Scouting, Volume 18, Number 9, September 1930 Page: 237
229-252 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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4. Ready to throw.
knot might have caught somewhere in his saddle or trappings
and both he and his horse given an unexpected upset.
The Wind-up Throw
We are now ready to rope. Holding on to the honda, throw
the rope out on the ground and shake the kinks and twists out
of it. Now shake out a noose in the right hand as in picture 1.
The noose should be roughly four or five feet long, the exact
length as it hangs making very little difference, and
the honda should hang about half way down or a lit-
tle more. Be sure the honda is on the outside—the
side away from you. That is important. Now with
the noose all arranged, coil up the lariat with the
left hand, taking the coils in the right hand. Each
coil should be about 15 or 18 inches long. When the
coiling is completed, transfer the coils to the left hand,
taking the end between the thumb and finger This
coiling should be carefully done so that the rope will
run out smoothly from the hand when it is thrown.
To be able to coil a lariat neatly and quickly is an
accomplishment in itself and
there is a little trick to it
which can be easily picked
up. As you hold the noose
in your right hand as in
Picture 1 and bring the coils
around with your left hand,
give the rope a half turn to-
ward you with your fingers
each time as you lay it in
your hand. This makes the
coils lie flat in your hand
and prevents the kinking
which is so annoying.
For the position you are
in ust before throwing,
study Picture 4 carefully
Standing in this position,
swing the noose up and
around overhead as in Pic-
ture 5. This is your wind
up. You do it for much the
same reason that a pitcher
winds up in baseball—it
6. Hondas used on catch ropes.
A-B Method of tying the lariat loop. C—Wire added for protection against
increase weight D—A metal half honda used for weight.
5. The Wind-up swing.
gives you steadiness and helps your aim. Furthermore, it opens
the noose for the throw This swinging is done with a right to
left motion—that is, as the noose passes in front of you it is
moving from your right to left. As you swing it in the air
you can let out more rope and thus enlarge the noose until it
feels in your hand to be about the right size for the throw Just
how big the noose should be depends upon the object at which
you are throwing—one has to learn to judge this from ex-
perience. Two or three swings should be sufficient.
suppose that we are roping a post in the back
yard having wound up, step straight toward
the post and throw Keep your eye on the top of
the post and throw straight at it. Do not throw
in the general direction of the post and trust to luck
that the noose will hit it Put it there Just as in
baseball some players fail to bat consistently because
they take their eyes from the ball a fraction of a
second before the bat connects, or would have con-
nected, so in lariat throwing you must keep your
eye on the target constantly, from the time you start
the wind-up until the noose hits or misses. You may
do nothing more than wrap the rope around yourself
the first time, but never mind that. Stay with it.
At the start it is best to
stand not more than ten feet
away from the post. Grad-
ually you can work back to
thirty feet, which is a good
distance to test one's skill.
It is the usual maximum dis-
tance for roping, although
T exas cowboys sometimes
succeed in making catches
at forty or even fifty feet.
If these instructions are
being followed, all you will
have to do is to keep work-
ing. It will come to you
before you know it. There
is only one secret in roping,
and that is work. To be-
come a good roper you must
practice, practice, practice.
For my part, I never ad-
mit to myself that I can do
anything of this sort until
Continued on Page 246
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 18, Number 9, September 1930, periodical, September 1930; New York, New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth310835/m1/9/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.