I have found a place this year that is like heaven to me. But there is a problem. It is literally a forest inside a swamp. Its thick in some spots to the point only mice can get through. But there is deer everywhere. Now to make a long (and kinda painful for me) story short I shot, and lost, a 4 pointer this weekend. Despite 7 hours of searching (most of which with a dog and experienced tracker) we just could not find the seer at all. He was hit with a 12 ga slug and showed good blood sign, but for only about 50 yards. He was in the real thick stuff, so there was the biggest problem. Earlier in the year my good friend and sometime hunting partner had his son shoot a deer in the same area with his bow, and again the deer could not be found. Same kind of circumstances and results. Now all this has me kinda worried about next year when I begin bow hunting. Ive thought about a string tracking device a bit, and after this weekend Im now SERIOUSLY considering one. But I don't know anyone with any real hands on experience with them. So Im turning to you folks to seek your advice and opinions on them. Supposedly, when properly installed, it will not affect arrow trajectories for 25 yards. This is fine by me since I wouldn't really contemplate shooting much farther than that, especially in these swampy woods. So, should I continue thinking of these, or do I just look at these series of events as flukes? Loosing this deer has really made me feel like being cautious to the point of being overly so. So can y'all help?
Brian M.
