# Grappling Hook for Stuff You Drop Out of Your Tree Stand



## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

It would help if the pictures were not so tiny!!


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## Gary in Ohio (Jun 29, 2009)

codykrr said:


> It would help if the pictures were not so tiny!!


Just keep clicking on it and you'll get to a usable size.

Here's a bigger pic of the completed hook. You can see the string going into the notch in the handle. This keeps the string from coming unwrapped. I use about 30' of string even though I never go that high in a tree. 








I made this one as a gift for a guy who helped me recover a deer. I keep mine in a pocket in my harness at all times. It saves climbing down when you do something dumb like forgetting to tie on your haul line or if you drop your binoculars (I've done both this season).


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

codykrr said:


> It would help if the pictures were not so tiny!!



I agree.

Here you go.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

codykrr said:


> It would help if the pictures were not so tiny!!


Last 6 pictures of the grappling hook by Gary in Ohio.


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## davs2601 (Feb 6, 2008)

It reminds me of a surf weight that I used while fishing in Aransas Pass. Good idea


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## codykrr (Feb 6, 2011)

Thanks! I couldnt see the little pictures. even after I clicked on them they were tiny.


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

Just buy a weighted treble hookand file down the points and barbs(some times called a snagging hook)


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## UltimateDeerHgr (Aug 6, 2010)

This product works well for retrieving items http://www.walnutgrovehunting.com/thebooger.html


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## indy242003 (Jun 9, 2004)

bldtrailer said:


> Just buy a weighted treble hookand file down the points and barbs(some times called a snagging hook)


\

You could do that I guess, but I love the fact that I can bend the arms in when it's packed. Great use for a wire clothes hanger IMHO. I would not want to slip anywhere with a giant treble hook on me. Not a fan of puncture wounds in myself, the deer are another story.:wink:


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## hoosierhunter1 (Dec 26, 2006)

Getsit retriever is the bomb...has folding hooks and a super powerful magnet in bottom...never leaves my pack....Great product, very small and a great price...do a search here on AT for it


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## swamp (Nov 17, 2005)

hoosierhunter1 said:


> Getsit retriever is the bomb...has folding hooks and a super powerful magnet in bottom...never leaves my pack....Great product, very small and a great price...do a search here on AT for it


Thanks for the buildup Hoosierhunter. I feel that the Getsit is a useful product. With a retail price of around $10 it would be hard to make a retriever for less if you counted your time at minium wage. I had a man at a sportshow here in Arkansas tell me he could make one out of wood and save the $10. I told him that I felt sure that he could, I proceded to tell him how my prototypes were made out of a broom handle. I gave him instructions on how to use a dremel tool to cut the groove for the ring, how to make the slots for the hooks to snap into, and where to get a magnet and how to get it to stay in the base. Before I was done he realized it was a good deal for the money. This has been an extremely difficult product to market. I have kept an eye on other similar products and they have seemingly faced the same. I think alot of the problem is that a treble hook can be easily used, but we felt that the fact that the hooks could be folded up to keep them from snagging on everything in your pack would be a big seller. But, being an old tight wad myself. I can't blame people for saveing a little money.


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## Gary in Ohio (Jun 29, 2009)

I got the idea for this from a post here on AT. Someone used a large saltwater fishing treble hook for this. The only place I know around here that sells saltwater gear is the Bass Pro Shops 30 miles away. It took me less time to make this than it would take to drive there and back and I saved 2.5 gallons of gas.

That Getsit looks like it would work just fine. The magnet would not have done me any good though. In the two years since I made my first one, I've picked up my haul line, a canteen, my binoculars and a hat. None of that was steel.

No doubt there are products that work better than this. But, if you have two wire hangers, 30 feet of string, 4" of PVC and some duct tape, you can make it for free. Plus it's a fun little project so I don't count the time as wasted.


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## COOTER 212 (Feb 24, 2008)

Good idea, could have used that 2 weeks ago when i dropped my facemask while climbing but didn't know untill i went to get it out of my pocket. Instead i tied my pocket knife to my pull up rope with it open 1/4 way. Just could not seem to hook it, still had to climb down the tree to get it. Luckily i was in my chain on with climbing sticks instead of using my climber which i have had to climb down to get things in the past.


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## Don Schultz (Jul 5, 2002)

Nice. I dropped my hat last week. Found a back up in my pack. (I carry to much crap.) So I need to build one..


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## Gary in Ohio (Jun 29, 2009)

I looked over this again and think a comment here would be helpful. 








To get the end of the loop to touch the shaft of the hook, you'll need to bend the wire a bit more by hand. You can only make a 90 degree bend in the vise.









Don't worry about the overall length of the wire. Once you've bent it, you can cut off all but an inch past the loop then tape this in place. 









If the hooks don't want to stay in place, you can wrap a piece of tape around the loop. This will make them all stay together.

Leave the hooks long when you first cut the hanger. Once you're done you can cut the length of the hooks to whatever you like. I think mine are 2 1/2 inches. Use a file or a bench grinder to smooth the rough edges.


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## Jester1023 (Dec 16, 2010)

The only thing that I've ever left on the ground while using my climber is my bow. I was at 20 feet when I realized the X-Force was at the base of the tree. I used my pull rope, my extra caribiner, and a tiny little twig end from a nearby branch. I tied the caribiner on the pull rope. Then I held open the clasp and inserted the trip twig to hold it open. I lowered the caribiner down and positioned it against a cam hole. I gently pulled up to make shure it was in the hole...and "snap"...the twig broke, the caribiner closed, and I hoisted the bow up to me.


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## thimblebldr (Sep 27, 2009)

I took a treble hook and filed down the barbs as stated earlier in the post. It works great.


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## Big AL 101 (Dec 12, 2012)

That's a really awesome hook grapple hook. I'll make one, one of theses days.!!

That does solve the problem how how to retrieve an item once it has been dropped. A better problem to solve is not dropping the item.

What if you drop your hook??? jk


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## Don Schultz (Jul 5, 2002)

I made one from the largest treble hook I could find locally. I also dug up a magnet, and epoxied it to the bottom of the treble. The magnet should retrieve arrows. Works great in experiments.


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## RononDex (Aug 8, 2013)

You could take a small foothold trap and connect it to a rope to hook onto stuff.


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## erniepower (Apr 3, 2012)

swamp said:


> Thanks for the buildup Hoosierhunter. I feel that the Getsit is a useful product. With a retail price of around $10 it would be hard to make a retriever for less if you counted your time at minium wage. I had a man at a sportshow here in Arkansas tell me he could make one out of wood and save the $10. I told him that I felt sure that he could, I proceded to tell him how my prototypes were made out of a broom handle. I gave him instructions on how to use a dremel tool to cut the groove for the ring, how to make the slots for the hooks to snap into, and where to get a magnet and how to get it to stay in the base. Before I was done he realized it was a good deal for the money. This has been an extremely difficult product to market. I have kept an eye on other similar products and they have seemingly faced the same. I think alot of the problem is that a treble hook can be easily used, but we felt that the fact that the hooks could be folded up to keep them from snagging on everything in your pack would be a big seller. But, being an old tight wad myself. I can't blame people for saveing a little money.
> View attachment 1219963



I have two of these retrievers and I can't tell you how many times I have been saved by it! I never go in a tree without it. I buy them for friends who start using hunting from trees rather than from the ground. But they are really hard to find. I bought my first one at draves archery in effingham. Now if I need one, I call them up even though I live in mn. It truly is the best product I have found for retrieving the stuff I drop. The only improvement I would make is to put a stronger magnet in.


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## cgoehl125 (Feb 12, 2010)

I carry one sometimes but I've only used it once to pull up the bottom of my climber 

Sent from my HTCONE


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## OhWell (Aug 21, 2013)

RononDex said:


> You could take a small foothold trap and connect it to a rope to hook onto stuff.



That is brilliant !!! Even a small wooden mouse trap might work for clothing type items. We could even glue skate board grip tape to the wood to help it grip. I like this idea a lot, no points and such.

A rare earth magnet could also be epoxied to the end for metal objects.


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