Any of you guys use string trackers on your bows? I ordered one the other day. I thought it would be great for turkey hunting but not opposed to using it on deer either. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are on these.
Thanks
Dannon

I had great success on turkeys with a string tracker

I've personally took two deer with mine, my brother took a hog and deer and my father took a deer with his. Absolutely love them!

I have one.  It hasn't worked well for me on deer.  Too noisy and they have jumped the string badly on the two shots I've tried.  Have yet to have it on for a pig shot but hope to try soon.

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I love mine and have it every time I'm in a stand.
I've taken hogs , deer, and bear without issue. I have had the broadhead cut the string when an animal takes off on a couple of occasions but other than that no problems.

Though I've never taken anything with mine, I have one of the leather ones made by Chad Orde. Jerry Russell swears by them for ALL big game animals & he knows his stuff. He also has a video on YouTube on his channel (Russell Outdoor Guides) that details how to properly prepare a string tracker, so that you have minimal drag & minimal noise. Hope this helps.

Quote from: Crittergetter on November 22, 2018, 02:59:47 PM
I love mine and have it every time I'm in a stand.
I've taken hogs , deer, and bear without issue. I have had the broadhead cut the string when an animal takes off on a couple of occasions but other than that no problems.

I need to remember to take mine with me to Canada next spring.

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won't hunt turkey without one.

 

I love my string tracker for turkeys and nighttime hog hunts. I've quit using them for deer though, as I believe they are just too noisy for our wired up Texas deer.

Bisch

Quote from: Bisch on November 23, 2018, 10:16:25 AM
I love my string tracker for turkeys and nighttime hog hunts. I've quit using them for deer though, as I believe they are just too noisy for our wires up Texas deer.

Bisch

That's what I'm afraid of on the deer. They are just too quick to jump the string. However I think I'll like it when it comes to turkey's and hogs. Should be here this week so I can do some shooting with it to try it out. I've watched some videos on setting them up. Excited to give it a try.
Dannon

I've killed several deer with mine. I have come to the conclusion that they are just too noisy for Texas deer. Like said above, I won't purposely hunt turkeys without it. It has upped my turkey recovery rate a lot!!!

Bisch

It came in the mail today. I ordered a strap on mount to screw it into. The only problem is, I have a great northern strap on quiver and there doesn't seem to be enough room for the other strap on mounting peice. However I did shoot one arrow with the string attached. It did make a little noise but it didn't seem to affect my accuracy. Can't wait till this spring!

Quote from: Fattony77 on November 22, 2018, 03:01:32 PM
Jerry Russell swears by them for ALL big game animals & he knows his stuff. He also has a video on YouTube on his channel (Russell Outdoor Guides) that details how to properly prepare a string tracker, so that you have minimal drag & minimal noise. Hope this helps.

That video is great! Thanks for pointing it out Fattony. It gives a LOT of good information. - John

The area I hunt on the west coast has a lot of brush, mostly sword fern three to four feet high and a tough shrub called salal covering every square foot of every acre it occupies. It would be vaguely similar to laurel. How would a string tracker perform in this stuff? I'd be concerned that it would break.

I was kinda wondering about hog hunting in the palmettos also. Anyone got any input?

I've hunted south Tx cactus flats with my string tracker. I've had the whole spool get taken out without the string breaking, and I've had the string break after just 20-30yds. Even if the string breaks, it still gets you on the absolute correct path of the shot critters, so it is still helpful. When you are night hunting pigs, you just can't tell exactly where they go after a hit. The string tracker won't make a recovery happen on a bad shot, but it sure helps on good or marginal shots where there is not a great blood trail, but there is a dead critter!!!!!

Bisch


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I had a good hit on a hog and was using a string tracker.  No blood...the string hung up on a saw palmetto frond and cut about 15 yards into the thicket.  Lost hog.  Won't use one in palmettos.  I think for more open woods or in the absence of saw tooth fronds they might work OK. 

I have used them a great deal for well over 30 years in every conceivable type of cover.  Conservatively 150-200 animals taken and never a single failure on deer, bear, hogs and turkey.  You MUST set them up properly for great performance.  They are great at getting you on first blood and will often make impossible recoveries very simple. 

About half of my animals I shot with a string tracker and I'm a huge fan. I shot two hogs and a bear this year with one, and all were quick tracks in spite of rain. I do tell folks to practice with them and not to expect too much from them, it's just a tool and if used improperly it can cause more harm than good. They are absolutely no good for stalking in my experiences. I didn't take one with me to hunt mule deer or to Africa this year, but those are very different tracking conditions. I can't imagine not taking one to hunt turkeys or hogs.

On my ASLs I use a Drifter mounted high on my riser, on my RD longbows I use a Great Northern Gadget Adapter below the grip. I now use the white thread exclusively, the orange seemed to have more drag to me. It could be in my head.
Thom