Tips & Tactics

Arrow Deflection String Test

Arrow Deflection String Test

By Andrew Davis

I live in the upper Midwest where the terrain is thick and not bowhunter-friendly.

When I choose a treestand location, I have to trim a lot of foliage just to see out, let alone launch an arrow.

Before I started using the tip I’m about to share, I’d sit in my stand and do my best to figure out which branches needed removing.

Like most hunters, I’d mentally note where to create shooting lanes, then climb down and use pruning shears and a pole saw to remove obvious obstructions.

Come deer season, I’d often find out the hard way the small things I thought wouldn’t matter actually mattered a lot.

Here’s the method I use to remedy the problem.

First, decide where you’ll prepare your shooting lanes by determining the areas where deer will most likely offer a shot.

Get a roll of thin string and tie one end to your treestand seat or, better yet, tack a nail to the tree above your stand at chest height and attach the string.

Use a light twine that won’t sag.

Next, climb down, grab the other end of the string and walk it to the places you predetermined.

Hold it a couple of feet off the ground where a deer’s vital zone will be, pull the string tight, and then look back at your stand.

This will reveal the arrow’s flight path and show you exactly which branches could be potentially disastrous for your shot.

Take into account your arrow’s path will be slightly higher than the string due to gravity and arrow-drop. Make sure to remove obstructions well above the string.

I like several feet of clean circumference around the string to ensure a brush-free kill zone when the moment of truth arrives.

If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, remember winter precipitation weighs down branches and the deer will be slightly elevated when standing in it. Clear an additional foot or two above the string.

It only takes the tiniest tip of a branch against fletching to deflect an arrow far off its intended course. We spend way too much time, effort and money for something so trivial to ruin everything.

For a couple of dollars and a few extra minutes of path-checking, you can use the arrow deflection string test to prevent a miss, or worse, a wounded animal.

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd