Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Using a winch

Ok, I'm a greenhorn here. The wife got me a winch for my UTV for Christmas. I have it installed but haven't used it yet. In fact, I've never used any winch before. Before I get myself in trouble, I have a question.

While pulling, how do you keep the line from jamming under other layers of line?

Before you use it you need to spool it up under some weight, at least that's what I did with mine.

I pulled all but the last layer of rope off (I changed mine to synthetic winch rope) so that I have 6-7 winds left, hooked it to a tree, and used the winch to pull my truck to the tree from a distance. Then I simply kept it tight.

Not sure if this helps but it stayed pretty tight and I haven't had problems with it.

If you wind it on the drum right, and do not allow any slack around the drum. The cable should follow the pattern you started. You will, have the occasional f-up. My experience with skidders and various tow trucks. Never used a small winch. When dealing with wenches, things always end all knotted up.

Spotshooter has a valid tip. It probably did help.

Make sure you wind evenly. I'm a relative newcomer to winches as well. I've only had one for 4 years on my pickup.

1) Always rewind your cable with a load on it. If I have someone with me, I have them walk the business end in under load and come straight at the truck. If I don't have anyone, I retract my cable using a log chain on the end to supply the tension.
2) I try to address what I'm pulling squarely. Pulling at an angle causes the cable to bunch up on one side.
3) I get back as far as I reasonably can. When I'm using the cable I have plenty of distance starting out. That tends to allow the cable the chance to rewind smoothly onto the reel. It also affords greater torque since I'm pulling off a smaller diameter reel

I put one on my old S-10 for use around the farm. It works great for retrieving deer out of the ravines, moving trees and limbs off the paths and I also use it to pull out live cedar trees.

How does rope compare to steel for jamming?

The synthetic doesn't have nearly as much memory as the steel cable so once it's one it's easy to make sure you don't get slack in the rope.

I use blue steel winch rope.

IIRC the WARN manual said to wind it under load like I described before using it.

I even put synthetic rope on my ATV winch I use to pull deer into the back of the truck - I haven't put it on the small winch yet... man that steel cable sucks compared to synthetic, a spur on a steel cable is a bad, bad thing.

You need at least half a mile of cable for when you azz shoot a bear...

Need a level wind feature on a winch.

I've never had any real problems with cable getting packed on the reel. If it goes on under tension, it should come off ok. Best advice I ever got on using a winch was to throw something like a blanket or jacket over the cable while using it. That will help slow down the cable should it break. Could save a windshield.

I'm not sure if synthetic would hold up to high usage/commercial type situations, but for typical sportsman use, I would go for synthetic everytime...

For some applications, I would even use flat web strapping before steel cables, but that would be on manual winches...

Or serious bodily harm!

In real-life conditions, you won't usually have to worry about it balling up unevenly. Not that it won't, it often does. But, as long as it does not outgrow it's housing limitations, you are fine. If that occurs, you just stop, freespool pull it out, the re-wind under slight tension when you can optimally re-stock the line. Repeat as necessary.

I've had a winch on my ATV since 2008. I use Blue Steel rope. IMO it's all gain and no loss for my use. I switch it out for a synthetic plow rope for the Winter. When I put the ropes on my drum I just hold back some tension on the rope and guide it back and forth with my hand. I've never had a problem so far with this method. Synthetic rope won't naturally work back and forth on the drum on it's own so you need to work it back and forth by hand but it's not a big deal. High Brass used to bring me condemned equipment when his job involved some tower work. One item that's handy is a single pulley sheave. If I get a large deer I run the winch line through the pulley and use a rope to pull the sheave up to a limb. I use this method to load the deer on my ATV. No more hernias!

The best input you received so far is a parachute on the cable when winching! Blanket, coat, anything that can slow down the cable if something comes loose under load. Carry a sheave block so you can double line, this saves wear on the winch motor. All cable tries to bunch when pulling sideways.

winches work well under tension wenches, not so much...

"Winch, wench, what's the difference?"
Retch Sweeney

"In your case, not much."
Pat McManus

There have been some good replies, but safety first---ALWAYS put something over the cable to slow down the recoil if it breaks!! Lost a good friend in B.C.from a broken cable--- never knew what hit him.

The place you'll get a mess is when you are rigged up to something that loads one side of the fairlead. If that's the case, pull until you're a wrap or two from the point of binding the cable to the winch cross bars, then spool it out and hand stack it as clean as possible. You may have to repeat many times.

A snatch block is priceless. It can double your pull, allow you to rig around a corner, over a hill, up a tree.....etc. I can load an elk whole with a single block and some creative driving.

Lots of you boys have used 'wenches' before!!