I've been thinking of trying out a Tradtrackr string tracker Anybody have any thoughts or have used these? I know turkeys are tough and sometimes fly so blood trailing becomes difficult Thanks

I'm not a diehard turkey hunter. Only killed two with a bow, but when I do bow hunt them I use a string tracker for the reasons you stated.

I wouldn’t hunt turkeys without one. I have killed several and lost more than I’ve killed when not using one. I recently bought a tradtracker as well and my initial impression is that it’s a good piece of kit. I like the size but a little suspect of the durability of the string. I also use the tracker spool from Turkey hunting secrets.com. I prefer the orange 17 lb because of the additional length of string. Make sure you take a few practice shots before you go afield. At Turkey hunting ranges of 20 yards and closer I have found no impact on arrow flight. Hope this helps.

Thanks Nemophilist for the response Last year I lost a nice Tom I had good blood for about 25 to 30 yards and then abruptly ended He had got around a corner of the trees I was by and disappeared out of sight so at that point not sure on line of travel or if he flew Looked for around 3 hours but to no avail Without the line of travel and no blood trail unfortunately could not recover him

Thanks Tagman79 I checked out the string tracker at their website Looks good but wondering about size? Dimensions (width and length)compared to the tradtrackr Also see it is threaded to screw into an insert but was wondering how you attach it to a longbow with no insert? Thanks

I've used the tracker 2500 but only on deer. Like someone stated on above thread. Practice with it to see how or if it affects arrow flight.I use to add a paper clip to arrow to tie the tracker line to it easily.

First go to 3 Rivers Archery and get a gadget adapter that straps to the bow with rubber straps. I use a tracker on turkey,deer, and hogs. I was using 17 pound test but changed to the 30 white. The reason white, is the man at Turkey Secrets told me they dyed the orange and it didn't seem to unravel from the spool as easy as it did if it wasn't dyed. I have so many saw briar vines and brush that the 17 pound was breaking to easily. Just make sure to pull out enough string before shooting it that it doesn't drag. I usually pull out enough to where I can insert a number 2 pencile in the hole and then do one practice shot. Hope this helps.

Rather than trying to tie tracker line to broadhead insert threads. You would have to carry a broadhead wrench & back broadhead off then tie it & screw it into the shaft.With a paperclip you bend it out if you have to tie it on & your done.

Interesting thread. After years of hunting turkey with a bow I finally ran into a year where nothing went right on the recoveries. I started a journey into string trackers as I think it would have made a ton of difference that year. I bought two types of string trackers that had attachment systems made for stickbows; and both used the game tracker spools. I killed a turkey last year with one but the bird went down where I shot (3 yards in front of me) so other than unwinding 60 feet of line wrapped around the bird the tracker didn't have a role in that harvest.

I started a thread maybe a couple of weeks ago that I didn't like how the thread came off the game tracker type spools. It just seemed to have more drag off the spool that it should. I had three spools and they all had the same degree of drag. The arrow shot significantly lower at 10 yards than the non-string attached arrows. In desperation, I ordered two more string tracker spools thinking age might have made the tracker string brittle. They came in...no dice...same issue.

So this morning I also ordered the Tradtrackr. I'm concerned about line durability but I'm pretty sure there should be almost no string drag and you can't kill a turkey if you can't hit them right. I ordered the combo package so the 11 spools should last me a while. Nice attachment systems are provided with a Tradtrackr.

Sorry for the long post but I'm going through the same discovery processes. BTW I use the Turkey Secrets line attachment hooks. It allows me to keep my broadheads mounted and aligned the way I prefer.

Thanks to everyone about their experiences and insights into the matter Always wondered about arrow drag and other issues but realize our weapons of choice are definitely close range as should be with traditional archery I'm leaning towards the tradtrackr version although it sounds like lighter line (thinking it's more like a dental floss type of line) I also realize that shot placement is crucial but even though I try to wait for the right shot, it seems that turkeys are always twisting and turning and showing dominance when they come into the decoys so between release and arrow impact it's not always what we desire I'm trying to hopefully reduce wounding and losing birds so I think anything we can do is worth a try Good luck to everyone out there getting up early and hearing those gobbles from the roost trees and anticipating a hot gobbler coming in Shoot straight!

I've shot string trackers for years, started with Electricians jet lines and then Tracker 2500 17lb line. I've never experienced excessive drag like you. I start out by shooting off 100 yds of line. Have you tried that? Just a suggestion.

I make the Tradtracker. It works great on turkeys but the string will sometimes break. The price of small and lightweight and having virtually no affect on arrow flight. I am testing some some stronger material with the same properties. It supposedly has twice the strength of what I currently use. Will post more info as I get it.

Norman where is the site where you sell your tradtracker

PM sent to lowrider

RD...yep I stripped about 100 yards of line off on every spool with the normal game tracker spools before I took the first shot. (not talking about the Trad tracker spools) As I said, I can feel the drag coming off the spool when I pull it out and occasionally it has a very slight 'catch'. It concerns me. It isn't dreadful but its enough that no way an arrow isn't effected at least to some degree.

Being the constant tinkerer (and chronic overthinker) I chose three different broadheads. They were a two blade Eskimo, a three bladed Woodsman elite, and the two blade 135 grain Landshark. All were set up with weights to achieve my arrow tune.

I spent some time shooting several shots with each (without the string) at 10 yards at a business card. All hit consistently in the targeted area; but the Woodsman hit a little higher by an inch or so from the other two. Truthfully, the Simmons would shoot on the lower edge area of the card, while the Eskimo was pretty much dead center on the card every time. It was a meaningless task for the most part as all were 'accurate'

I then went to the string attachments. The preferred broadhead I want to use for turkeys is the Simmons so I started with that. The first shot was about 3" low. The second shot actually hit the bottom of the card, while the third was a little lower than the first shot. The repeated process with the Eskimos shot low; but hardly enough to matter and well within my own shooting error. Oddly, the Woodsman shot perfect! Likely because they were a little high without the string so the string just brought them down to the target.

What does it all mean? I'm not sure as I'm not a shooting machine and other than the Simmons heads, the other two seemed that they were all 'right there' in an acceptable grouping. Maybe I should just use the Woodsmans and get the standard system. Still I'm going to give the Trad tracker a good test flight to see if they shoot good with the Landsharks.

This is obviously 'my' results and your results may vary. I have a suspicion that they faster or higher poundage your bow is, the less a little drag may matter. I also suspect the more arrow weight you shoot may effect the results.

Thanks loprofile for the info on your tradtrackr string you are testing out. If it works towards your satisfaction do you think it would be available by say the 10th of April? I believe our turkey season starts about the middle of April here in SD Maybe if I order a tradrackr from you I can be a test for the new line Thanks

I use the one from Omnivore.

Best luck to all!

Www. Tradtrackr. Com. Hope to have new thread to test in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately cannot be sourced in USA

Received the new thread today. Pros and cons. It is white nylon and is 70%+ stronger than the polyester thread I use. Seems to be very close in flight characteristics. Tradeoff is that it is about 600 feet vs 1000 for the poly. I am atill testing but no doubt in my mind that it will be better for turkeys. Can order on “new thread” page on trafdtrackr. Com

Haven’t used the trad tracker yet for turkey, but love the sound of a string tracker.

https://youtu.be/wJuCNTgjyM8?si=FpCDBD0N1uspcz7K

https://youtu.be/1EgWys5CiXY?feature=shared

YouTube links for the video clips under pics

https://youtu.be/1EgWys5CiXY?feature=shared

https://youtu.be/wJuCNTgjyM8?si=jSR-tYXxJXgy8QYW

Good video!

I have killed a bunch of turkeys with a conventional string tracker. It has made a difference in recovery on a number of birds. I have also shot a couple pigs where the string made a difference. I just bought the tradtracker and it is a quality product. I shot it with no effect on arrow flight. I will be using it for Turkeys and I am confident it will work well.

I say use a bow fishing kit and reel that gobbler in!

Ok, ok, obviously that'd be illegal, but I thought it was funny (full disclosure, I'm three beers in, don't work tomorrow;)

And lets face it, I'm hardly the first guy to think it!

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