string tracker ?

[Flingblade]

I bought a string tracker at the K'zoo show last weekend and am considering using it for an upcoming hog hunt and turkeys this spring.  I am a little concerned that with the string attached behind the broadhead there will be a large loop of string hanging at full draw.  Any issues with this snagging on something causing kick back?  My bowfishing set-up has a slide to allow the line to slide to the back of the arrow on the shot.  Has anyone tried a slide with the string tracker?  Any problems shooting one through the shoot through netting on a blind?  I don't use a bow quiver so I'm thinking it won't work for stalking but will be limited to the stand or blind when it can be attached to the arrow.  Any other tips on using a string tracker?

[sticksnstones]

I know a bunch of guys with more experience than me, but I started using one of Chad's a year ago or so. I have a few experiences to share.  

First off, Jerry Russell has a good video on how to get them playing out without resistance. I do what he describes, then I shoot *3 broadheads at 15 yards to confirm it's flying free.

I've gone back and forth on using a gadget adapter and strapping it to the opposite side of my upper riser from my sight window. This would be the part that would play into your loop question. As it comes to that I prefer just under my hand when in a tree stand, and on the riser from ground blinds.

As for shooting through mesh windows with them, I haven't done it yet. I hope someone else here can help you out more.
Thom

[sticksnstones]

PS I had a string hooked to my last hog and it was a very reassuring feeling to have that line paying out as it ran off. I know it fell over within earshot, but it was comforting nonetheless.

I WISH I had one on the hog we couldn't recover a few years ago. I wonder if it would have been the difference between putting it in the cooler and losing it. I guess we'll never know.
Thom

[Flingblade]

Thanks Thom.  I'll check out the video.  As you describe I think below the hand would be the safest although Chad recommended mounting above.  Just his personal preference he said.  I've had bowfishing arrows snap back at me a couple times.  Really don't want to experience that with a sharp broadhead on the business end.
A string tracker would have made tracking that hog we lost much easier.  May have even been able to get you in for a follow up shot if needed.  
Gary

I have shot a boatload of critters thru mesh with no problems.

They are not good for stalking as the string will hang on everything.

I have never had the loop of line hang up on anything.

I would not think of turkey hunting without my string tracker!

And remember, the string tracker will not save a bad shot, but it will save a good shot with a bad blood trail!!!

Bisch

[David Mitchell]

The issue I have had with tracking string on hogs is that where I hunt in Florida there are a lot of palmetto thickets that hogs love to run to when shot.  The saw-tooth edges of the palmetto cut the string.  The one time I used it when the string stopped paying out I was happy that the hog had not gone far and would be easy to find--all I found was the broken end of the string. Never found the hog. In more open country that would probably not be the case.  No issues with arrow flight.

[jonsimoneau]

My wife and I both shot turkeys this past fall from a blind, through the mesh, and with a string tracker. I should have been using them years ago, and I won't bowhunt for turkeys without one again. I know I have lost a couple of birds that likely would have been recovered had I used one.

[Lowrider]

String Tracker has saved me a couple of times but where I hunt I have the same problem as David. I shot a hog last Thursday that the string broke after about 75 yards on some brush. I thought the hog was going to go down at anytime but never did find him. I still want shoot without one.

Sometimes the line breaks, and sometimes it does not. I have had passthru shots in S. Tx where the line never broke; it went from my bow off thru the woods, thru the animal, and back to the arrow laying on the ground.

The one thing I have found, esp on pigs at night, is that even if the string breaks it will get you started in the right direction.

The String tracker is not an end-all, but is a great tool to have in your arsenal!

Bisch

[Lowrider]

Bisch you probably have shot more hogs than I have but I have noticed unless it is an almost immediate killing shot that a hog even if not pushed will just walk off. They are not like deer where they will just go lay down after the make their initial run. Have you found this to be true?

Originally posted by Lowrider:
Bisch you probably have shot more hogs than I have but I have noticed unless it is an almost immediate killing shot that a hog even if not pushed will just walk off. They are not like deer where they will just go lay down after the make their initial run. Have you found this to be true?

I'm not really sure how to answer this? On pefect shots the hogs go 20-60 or so yds and pile up dead. On marginal shots, they go 100-????? yds before dying and get real hard to find. On bad shots, they go forever and die where you can't find them or live on to get shot again on another hunt!

Bisch

[Bowwild]

I bought one this past summer and plan to use on turkeys. A good friend with far more turkey experience than I advised no matter how good I hit a turkey, if I shoot enough, I will lose one that made it to a good hide to die.

[Chad Orde]

I like mounting mine above because its in my vision/sight picture so I know the shot it clear. Or should be LOL. It was a fun show got to talk hunting for 3 days!! Come on turkey season!!

 

I did not mention this above, but I mount mine below the arrow, like where a stabilizer would go.

Bisch

[katman]

Bisch, you killing machine you, what # test line do you prefer? and why? Thanks.

[Flingblade]

Thanks guys.  Glad to know I can shoot through netting without issue and nobody has had a problem with kickback.  I'll have to experiment with placement to find what works best for me.  I can't wait to try it out.  I imagine watching the line play out and then stop adds a whole other level of excitement to the post shot experience.  I'll be trying it out in South Carolina the first week of March hunting pigs.  
It was great to meet you at the show Chad!

[Bow man]

Originally posted by Chad Orde:
I like mounting mine above because its in my vision/sight picture so I know the shot it clear. Or should be LOL. It was a fun show got to talk hunting for 3 days!! Come on turkey season!!

     

Chad it was great meeting you over the weekend and talking. I will be picking a couple of them up from you this year

Originally posted by Flingblade:
Thanks guys.  Glad to know I can shoot through netting without issue and nobody has had a problem with kickback.  I'll have to experiment with placement to find what works best for me.  I can't wait to try it out.  I imagine watching the line play out and then stop adds a whole other level of excitement to the post shot experience.  I'll be trying it out in South Carolina the first week of March hunting pigs.  
It was great to meet you at the show Chad!

Even if the line were to somehow catch on something, there is virtually no way the arrow could kick back. The line is only 17# test.

Another note on shooting thru the mesh. The only time I have ever encountered a problem shooting thru mesh is when you try to shoot at a real hard angle thru the mesh. I had my shot meesed up twice because of that before I figured it out. Just keep your shot straight thru , or at a slight angle , but no hard angles. I cannot prove this, but I think what messes it up at a hard angle it the forward tip of the feather quill catching on the netting as the arrow passes thru at the hard angle. Both times it happened to me (a loooooooooong time ago) there was a very large and odd rip in the netting.

Bisch

[jonsimoneau]

Both of the birds my wife and I shot this past fall immediately flew and they flew pretty far. I've got video of the one my wife shot and you can watch that string trailing behind the bird until it flew out of sight.

[Flingblade]

Jon,  I assume you recovered both birds?  I think it is interesting that I haven't found one person that says they tried them and wouldn't use them again; especially for turkeys.  I haven't heard a negative other than the chance the string breaks in heavy brush.  Both turkeys I have taken with bow were shot through the hips and didn't go far at all.  I know I can't be that lucky every time.  Looking forward to using them this spring.  
Bisch, I will be sure to avoid hard angles.  Thanks.