# String Tracker Doe



## jerry russell (Nov 25, 2012)

I have had lots of questions about string trackers here lately and I thought you guys might like to see one in action.  I shoot a string tracker on all deer, hog and bear hunts and I consider it to be a tremendous assest for recovering both marginally hit animals and even well hit animals that simply don't bleed. 
In this video the tracker was not really needed as this heart shot doe ran an unbelievable 250 yards and left one of the heaviest blood trails I have ever seen. Still, had it been a marginal hit, the tracker stayed right with the deer for over 200 yards.

Man it was beautiful out there this morning! Deer were moving everywhere and I had multiple close encounters befor this big old nanny came into a mock scrape. This was one big old swamp lady.
Sorry for the poor quality of the video. I was using a backup camera on my bow cam mount.


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## stick-n-string (Nov 25, 2012)

Man Jerry that is a beast of a doe!! Great video too!!


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## sawtooth (Nov 25, 2012)

hope you got a sharp knife and a big freezer! good job man.


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## 2wheelfoster (Nov 25, 2012)

Great Job Jerry! More meat for the freezer!


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## SELFBOW (Nov 25, 2012)

That string was flying off that reel. Pretty cool.


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## Al33 (Nov 25, 2012)

Way to go Jerry! Great video!! After tracking the doe I shot on the 15th for right at 200 yards I was amazed to see she went that far with the two big holes right through her goody box. I have nevr used a string tracker but I can definitely see how it would be of great benefit with especially a marginal hit.

Congratulations on a trophy doe. You Russell fellows are deadly!


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## jerry russell (Nov 25, 2012)

buckbacks said:


> That string was flying off that reel. Pretty cool.



Yep it is amazing at the speed of that line coming off there. It actually makes a hgh speed noise.
Every time it happens I have an urge to set the hook.


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## Glenn (Nov 26, 2012)

Great video! I have played around with a string tracker and a gadget adapter for turkey hunting. Would have helped on a buck my father shot this year.

And that is a man size doe!


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## longbowdave1 (Nov 26, 2012)

I enjoyed watching that video Jerry! Fun to see that line flying out of the tracker. You might need some rubber tipped arrows too, time for some hogs.


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## Stump Shooter (Nov 26, 2012)

Good video and good shot Jerry


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## TIMBERGHOST (Nov 26, 2012)

Outstanding!  Super video.  Really enjoyed that.


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## dm/wolfskin (Nov 26, 2012)

Nice job Jerry. Mike


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## Jasper (Nov 26, 2012)

Great job Jerry!


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## ngabowhunter (Nov 26, 2012)

Congrats on a nice doe. Thanks for sharing the video. I enjoyed seeing and hearing that string being pulled off the spool.


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## Necedah (Nov 26, 2012)

Wow, that was unique.
Congratulations Jerry 

Dave


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## rapid fire (Nov 26, 2012)

Couple things.  First, thanks for the video.  That's awesome.  Now, why is that other arrow in your quiver bloody?  Where's the other dead animal? haha.  How do you attach the string to the arrow?


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## 7Mag Hunter (Nov 26, 2012)

Wow !!!!!

Did not know they still made string trackers....

We used them briefly in the 80s......

They do work...........


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## jerry russell (Nov 26, 2012)

rapid fire said:


> Couple things.  First, thanks for the video.  That's awesome.  Now, why is that other arrow in your quiver bloody?  Where's the other dead animal? haha.  How do you attach the string to the arrow?



The blood? Man I been slinging some arrows, lol

You attach the sting by unscrewing the broadhead a little and doing a 3 time wrap. With wood arrows you have to tie a clinch type knot right at the taper point. 

I am actually going to do a little "how to set-up" a game tracker video  as soon as I can get my tail out of these trees.


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## ChrisSpikes (Nov 26, 2012)

Good deal Jerry!  Amazing how tough they can be sometimes.


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## 2wheelfoster (Nov 26, 2012)

jerry russell said:


> Yep it is amazing at the speed of that line coming off there. It actually makes a hgh speed noise.
> Every time it happens I have an urge to set the hook.



I bet that big ol doe would have yanked that bow right out of your hands the way she was running. That would have been a fight!


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## Skunkhound (Nov 26, 2012)

Great video, and a very nice doe. Good job.


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## Clipper (Nov 26, 2012)

Fom the angle of your shot it looks like your stand was pretty high.  How high do you normally place a bow stand?


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## Lukikus2 (Nov 26, 2012)

Wow. Ask and you shall recieve. 

All the posts and questions on the system and that video was awesome. You need to contact them to use that footage for a commercial. I'm sold.

Congrats on the big ol' nanner head also. 

Thanks for sharing


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## NavyDave (Nov 26, 2012)

I got mine set up on my bow already!!


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## jerry russell (Nov 27, 2012)

Clipper said:


> Fom the angle of your shot it looks like your stand was pretty high.  How high do you normally place a bow stand?



This stand was pretty high at 23' or so. It was needed because of the mature canopy and the thermals of the nearby draw. I normally like 18' for optimum shot angle. The shot was closer than I like as well (at 10 yards) to get two lungs but I placed the mock scrape there to force a turn off the trail. The scent of an unfamiliar doe in their territory stops these does in their tracks. The video was edited for time but that doe stood investigating the scrape for a loooong time before I shot. I was forced to lean out to the left to shoot around that tree because the trailing deer had busted me. The doe I shot spotted me because I stepped on a leaf that had fallen on my stand just before the shot. It is that crunchy potato chip sound on the video just before she snaps her look up at me.


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## Jake Allen (Nov 27, 2012)

She is a fine deer Jerry; congratulations!


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## DAGATOR16 (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks for the video. Awesome.


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## YankeeRedneck (Nov 28, 2012)

That was cool!
Thanks for posting this.


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## SWilson (Nov 29, 2012)

Thanks for posting the video. That was great! 

Regarding the 250-yard run, in my experience, they always run farther when the arrow stays in them, even with perfect shot placement like that one.

Thanks again for posting.


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## rapid fire (Nov 29, 2012)

What is the best way to get the string up once you find your game?  Do you keep using the tracker on consecutive animals till it runs out of string?


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## jerry russell (Nov 29, 2012)

rapid fire said:


> What is the best way to get the string up once you find your game?  Do you keep using the tracker on consecutive animals till it runs out of string?



Great question.
Everyone- PLEASE get the string up after the recovery. This stuff is synthetic and never rots away.

If you don't tangle it while tracking you can simply pull it to you from the end after you recover the animal. Sometimes you will have to walk back a little ways to get it. DO NOT pick it up or tangle it as you track because often times while tracking you will discover that the animal is walking ahead of you and the string will telegraph this. This happens much more often than folks would ever know without the tracker. Obviously, when this occurs you shut down the tracking job for a while. A tactic that we employ is to "stalk the string". The string allows you to track a wounded animal with your eyes forward and not down at the ground. This will often allow you to see the wounded animal at a great distance and before it sees you and bolts from it's bed. That statement brings up another point. A string tracker will greatly reduce the time needed to work out a difficult blood trail. What used to take an hour or more can now be done in a minute or two. While this is a good thing just remember that the animal must be given ample time to expire. If the string tracker stays in the animal, wait a bit longer than normal knowing that the tracking job will go 95% faster.

You can use the tracker several times as there is nearly 1/2 mile of string in the canister. The replacement spools are pretty cheap at around $7 so I normally buy 4-5 when I find them on-line so that I am not without. I hunt an insane amount each year and go through 2-3 spools shooting bear, turkey, hogs and deer but I would think that the average guy would get by with one for a season and one for a back-up if he took 3-4 animals per year.

There are several little tricks that I have learned over the years to these things and I promise I will have a video out very soon that includes all I have learned about these things over the last 25 years or so.

Obviously I am a huge advocate of these things because losing an animal absolutely devastates me like it does most folks. The use of a string tracker AND having a blood dog phone number ready if needed, will reduce wounded animal loss to the absolute minimum. I hope to hear some happy ending stories from some folks on here in the future because of these devices.


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## limbhanger (Nov 29, 2012)

Very nice.....


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## whossbows (Nov 29, 2012)

God job jerry


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## Sterling (Dec 7, 2012)

Great video! I didn't know those string trackers were still around. Where do you get them those days?


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## j_seph (Dec 7, 2012)

Nice, I just can't get it out of my head the bowfishing aspect of it. Ya know, grabbing the line and trying to get it in LoL. That would be my mistake as I would have a bowfishing, flashback moment.ROFL


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## BirdNut (Jan 4, 2013)

That is awesome...does the string not have effect on the arrow flight?   In other words, do you practice with it?


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## jerry russell (Jan 4, 2013)

At resonable trad archery distances, the tracker has little to no effect on arrow flight. I would not hesitate to shoot with it out to 25 yards and my longest kill using it was 31 yards.


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## stabow (Jan 4, 2013)

Thanks for sharing. What camera set up are you using? I like the way it works.


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## jerry russell (Jan 8, 2013)

A Kodak Playsport with a homemade mount.


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## bamaboy (Jan 8, 2013)

Great video Jerry!!! Thanks for sharing it!!! Love the big ole nanny doe shot!!


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## Red Arrow (Jan 8, 2013)

Good stuff Jerry.   I didn't know about removing that first couple of hundred yards,  looks like it makes a huge difference performance wise....


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