Deer jumping the string

[Izzy]

In NY I havent had one jump the string in a while and Ive been lucky enough to hit where I aimed on 5 deer with no movement. This I attribute to getting lucky in properly reading their body language. Texas is another story. Aim low, aim low and aim low. The deer Ive killed in Texas have had exit holes just down from the spine with an entry hole just above their brisket. They drop and roll faster than my eyes can see. I had one doe that was heart shot roll and jump so high she almost jumped right into the tree stand with me. In my experience, point of aim is population specific combined with reading body language.

[LBR]

If your MS deer are like the ones I hunt, they are born on high alert and get worse with age.  They can hear a gnat fart in a whirlwind.  Body language is key.  Wind is nice, as it helps mask bow and arrow noise.

Some deer are just a lot harder to hunt than others...but it sure is satisfying when you score.

Chad

[Ty-bone727]

Yeah these deer are always on alert. We use to run deer with dogs all year long so they ate heavily pressured

[LBR]

They still get run here.  I'm in the Northeast part--East of Tupelo, nearly on the MS/AL line.  I've heard folks say that deer are deer, no matter where you hunt.  We know better!

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by LBR:
I've heard folks say that deer are deer, no matter where you hunt.  We know better!

Yep...

They say that yet they haven't hunted everywhere.    

[J. Cook]

Lot's of good info here -- the science is that a deer can and will duck compound high speed arrows if on full alert.  So naturally they can duck a slower recurve.  

As many have said you can't force the issue -- if they are super nervous, or looking at you as you draw, or have you pinned with that "stare down" they will not only duck a long bow or recurve but I literally had one turn around to spring th other way and I hit him in the opposite shoulder -- you read that right -- a full 180* turn in about a 23 or 24yd shot.  

So the best advice I can give is pick your shot opportunity carefully and become efficient at getting shots off completely undetected.  I've had deer hit so cleanly through the ribs that they did not move, other than a slight flinch.  Stood there bleeding out and still eating until they fell over in their tracks.  

So ...yes they can easily duck one if they are alert or spooky.

[Brock]

jumping string are product of two things in my opinion....noise bow makes upon release of arrow and distance you are from deer coupled with an alert deer that may have picked you out already.

bow speed has a play but if you keep your distances shorter than you are used to with wheels...shoot quiet setups, and learn to aim slightly low on alert public land deer you will be fine.  

never had it happen to me but every one I have seen on film was shot beyond 25 yards with deer alert and jumpy....and most were with compounds that cracked like .22 rimfire when arrow was released.

i think someone said it in jest...but there is truth to GET CLOSER!

[sweeney3]

None of the deer I have shot have jumped the string.  A couple haven't even run after being shot.  Just looked around confused and fell over.  Tune your bow to be very quiet and pass shots on very alert deer that have obviously busted you and you'll be fine.

[Bud B.]

2010 I shot at three deer from a ground blind. All were well within 12 yards. All ducked the arrow. Two had made me. One hadn't (tail twitching and feeding with head down).

I built a treestand out of treated wood. First day I used it I missed a doe at about 12 yards. She never flinched. I shot over her. She kinda walk off wondering what had just happened.

Last year I hunted from tree stands almost exclusively. I shot two deer opening day. An alert doe later in the season spun away from my shot.

They were all good lessons. Alert deer are faster than an arrow from a 165fps recurve at 12 yards. Calm deer usually don't flinch....usually.

My advice, aim for a low heart shot on calm deer but below that on an alert deer if you must take that shot.

Hunting pressure plays a HUGE role too.

[ArrowAtomik]

Had a doe come in according to plan opening morning last year at 17 yards.  Tail flickering, head down, no suspicions.  I didn't hesitate and sent an arrow about an inch higher than I aimed, but on target for double-lung.  

I watched in slow motion as she went from fully non-alert to slamming her chest to the ground and jumping away.  

She came back and poked around and even walked in to look at me clumsying around with another arrow and then took off.

It was the one time I'd say I had it happen, and based on that experience I'd say it could happen to anyone.  Air was dead silent, and my slight thump of longbow noise was something she new was strange.  This was also in the in suburbs where they casually move from one yard to another... perhaps while on higher alert than they seem.

[Crash]

I think they also jump a noisy arrow/broadhead combination.  I agree with the majority that body language plays a big role.  The speed of sound is much faster than any bow out there.

[mnbwhtr]

I've had several jump the string over the last 45 years. Thinking back I can't remember the last one I shot standing, they don't jump the string when they are walking and that's when I shoot them, I also can't remember shooting one over 15-17 yards. Keep em close!

[Tajue17]

I go by the body language of the deer, if its a nervous deer I aim 4-6" under its armpit and this really depends on the bow I have is a dead quiet selfbow or a FF stringed recurve...  

if theres some background noise like wind blowing leaves and the deer seems to be acting normal I just pick a spot right at the arm pit, if the deer is very close and I mean 10yds or less maybe under the stand I just go for the high in the lungs shot..

I have not shot nearly as many deer as most of these guys but my way works pretty good.  

I do thing there are way too many folks out there shooting loud bows with that metallic limb sound ,, I'm sure all of you know what I mean either the brace heights too low, silencers just don't work, arrows too light whatever the reason you need your bow to be as quiet as possible.

[TxAg]

I generally aim at the armpit. Where I'm used to hunting, the deer always drop at least a little.

[Swinestalker]

What part of MS are you in Ty-Bone?

[AWPForester]

I sure don't know where the response that a recurve is quieter than a modern compound comes from.  I have both and can tell you, my matthews shooting a 525 grain arrow is as quiet or quieter than any recurve I have.  And my recurves are not loud because I am a quiet bow freak.  

Here is how it works because I have had about 20 deer I filmed or had filmed shot on tape.  With most bows that have had attention paid to them to quieten them, whether compound or recurves, will be quiet enough to not bother unalarmed animals.  But string jumping can occur even if your bow is quiet but it usually only happens on animals that are close, say 15 yards or less.  Any farther away and the noise is simply not enough to get them moving giving them the head start on your arrow.

On unalarmed animals farther away, they typically do not react to the string at all.  The reaction you see on film is only to the arrow.  This is true of all bows and arrows that are quiet.  So the key is to shoot a quiet fletch and make sure your broadheads do not whistle.  Because once again, if you getting them moving due to excessive arrow noise to soon, they are going to beat you everytime, regardless of your weapon.

SO in escence, the deer will not jump the string any more with a recurve than with a compound, or vice versa unless they are wired up.  If they are wired up, a heat seeking missle won't matter because they will get the head start on it.  Our videos show that unalarmed deer flinch like they have a fly on their back when the string drops, meaning their skin will flinch.  Often times coming to alert or in the process of doing so when they finally pick up on the noise of the arrow.  Which equals dead deer everytime because the arrow is close and closing even faster.

However, if they are alarmed when the string drops they simply come unglued.  They just react with no hesitation, and that usually equals a unharmed deer and a disgusted and amazed bowhunter, regardless of weapon.

So the key is to quieten the bow as much as possible, shoot fletching that isn't ripped, missing feathers, or otherwise inheritantly noisy.  Make sure your broadheds are quiet in flight, and shoot at unalarmed animals.  And this is the most important.  when they are close, say under 20 yards, pick your spot low in the chest cavity because this is often where they jump string most.  The rest of it is only arrow reaction.

Do all these and your deer jumping string days will nearly be over.  However, you will occasionally meet the animal that decides tyour streak has simply went to long, and they will humble you again.  but at least not very often.  Good luck and God Bless

[LimBender]

AWP,

I can't agree as a general rule that a compound is "as quiet or quieter" than a recurve.  I'm not saying a very loud recurve can't be bested by a heavily worked on compound, but in my not so scientific opinion recurves are quieter and have a different, less jarring sound (maybe it isn't just decibels, but part the pitch or tone).  Just guessing, but part of it is probably physics - more stored energy and speed in a compound, and part is probably materials - less metal, plastic, and moving parts, etc.  

But I agree with your point about the importance of a quiet bow.

[Ty-bone727]

I'm from Hattiesburg.

[AWPForester]

Bender, everybody's mileage is different.  I own the quietest bows I know of, compound and recurves.  You can tune them all to be as quiet as they will personably be.  I have owned a lot more but if they are not whisper hush when they are properly tuned, they go down the road.  I am serious about this, I am an absolute quiet bow freak.

The reason I even added the compound thing in there was I have heard this a lot about how deer do not jump the string on recurves and it just isn't so.  They are inheritantly noisy with strings slapping limbs and often mis-tuning issues.  I just wanted the OP poster to realize you can screw up anything and noise is noise, regardless of what kind of bow it is coming from.

But just for Giggles, try shooting a 525 grain arrow out of a new parallel limbed, perfectly tuned, string silenced by cat whiskers and string suppressors, no peep tube, with a drop away rest on it, compound bow and prepare for the definition of quiet.  Anything but a PSE is gonna shock you.

[TSHOOTER]

Shoot a heavy arrow out of a well silenced bow of any type at unalamed deer and you will get good results most of the time.  Shoot light arrows out of loud bows of any type at alert or spooked deer and you will get string jumping most of the time.