AIM AND RELEASE !!

[moosehunter]

A question for all the bowhunters with more experience than me.

...That means 99% of everyone here. I've seen on video and hunting shows before how a deer can jump a string when an arrow is released.

...On slow motion replay they kinda squat down a little when they hear a noise. I can see if your shooting from the ground and it's a longer shot the arrow sailing over the back or worse hitting high and wounding the animal. From a tree stand, it would be tougher to miss high like that but, but still could make a poor shot. Does anyone compensate for a deer jumping like that?? Like maybe holding down a little. I asked Hogie the same thing and he always aims right where it's suppose to go. To me, that would make sense. What do you guy's do?........On another note, I sure wished I'd brought my camera with a couple days ago. I put out my last stand and decided to take a little walk to see if a big rub from last year had been hit at all. Laying there at 30 yards was the booner I was looking for.

...I did have my binoculars with and got a nice look at him. He layed there staring back at me for probably a minute. He stayed there until I started to walk away then he got up and left. 7 on one side and 7 or 6 on the other. Couldn't quite make out the tines. About 19, maybe 20 inches wide. I would guess the G2's to be 12 plus. It was a real chocolate looking rack. I think I'll call him Hershey.

 

[BW]

I used to watch videos a long time ago and I seen some that recommended the practice you describe. But in my opinion it is a band aid for 2 possible problems.

A noisy bow and shooting at an animal that is already spooky.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never had a problem with deer "jumping the string" or "dropping".

I have always maintained a queit bow and I do not shoot at spooky deer.

In the videos I seen the deer looked like they were on alert already or the bow sounded like a bear trap going off.

 

[deadeye]

I have had relatives that have had problems with deer jumping the string. I agree if a deer is spooky the change really increases. I don't think bow noise is as much of a factor. Boys today are much quicker than what they had problems with. I had a doe jump the string when I was quite a bit younger and my bow was quite a bit slower.

In many video's I have heard them say to aim at the lower third of the deer to allow for drop and that is just a good shot. They have painted a line on the video at the bottom of the deer and shown them drop their backs to the line by the time the arrow goes over them. It is pretty impressive, but doesn't happen often.

Since it doesn't happen often I do NOT recommmend compensating for the drop. Feel free to go for a heart shot, but remember the heart is low and if the deer is a few extra yards out you can miss pretty easy. Double lung is always a quicker kill anyway.

 

[Pupster]

I've had it happen once. I think the common denominator is stopping the deer with a grunt to get a shot. In the videos I've seen the deer drop, the hunter has made a noise stopping the deer. My case was the same, he was chasing a doe through my shooting lane so I grunted. He stopped, I shot, and he ducked it. I learned a lesson, don't stop them unless you have to. I had no choice.

Pupster

 

[kbgibby]

Had it happen once with the first deer I ever took a shot at. It was a nice doe that had been pushed by some pheasant hunters. She came down a trail right in front of me and stopped at about 15 yards when she saw me. I was at full draw and when I released, she sort of flattened out, splay-legged and the arrow clipped the hair as it sailed over her back. Couldn't believe she could react that fast!

I imagine I looked as surprised as she did.

Threebeards

 

[NWBuck]

A deer's reaction to the sound of the shot (even on a quiet bow) can be negated by two basic fundamentals. First, try not to shoot at an alert deer. Second, limit shots to 25 yards and in. One of the reasons you see so many veteran hunters talking about practicing at 40 yards but not shooting at a deer beyond 25 is because it simply takes too long for the arrow to get there...even if you've held for a perfect shot. At 15 yards you can probably get away with shooting at a somewhat alert animal, but not at 40. Good hunting!

NWBuck

 

[BW]

Trivia - At 50 deg F the speed of sound is 1107.283 ft/s.

My bow is not quite that fast.