Technical question

[Orion]

Doug:  I wasn't commenting on the efficiency of your bows, just pointing out that the laws of physics keep any bow from being 100% efficient in transferring energy to the arrow, with most falling in the range of imparting 60% to 80% of the energy stored in the limbs to the arrow.  And it's the excess energy that isn't transferred to the arrow that creates noise through string and limb vibration.  Guess all I was trying to say is that though one can quiet a bow, it's not possible to make a bow completely silent. 

Too, I would agree that animals' alertness levels can differ from one locale to another.  Deer have certainly become more alert and cautious since wolves have repopulated the area I hunt, for example.  Thus, though it might be more difficult or the opportunities more rare, the goal would still be to shoot at unalarmed animals (with as quiet a set up as possible) to reduce the possibility of string jumping.

Never known the sound of farting to spook them.  They do that, too.  It's the smell that gives one away.   

 

[Rob DiStefano]

Texas whitetails are spooky wired.

 

[Doug S]

  Come to think of it , I don't think I have ever heard a deer fart. Maybe that's it, My deer aren't relaxed enough to fart. Completely puckered up all the time.

So is that deer in the video killable at that moment with trad gear? Is it possible to get an arrow to it without it moving? That answer is the answer. The way I see it 2 setups will or might work I think. 1 is a 120# bow with a 500 gr arrow the other is a string follow 45# longbow with a 600 gr wood arrow low profile feathers, non vented 2 blade.
Still might not work. The other option is to have something banging in the blind for weeks prior that sounds just like a bow.

[Orion]

Can't say they do it often.  I've heard it three times (in which I could id the deer that did it) in 60 plus years of sitting in the woods. 

[Rob DiStefano]

I didn't realize how spooky wired those Texas whitetails were when Terry kept reminding me how wired they are, and found it Hard to learn to aim under their bellies.  But I did connect perfectly with one, finally.

[Rob DiStefano]

I find that both heavier arrows (12gpp at least) and thicker strings (at least two more than recommended for yer draw weight) - I like the little bit of stretch offered by the polyester (Dacron) type, coupled with a lowered brace height (for most of my longbows that'll be 6-1/2" to 6-3/4'), and some added string silencers (plug here for Terry's New Zealand wool Bow Hush) pretty much do the trick for all my longbows (I don't use recurves).  Shooting form and arrow flight are important, too - I have no bow arm string slap, no arm guard (maybe some cord to reel in a baggy shirt or jacket), and can achieve good arrow flight.  But some deer, particularly of the Texas clan, can hear the release of a string off the glove or tab, and at that split second they drop down and bound out in high gear with white flag a flyin'.

[Wudstix]

They're especially wired coming into a "natural food source on stilts".  We all know how easy it is to shoot deer at a feeder.  They get real jittery with hunting pressure.  Trying to hit the belly line is a good rule of thumb.  I have never shot under a whitetail!!!
 

[Doug S]

   I thought all these years a higher brace was quieter. ???? 
I intentionally shot under a deer 1 time. It is on video. She started to drop into the arrow then stopped just before the arrow got there and the arrow went right under. I think she saw or heard it coming and stopped the drop. Or maybe she just farted.

  I should have title this thread   Stop the drop

[Doug S]

  One more thing....   The fact that you remember every deer fart you have ever heard is a little weird ...

[Orion]

Well, they were rather rare occurrences/observations for me.