Ropers- help this hobby rancher out

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Alan

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I can't rope a calf to save my life! :oops: I throw a good enough loop and lead the calf well enough, but my other (off) hand can't seem (I can't seem) to get an idea of what to do. I let the rope slide through my hand but I always come up short. Do you simply let the rope slide through the non throwing hand? I know it is a matter of practice, just wondering if I'm doing the right thing with the non throwing hand?

Thanks,
Alan (not a cowboy yet)
 
Posted all of this on the Beginners board also.

I realize this will get a chuckle from alot of you, just having fun and trying to get an idea of what's going on. So don't give me too much cr@p, but I'll take some.

Alan
 
with the coils in one hand you need too practice releasing a few as you deliver the throw. practice on a bucket or haybale to start with. start out close then back off and release the coils according to your distants away from the object, youll start getting the hang off it. the loop is a extention of your arm like throwing a rock remember to follow through all the way with the delivery .
 
Thanks, for the advice, is there a point where you should tighten your hand to end the release? Or just judge the strength of the throw? My thinking is, I fish with a "level wind" reel, like a deep sea reel. I do this in rivers if I feel my cast is too far I can use my thumb to slow the cast to drop the bait where I want it. This principle does not work with roping, so far.

Thanks again,
Alan
 
Alan":2ub2zbnv said:
Thanks, for the advice, is there a point where you should tighten your hand to end the release? Or just judge the strength of the throw? My thinking is, I fish with a "level wind" reel, like a deep sea reel. I do this in rivers if I feel my cast is too far I can use my thumb to slow the cast to drop the bait where I want it. This principle does not work with roping, so far.

Thanks again,
Alan
well it does to some degree like when on a horse and you are gaining on a calf you might need too let the slack drag through your hand to slow it down. are throw the whole shooting match if it is pulling away but alot of practice on the ground you will soon get the hang of the slack just dont let a coil suck shut on you :eek:
 
Alan it's not an easy thing to learn. You'll have to be patient. When I roped in High School rodeo (wont say how many years ago) I can't even count how many millions of times I roped the hay bale. Then I moved up to dogs and sisters. Eventually I was roping steer heels and calves but it was a long time coming. Nowadays I just might get lucky enough to rope a yearling with a bad attitude or a prolapsed cow and that doesn't happen too often. I'm getting cobwebs in my wrist.
 
Well, I'm sure no expert, but here's what works for me...I was lucky enough as a kid to have an old fellow that won the CFR Team Roping at our local team roping events. He always like to give pointers to kids that were interested in learning.

It's kind of hard for me to explain (easier to learn if you can actually see what someone's talking about), but basically where the tip of your loop points when you're swinging is where it's going to land. Practice keeping your swing nice and even in motion, and a smooth release when the tip of your loop is pointing at your target.

I like to use a little less than half an arm's length of spoke (where you hang onto the loop - past the hondo). I also like an arm's lenght of rope between my loop and the coils when I'm roping. Don't be afraid to build a fair size loop when you're practicing, it gives more weight to your throw.

I hold my loop with my forefinger and index finger along the rope, so as I swing they are pointing in the direction I am swinging at. Looks sort of like you're making a gun (thumb helps hold the rope along with third and fourth fingers, whist first two fingers lay along the rope directing the throw).

If you're roping horns, it takes less dip in your loop when you're swinging, whereas mulies will need the rope over their head, so you need to have a definate dip in the tip of the loop when you throw.

Heel shots are a bit different. You sort of need a figure 8 like configuration in the loop when you throw it under the calf's belly and just ahead of the rear legs. Then you pull your slack up as the calf steps ahead into the loop.

Oh, and always remember to keep your thumb up and out of the way when you're pulling your slack (once you progress to roping while mounted). Lots of one-thumbed ropers out there that forgot that lesson. Seen a fellow's thumb grabbed out of the arena dirt once and dusted off before they took him to the hospital. He was lucky enough to have it sewn back on successfully. :shock:

Roping a horse is kind of different altogether, at least for me. Horses will throw their heads up as you release the rope at them, so what works for me is kind of a hoolihan, or a backwards swing that's released in an upwards direction as the horse is just coming level with my shoulder (but I've only roped horses from the ground so can't say what works best horseback).

Like all the others have said, practice is key. When I was a rebellious teen-ager and frustrated with my parents ('cause of course I knew far more than they did when I was a teen ;-) ) I used to spend literally hours roping a sawhorse burning off that teen-aged angst.

Anyway, I probably made a muddle out of this, so here's a link to a nice team roping site with a question and answer forum.

http://teamroper.com/Discussion/Categor ... egory&ID=0


Take care and keep practicing - might need an extra hand at branding time one of these years, Allan.
 
the tip of the loop is what i use like a sight where to loop will be delivered and when you hit the target the honda will hit where you aimed like throwing a rock its all hand and eye cordination ;-)
 
reagarding ur first post....im still in the learning stages of roping myself. just make sure u let the slack slip through ur hand until u think u have enough and then pull back once u have ur object...( for me...a chair)
 

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