 21, and 30 feet, standing, for a total of 30 shots. 

Here's an even bigger surprise.  Shooting that cut down ghost ring, she put all thirty rounds into the ten ring, with only four falling outside the X-ring. She was rightfully pleased.

The lady on the right also shot a 300, with only three out of the X-ring. She was shooting a Mk III Target with a red dot sight. 

I have tried the ghost ring on steel while practicing at the rifle club, and it lets me shoot faster than I can with the traditional narrow notch rear sight. The more I use it the better I like it. I must contact Bill and see if he has any more of his sights on hand. They work a trick!