Deer "jumping string"...

[Pinelander]

I've just read another thread elsewhere where a deer "jumped string" at 20 yards. I've read or heard first-hand about this happening every year. In most cases, I guess that means they "ducked" and arrow missed high. Seems like when they hear the noise, their first physical action is the crouch in preparation of the spring/jump away action, but i've never had this happen before. Is there something about these situations that tend to be common to their cause?

[tuffshot]

Most of the time the deer in question are in an alert state or semi alert. Usually if a deer walks in feeding there is more of a calm, but when a doe runs in and looks around or behind her it could be that a buck is following or dog or even new to the location.

If they detect anything out of the ordinary such as an unknown scent they will be on alert status. I have also seen deer that ran out in front of traffic and although they made it accross the road they are still tense from the experiance and it seems to take a few minuites for them to calm back down even though the danger has passed.

Reading the body language of the deer is something I like doing, especially when I do not plan to shoot. Yes I have heard even compound shooters with super fast bows tell stories of deer jumping the string and also some videos on the market show it as well.. ( can't remember any right off hand) :)

And if you are going for a doe never shoot the lead one she is usually on alert when leading others even if not her own yearlings.. If someone does not read their body language it can happen more often than not.

[Cato]

I'll have to tell you guys, down here it happens a high percentage of the time. The deer react to the bow noise by dropping in the front quarter, and wheeling. When I first came over from the compound, it took me a while to realize what was happening. I kept taking those 18 to 20 yd shots, and kept hitting them in the shoulder blades. Not a good answer.

There are numerous videos out there with footage that demonstrates it. They freeze the frame at the moment of the shot, and super impose a red dot on the vitals. Then they slo mo the film, and show the deer drop, and the arrow go right through the aiming spot, but over the back of the animal. In fact, I believe there is footage on the October Whitetail video.

Apparently the deer down here do it a lot more than in some other places. I know down here, everybody I hunt with shoots at the heart, to allow for some animal reaction.

Cato

Cato

[Boho]

I can tell you I have seen deer jump a string personally at least 30 times. Mostly it's due to hunting pressure and maybe predators. Dogs running them might have some affect also. I had an 8 point at about 18-20 yards 2 years ago. When I shot with my longbow, I intentionally aimed a little low. I mean looked. :) His belly was a couple inches off the ground when the arrow went over his back. About 8" over his back. :( He was really pretty though.

[Esquire]

I have seen it in videos and in person. My good friend and I were standing side by side when he took a 50 yard shot at a doe (compound bow). She was uphill and the placement of the shot was perfect double lungs. But she dropped the front end and started to wheel and the arrow glanced off the front top of her shoulder blade and (fortunately) passed through her throat, severing both arteries on the way. She died very quickly.

In Relentless Pursuit a deer is above the shooter (who is on the ground) and facing to the shooters right, exposing the Buck's right side. At the release (compound bow), the Buck drops his front end and turns/wheels to his own right. He only has one side of his rack. The other is gone. He drops so low that as he turns the antler deflects the arrow up into the air!! It looks like he intentionally knocks the arrow away with his rack!

They do the freeze frame/red dot routine that Cato described.

[James on laptop]

Well until this year I had never seen it as bad.The " matrix" buck I shot at simply was not there when the arrow arrived. :sbrug: At first I thought it had something to do with shooting a recurve instead of my usual longbows.I realize now that particular deer was just going to jump for one reason or another.
I tried seeing how other deer reacted to the sound of the recurve.I had a batchlor group of small bucks uner my stand a couple of days later. (non shooters) I picked a spot on a dead log near the larger of the bucks and smacked it with a blunt. :) No reaction out of the norm even for the little 6 that was directly under my stand. I guess some just jump and others don't.

[James Wrenn]

Well I had another jumper. :) The doe on the kill pictures thread done the drop and roll so fast that a perfect heart shot turned into a spine shot from below.Looking at the picture you could never believe it was possible from 23 ft up a tree. :sbrug:

[Pinelander]

You mean to tell me that deer leaned back and away so much that your arrow practically went horizontal from heart to spine? My gosh, that really is some kind of contortion going on.... the "Houdini" deer. :D

[James on laptop]

Piney she was spooky when she came in so I did expect here to jump.That is the only way I can see for the arrow to enter where it did and hit the spine from the bottom like that.It shocked me when she just fell over like that. :) That little 4 blade did a good job getting through the spine with all that going on.The bleeders are locked in so tight I can't get it out with pliers so I decided to just leave it.

[Cato]

I would love to see some kind of poll on this by geographic area, just to satisfy my curiosity.

These deer down here are weird. Two years ago I was 20 ft up in an oak tree, with good cover (water oak). At 7:05 pm (basically twilight, before time change) I had a deer walking around in front of me, which I could hear, but could not see. I was standing up. I went to raise my binos to see it in the twilight, and it busted me. The tree was sort of out in the field, so I finally decided to move the stand to another tree.

It is not always that way. But in general, you have to be very very careful about movement, even from a tree stand. If the deer has its head up, and is anywhere near facing you, you better not draw the bow. They'll nail you.

A little off topic. Sorry.

[James Wrenn]

Cato our deer will look up before they come onto a ridge.They check trees for hunters.They have been hunted from trees so long the ones that are still alive have learned to do it. :) At 20 ft you have to have some cover.I try to set up where the deer come from behind me and shoot them after they pass the tree.A lot of guys that use compounds hunt 30 ft around here.I try to stay at 20 when I can but do have to go higher at times.You have to have the perfect setup to kill one out of a low stand.These deer are pounded for almost 4 months out of the year.Baited year round and have the woods stomped to death by people scouting.A 2 1/2 year old is considered a very nice deer.A 3 1/2 is a trophy for anyone. I have only seen 2 41/2 year old deer killed by anyone I know in over 20 years of hunting and both of those were gun kills on a family farm where there is little hunting in the area.

[Cato]

Man James, it sounds like you have it worse than we do. At my place, we took over a 400 acre tract that was "pounded" as you say, by gun hunters in the past. We found a carcass of a 1 1/2 year old that they cut the back straps out of and left on the ground, knowing they were losing the property.

After about 6 years of bowhunting only, and no 4 wheelers, it has gotten better. But they still study the trees, especially on field edges.

By the way, I enjoyed seeing your picture, and the bow with the quiver looks great as well. Now its officially broken in!

Cato

[James Wrenn]

Thanks Cato. If all goes well I hope to have some more pictures next week. :) There was no flooding this year like in the past 2 years where I hunt hogs.I should be able to at least get in there to hunt this year.I will be hunting by myself the first half of the week so I sure hope I can find some close to the truck. :lol:

[Cato]

Check this out.

http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/deer/stringjumping/