Compensating For Deer Reaction Time

[Friend]

In my younger years, hunters believed that a deer actually jumped above the arrow's flight path at the sound of the shot….hence the term ‘Jumping the String’ …With the advent of practical slow motion footage, our eyes were opened.

Was curious, as applied to whitetails, as to what focal point trad hunters used at certain distances assuming a broadside deer for the following ranges:

-10 yards
-15 yards
and
-20 yards

[Bowguy67]

Shoot at a calm relaxed deer. They won’t jump the string. Chuck Adam’s neurological Dr friend did a study. You need over 600 FPS at anything over 20 yards to prevent that.
Many times shooting a styk, deer oughta just stand like statues when you miss or as you shoot at them. I don’t have an issue myself and can’t believe any styk guy has that question. They’re really spooky around here but don’t move when a cedar arrow heads their way unless they’re spooked and see movement.
Long story short. Zero compensation

Just reread that. Not dising you, just in my experience they don’t jump in an area they tend to be spooky. Hope that clarifys

[Bisch]

Although I won’t hardly shoot one at 20yds anymore, my focal point for all three distances would be the same. I like them slightly quartered away to broadside with the near leg forward. That lets me use the crease/armpit as my focal point. I’m usually looking about 3-4” above the belly line. Also, almost all of my hunting is from ground level. The elevated spots I hunt are no more than 10’ off the ground. I would rather miss under one than hit one high!!!

My personal observations have not been the same as Bowguy67. Alert deer are just wired, period. Talking about seemingly calm deer, in my experience, some jump more and some jump less. There is no rhyme or reason as to which is gonna do what!!! If you watch a lot of slomo video, it is apparent that almost every deer moves some amount before the arrow hits them. Most all of my experience is with Texas deer. I have hunted Midwest deer in KS twice, and those deer seem to be a lot more mellow than TX deer.

Bisch

[creekwood]

I really think that the game is all about not taking a shot at an alert deer.  The consequences against having a favorable outcome are very high if they know that something is afoot. This is my opinion and it is only an opinion.

[Bowguy67]

Although I won’t hardly shoot one at 20yds anymore, my focal point for all three distances would be the same. I like them slightly quartered away to broadside with the near leg forward. That lets me use the crease/armpit as my focal point. I’m usually looking about 3-4” above the belly line. Also, almost all of my hunting is from ground level. The elevated spots I hunt are no more than 10’ off the ground. I would rather miss under one than hit one high!!!

My personal observations have not been the same as Bowguy67. Alert deer are just wired, period. Talking about seemingly calm deer, in my experience, some jump more and some jump less. There is no rhyme or reason as to which is gonna do what!!! If you watch a lot of slomo video, it is apparent that almost every deer moves some amount before the arrow hits them. Most all of my experience is with Texas deer. I have hunted Midwest deer in KS twice, and those deer seem to be a lot more mellow than TX deer.

Bisch

You’re hunting over bait I bet if its Texas. . That’s unnatural and prob makes em edgy I’d assume that could play the difference

[GCook]

Some of the most edgy deer I've hunted are in Missouri during the general season.  Spooky and jumpy.
I think generally deer react more where there is more pressure.
Yes we hunt over bait here.  But it is as natural as the edge of a clover patch or wheat patch.  The feeder throws year round.  They eat at them every day. 
At our place we are out mowing, trimming trees, spraying and stuff all the time so our scent is around all the time.  I've drove up to feeders to fill them and had deer run off 50 yards and stand there to watch me then return when I leave. 
The thump of the bow is what they aren't use to.  A quieter bow is better.

[Orion]

I don't compensate either, and I do try to limit my shots to unalarmed deer.  May hold just a tad lower if I think the critter might move at the shot, but never off the animal. 

[Pine]

Never had a deer jump the string in the past 45 years. 

[Bowguy67]

Some of the most edgy deer I've hunted are in Missouri during the general season.  Spooky and jumpy.
I think generally deer react more where there is more pressure.
Yes we hunt over bait here.  But it is as natural as the edge of a clover patch or wheat patch.  The feeder throws year round.  They eat at them every day. 
At our place we are out mowing, trimming trees, spraying and stuff all the time so our scent is around all the time.  I've drove up to feeders to fill them and had deer run off 50 yards and stand there to watch me then return when I leave. 
The thump of the bow is what they aren't use to.  A quieter bow is better.

So how do they react not at bait areas? The deer gotta smell you if you drive up and feed them. There’s gotta be scent on the feeder/feed. See now you say it’s natural but it’s not. How could it be as natural as anything that’s here and gone like a clover or wheat patch? I understand what you’re trying to say but nothing permanent can be like natural forage. They’d go up to that than move on after it depletes. How many times has anything made an unnatural sound per se in the woods. Deer don’t go jumping the string when a squirrel bounces off a limb, when a grouse drums, I could go on but why would you think a bow concerns them? It’s the association of anything with danger. If they had negative experience everytime a squirrel bounced off a tree they might react to the bouncing sound.. I still believe it’s the bait. Notice most guys aren’t having the same experiences and they’re not shooting over bait. Don’t you think at least it’s possible that’s why?
I see your point about pressure as well but I don’t think it could be worse than back here but I could be wrong on that point. I don’t know how they are in Missouri.

[woodchucker]

I just aim for the elbow. 
If they drop at the shot, I get the lungs.
If they don't, right through the heart....

[GCook]

I just aim for the elbow. 
If they drop at the shot, I get the lungs.
If they don't, right through the heart....

This.  I aim just above the elbow for the same reason.
However if you have follow through failure and drop your bow arm . . .😩

[Friend]

 Considering that there were many trad hunters with considerably more experience than myself, I was curious whether or not if any hunters compensated for deer drop at longer ranges.

Note: All of my hunting has been from the ground since 2007
          Loosing of arrows at alert and/or wired animals is bad medicine

Have relied on the rough estimate that a deer may drop 4”s  at the yardage distance equal to the arrow velocity divided by 10. Ex.-I am shooting 170 fps…170 fps/10= 17 yards… so at 17 yards, the deer may drop 4”s.

At 10 yards – focus on a precise spot approximately ½ up the deer’s body and 3 to 4” left of the shoulder.
At 15 yards – my focal point is at the top of the heart
At 20 yards – my aim point would be center heart

Has been quite effective for myself yet, the positive results may been primarily driven by establishing a precise aim point…

[woodchucker]

Scott, Everyone says "pick a spot"....

I started bowhunting with recurve back before compound days.
I had a tendency to shoot over their back, because your "eye" is naturally drawn to the "line" of their back.
An old timer told me to "aim for the elbow"... The elbow is easily seen, and easy to focus on.

I have almost never shot under a deer since.

[Mint]

Long Island deer are very pressured so I always aim for the top of the heart. I've noticed they jump more on those really quiet mornings. 

[JamesD]

I like to aim just above the elbow as well. With that said I have had some deer not react until impact and others drop and go into a barrel roll away from the shot. We took two whitetails last year that performed this maneuver. Both were broadside at release, and both took an arrow between the last two ribs that went all the way to the opposite shoulder. One getting suspicious of a decoy I had set and the other perfectly calm and feeding (not on a feeder) at release. One shot at 16 and the other at 17 yards. Both had a 15 - 20 second sprint to death.

[Sam McMichael]

When I was young and even more stupid than I am now, I took some shots at a much longer range than I should have. Essentially, they did not react except to look around to see that funny looking stick that wasn't there a moment ago. However, at closer range where the sound of the bow was more noticeable, some of them did react. By the same token, some of them did not jump. Go figure. I try to aim low in the chest so that if they jump I will still get the lungs. I haven't killed a lot of deer, but I don't recall any of these jumping the string.

[trick00]

Saw a study on this very topic a while back and here is what I remember. A whitetail deers reaction time is about .16 seconds. While dropping to load their legs to bolt, they can drop 12" in another .28 seconds. That equals a potential 12" drop in roughly .36 seconds.  A bow shooting 170 FPS is gonna take about .3 seconds to travel 15yds. The study also stated that in the videos they watched in slo-mo, the deer dropped 80% of the time. Its been my experience the the deer I have taken with recurves always jumped string while the ones taken with longbows is about half the time. anyway, I limit my shots to 15 yds and anything over 10 I pick a lower spot.

[Stringwacker]

I normally aim just above the lower hairline and behind the shoulder at 20 yards or less. My experience is that in the vast amount of cases either the deer drops at the sound of the 'twang'; or you tend to shoot high out of a treestand....in some cases both happen at the same time. In either case, you still normally kill the deer.

Only on very rare occasion do I shot low because of it

[creekwood]

A deer can go from relaxed to alert and back to relaxed in an instant. Some things you can anticipate, some things you can't.

[howl]

There is no sight picture. I visualize the heart and the arrow flying through it. Then I let it go, willing it. The mental projection falls apart if the deer moves.

Translating that to an aiming method, put your pin or whatever between you and the other side of the animal from the heart.

I hunt off the ground.