Jumping the String
Whitetail Deer
Yesterday, I read an article by Chuck Adams about deer jumping the string. Although I've experienced it, I never realized just how incredibly fast they are. I can think of 3 instances where it happened to me.
First, I was in a stand and was shooting at a non-alert 8 point broadside at 30 yards. I was shooting a Hoyt Supertec at about 270-280 fps. I aimed right behind the front shoulder. When I recovered the deer, I learned that the arrow hit where I aimed, but the exit was almost to the opposite rear quarter. I ended up with a liver shot and possibly a lung. I calculated that the arrow took 1/3-1/2 second to reach the deer. The deer was almost faster.
Second, I was in a stand and shooting at an alert doe at 40 yards with the same bow. I was amazed as I watched the doe effortlessly duck beneath the arrow.
Third, I was in a stand and shooting at an amazing buck chasing a doe broadside and slightly quartering to me at 20 yards. Aware of the trajectory I aimed slightly up at the shoulder. I hit the deer with what should have been a good shot. I recovered the arrow, no blood, but some type of clear fluid. I did not recover that deer, and it apparently lived just fine. The next year another hunter shot that deer and recovered my broadhead in the backbone right behind and above the shoulder.
Until I read Mr. Adams' article, I did not realize that they were much faster than I thought. He recommended to anticipate the jump by aiming low. Some deer movement might be anticipated, but much of it cannot. I now hunt from a ground blind which, according to the article, masks or muffles the sound and improves the situation.
Do any of you compensate for the jump? If so, how?
after 30 plus whitetails with the bow I have never had one do this. I probably just jinxed myself by saying that !
I believe it is fairly rare that a whitetail does not drop, at least a little, at the sound of the shot. Of course they're not ducking the arrow on purpose, they're just leaving. Virtually every video you see of a WT shot sequence shows some degree of flinch. Undetectable to us, the shooter, until played back on video.
Sticksender, I understand. I have not compensated for the jump. I also learned not to shoot at alert deer. So far-mostly ok. But, if you're going to compensate expecting a jump, which way do you compensate? I think that if you're going to aim low, you'd still want to be somewhere in the kill zone. Chuck Adams wrote about aiming at the bottom of the brisket. I'm not comfortable aiming that low.
EMB there are a couple of things at play here. First even though they call it jumping the string, I think in most cases the deer actually are reacting to noise from the fletch of your arrow as it approaches them. Some brands/styles of fletching/feathers are quieter than others. Just my opinion, but that’s the way I see it. Also, if your going to shoot a deer in close, like 18 yards or less, I don’t think you will have to compensate for their reaction to noise. But at 30 and 40 yards yes, do compensate, especially on an alert deer. Or don’t take the shot and wait for a better opportunity. Your aim point should be at the bottom 1/3 of the deer for anticipated movement
I don’t recall it ever happening to me, on 30 plus whitetails, but I believe that it sure does happen.
The article is in the most recent issue of Whitetail Journal that I get as a member of ASA. I tried to find a link, but nothing is that current. Noise is everything, but the article seems to suggest that it's less critical at longer yardages-40+-but at the short yardages, it is. The deer are reacting to the noise at around .10-.15 second. Interesting read.
Coues deer are even worst. Here's a good example video!
This is why I like my deer at 12yards. Honestly, I've shot most of my deer within 20 yards and I don't think I've had too many instances of deer ducking my arrows. I did have a couple longer shots where they obviously did.
30-45 yards is the worst range for this IMO. 20 and under I don't even worry and my arrows are usually a blazing 245fps. It's obviously all noise related and I try to have the quietest possible setup. Whether your arrow is 250 or 280 makes no difference on whether or not they'll duck string at 35 yards. Another reason I love shooting walking deer 25 yards and under is my favorite shot. Also, I find bucks in the rut jump less as they now are sometimes curious about noises.
I have been told to aim for the heart all the time, due to this. The idea being, if you hit the heart great, but when they do duck to preload and take off, you will likely still get lungs. I'm not sure this works, but always seemed reasonable to me.
Apauls, you note something I've been told - walking deer seem less likely to do this. (I'm paraphrasing, is that what you were saying?) Makes some sense as they are thinking about something (moving) and they may be in the midst of one movement, making the reflexive dip to preload a little slower, thus having less impact on where the arrow goes. An interesting possibility. Cool.
In many instances, I don’t think they can hear quite as well when walking, either.
Going down the road of aiming low, go ask Bill Winke how that works out. I been watching his vids for a few year and he has the worst luck with it. I'm like other my average shot is a whopping 13 yards.
I once had a doe that was looking for me, I was above in a treestand, and she presented a broadside shot at under ten yards. I aimed low and she dropped right into a double lung. On another occasion the doe dropped and put the shoulder/leg joint in the path of the arrow, hence, I never found her despite a long bloodtrail that petered out.
I was wrong on the magazine. It's Bowhunting World. That's what I get for using my work computer. Here's a link to article. From the article an example is given. A relaxed feeding doe at 29 yards and shooting a arrow at 300 fps. The sound of the bow reaches the deer in .079 seconds. Your arrow has traveled 8 yards. The doe begins to crouch at .17 and .18 seconds after the shot. Her shoulders drop 11 inches as the arrow flies over her back. Total arrow flight time is .29 seconds.
The region matters...Midwest deer duck just a little,Coues duck a little more and Southeastern deer belly flop.....the closer the shot the worse it is.I've pinwheeled roman nosed does in the south aiming 4 inches under brisket line @ 10 yards or less.
I try not to overthink it. I hunt midwest deer. My top pin, which is the pin most often used, is sighted in for 30 yards. since most of my shots at whitetails are around 20, I'll impact a little high. So I've gotten into the habit of aiming at the very bottom edge of the kill zone. And I typically hit the top edge and angle down through vitals after the deer ducks a little at the shot.
In my early years of bow hunting deer I missed a number of deer by " SHOOTING OVER THEIR BACK " as they dropped at the sound of my shot. Eventually I tried to force myself to aim lower, but in the heat of the moment I still sometimes forgot. It is amazing to watch videos & see just how quickly & how far a deer can drop, even when they appear to be relaxed.
The Wensels had a great video of deer jumping string and yardages, but cant remember the name of the episode, maybe Barry will inform if he see this...
I had a wary doe on my buddy’s property do some “Matrix” kind of move once that ended up as a clean miss and left me slack-jawed.
I had a huge buck that had keyed in on me and I purposely aimed right at the bottom of the brisket, anticipating a drop, and he stood there like a statue. I just shaved some hair off.
Both instances left me feeling like an idiot.
When I was hunting whitetail deer on the wife's family farm in Michigan. I learned not to shoot at a deer past 25 yards. They were sketchy deer.
If you are having problems with game ducking at the shot then you need to do some work to quiet your setup. In addition to bow noise, some broadhead make noise in flight.
If you are having problems with game ducking at the shot then you need to do some work to quiet your setup. In addition to bow noise, some broadhead make noise in flight.
Bows today are a lot quieter than they used to be. That Hoyt Supertec with its spiral cams was/is loud. I still shoot it for 3D. For hunting I shoot a Hoyt Vector, and it's pretty quiet. That is until you shoot it in an enclosed blind. Then it sounds like a gunshot. The point is that the deer are going to hear the bow long (relatively) before the arrow gets there regardless of how quiet you think you've made your bow. I guess that was the point of the article. I never thought much about string jumping, but being aware of an issue absolutely helps us to deal with it effectively. It gave me a lot of food for thought, and I know I can do better with my setup and shooting.
Stay safe (and quiet) guys.
they are alot more likely to duck the arrow when you make a noise to stop them.... like a mouth grunt or something....
