Deer " Jumping the String "

[baretraks]

I've had a heck of a time with deer "jumping the string" this year.

The first miss, on the first day was my fault. I shot about a foot over the does back and away she went.

The next THREE were jumps, the last one slicing cleanly across the shoulder with one blade of the Woodsman head, leaving a little hair and a couple of drops of blood. The deer is fine, I've seen her twice since then.

Even the doe that I killed on the first morning whirled away from me and took an arrow to the base of the neck, coming out right behind her head. She ran about seventy yards and bled out.  

I've got my blind set up so they pass within fifteen yards, leaving a shot from about eight, to twelve yards.

Is this the problem? Am I getting too close, or does the Matrix really exist and these deer are simply dodging the arrow?

What are your thoughts?

[vermonster13]

Aim for the heart to give yourself some wiggle room and work real hard on getting the bow quieter.

[vermonster13]

It could also be the fletching on the arrows making noise.

[dnovo]

What's your setup? How noisy is it? I haven't had a deer move on me in years but I shoot a more straight limb longbow with heavy arrows.
Are any of these deer alert when you are taking the shot?

[baretraks]

they wern't standing with their tails up if that's what you mean by alert, but they did come into the field cautious as usual, noses in the air, then calmed down.

My bow's no more noisy than any of the guys I shoot with, either.

I'm thinking it's the sudden inexplicable noise, almost on top of them that's spooking these deer.

I've only killed three deer with the stickbow, but got a buttload with the wheelie. Maybe I'm just now seeing something that was always there.

Gonna try my new set up this morning, twenty yard shot. We'll see what happens

[James Wrenn]

Shooting high on close shots from a blind is real east to do.Looking through the window distorts your depth perception and makes things look farther than they really are.You certainly need to zone in on the heart shot just to get the arrow down.You need lots of practice to shoot well on the close shots from a blind.jmo

[Charlie Lamb]

Deer can react violently to sudden close noises, but often I think it's the archer's form that needs addressing.

It's best if you can be dead still during the shot (I know you have to move to draw the bow...duh!) It's the follow through or even how one draws the bow that can be problematic.

"Point and Pull" instead of "Swing draw" will not alert deer as readilly and the bow arm should be rock steady and still until arrow impact.

Moving back to twenty yards could help if your shooting will support that move.

[HATCHCHASER]

I agree with Charlie.  They are probably hearing your movement just as you release or anchor.

[EDW]

Deer can react so fast sometimes. I've seen video footage of them dropping the entire height of their body in a split second before an arrow hits them. Distance can be the big factor too. over 20 yards will give that animal a lot time to react.The one comment on aiming low is good. What's that old saying? It's hard to shoot an animal too low. The old video "Hunting October Whitetails" has some excellent footage of deer "jumping"

[Pat B]

The deers attitude at the time has a lot to do with it also. If they are at all suspicious you might as well wait.     Pat

[bentpole]

Like Vermonster said aim for the crease[heart] that will give you some room for error. Are you shooting a recurve or longbow? I had a hybrid longbow that was noisey. The first deer I shot with that bow he ducked the string on the release and I hit him in the spine.

[wingnut]

Heck a texas whitetail that is sound asleep will still duck half a body width at the shot.  LOL

I'm a look at the heart and take the double lung kinda guy.

Mike

[30coupe]

I had one jump the string last year, but she was on full alert at the time trying to figure out what the immense lump in the tree was all about. It was late in the season and late in the day, so I shot anyway. My old Bear Black Bear isn't probably the quietest of bows either. She was 15 yards away.

This year I missed one with the Kanati, but she didn't jump until the arrow went by in front of her chest   :rolleyes:  I just plain pulled the shot...got in too big of a hurry cause a buck was pushing her. She was 11 steps from the tree.

I shot one the next morning at 18 steps. She never moved until the arrow went through her. I watched it smack exactly into the spot I had picked out.

The bow has bow hush and hush puppies (trimmed to about half size). It just makes kind of a swish as the feathers brush the rest. I'm shooting Legacy 1916's with 170 gr. WW's up front for a total weight of 509 grains, almost exactly 10 gpp from my 51# Kanati.

I think getting a bit farther away might have helped. She also had no clue I was there and was looking over her shoulder at another doe. If she heard anything it was too late.

[bowmofo]

Pick a Spot!  

[baretraks]

Had an excellent hunt this morning!!

Tried my new setup, a doe passed the blind on my right hand side at about five yards, walked into the open window where she presented me with a nice fifteen yard shot.

I concentrated on the darkened spot behind her front leg, right at the bottom of the chest, drew back and let go all in one smooth motion.

She did react somewhat to the shot, but her reaction was her downfall as she dropped right into the arrows path. The Woodsman entered her chest about four inches from the bottom, right behind the "knuckle" and came about six inches out the other front shoulder, missing the leg bones on the way out.

When I gutted her, there was a nice little three bladed hole completely through her heart..... she only ran about 25 yards before folding up and sliding to a stop behind a dead pine tree.

I honestly believe it was the wind that saved me. I was downwind of her the entire time and she never even raised her nose to the air.