Guest bruteshooter Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 My son educated me on what he calls string jumping. Apparently the deer will hear the string snap and begin their escape even faster than some of the fastest bows can send arrows on their way. He says some hunters suggest aiming low since the deer will hunch down to get their legs into spring mode and you won't send arrows flying over the backs of animals. opinions on what we're being told? I've always aimed at what I want to hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAstringking Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: String Jumping? yea string jumping does happen a lot. a good rule of thumb is that if the deer seems skiddish then there is a good chance that the animal will jump the dtring. they do this when they know something is wrong and they dont know what it is!! if you want to watch a good expample...try a coues deer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bowhunter56 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: String Jumping? yes, sound travels faster than any arrow or bow they make.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bruteshooter Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? Thanks guys. My son has played a few on me while he's been teaching me the ways of the woods. WOn't go into them but some where good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? Absolutely, string jumping is a real phenomenon that has been proven with video recorders a jillion times. The problem is that they don't all do it, or do it to the same degree. As soon as you start aiming to compensate, your going to be coming up with a lot of deer with hair-cuts on their under-carriages. The best compromise is to center your aiming spot in the lower 1/3 of the body. That hit will be deadly on a deer that is a bit slow, while giving you a pretty good chance on a deer that reacts to bow noise. Another assist is to quiet all noise-makers on your bow so that when you release you don't have any clacking, banging or vibrating accessories and bow parts. It's not that you are ever going to get the bow so quiet that the deer can't hear it, but at least you can keep noises more subtle and not so harsh and violent that the deer is trying to jump out of its skin. Another good way to help keep the deer in one spot long enough is to try to ensure that he is unaware of your presence. Of course we all try to do that, but the one's that are shooting at calm, unalerted deer are the one's that encounter the least instances of severe string-jumping. The last thing I want to see is a deer looking straight at me with those ears forward and that front foot stomping. I seldom even take a shot under those conditions. Here's one for the big buck hunters. What I have found is that mature bucks are not as adept at string-jumping as those nimble little snots. They just aren't as fast. I'm thinking it's an inertia thing. Also, after a long nights rutting activities, they just might not be as alert as they otherwise might be. Yes, there is always a lot of crashing and jumping when the bow spits out the arrow, but the bigger the deer the slower. At least that's been my experience. I'd be interested to hear if some of the other members agree with that assessment. To me it seems that the smaller deer have the reflexes of a fly but the bigger deer just don't seem to have as much ability to get off the mark as quickly. Bow speed, I don't believe has a whole lot of success when it comes to beating the reflexive actions of deer. It is just too small a change to have any meaningfull effect. When the day comes that arrow speeds begin to approach the speed of sound, then maybe it will make a difference. Today, we are a heck of a long way from that. Maybe there are others who have some ideas of minimizing string jump effects. I'd like to hear some of them. But as far as the existance of the phenomenon, it absolutely does exist. By the way, did you know that people can do the same thing? Back in the early 80's, I did a little experiment with my son to prove that. I placed a target on a slide wire and ran a string to my son's belt. He was standing about 15 yards off to the side and was screened by a shed. The instruction was that as soon as he heard the bow fire he was to lurch forward as fast and as far as he could. I stood 20 yards from the target and was shooting my target equipment which was not very fast by today's standards, but was probably putting out something like 180 FPS. Believe it or not, he was capable of moving the target a consistant 12". Keeping in mind that there was some unavoidable slack in the string, he was really doing better than that. He couldn't see what I was doing so there was no visual tip-off as to when the shot was going to occur. So even 20 years ago, I was pretty completely convinced that string-jumping was no myth. It was kind of a radical experiment, but it proved the point. I'm sure that some math whiz could probably prove the same thing just by calculating how far an animal of a certain weight can frefall before the arrow gets there. After all, that is what the deer is essentially doing. Just like your son said, the first motion the deer goes through is a freefall drop while it loads up its legs to make that first bound. There is also another motion that goes on that can effect right and left points of entry. Many times the deer is also doing a twisting motion as it begins its turn. This can move the deer sideways by quite a bit and often when the arrow gets there, it is presented with a gut point of impact, hopefully angling up into the goodies. From back in the recurve days, I even heard of one individual who claimed that the arrow entered the opposite side of the deer that he was shooting at. I never had that experience, but this person was not one to exaggerate. This was probably one of those little critters with those fly-like reflexes that had been standing there doing the old head-bob trick with the foot stomping routine...lol. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? GREAT reply DOC, especially with your little experiment. I have noticed that many times, the does are much more alert and do react faster than bucks do. Might also have something to do with bucks being more aggressive than does..fighting, scraping...seems like they aren't as likely to get all shaken up by a slight sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? [ QUOTE ] He says some hunters suggest aiming low since the deer will hunch down to get their legs into spring mode and you won't send arrows flying over the backs of animals. opinions on what we're being told? I've always aimed at what I want to hit. [/ QUOTE ] I never had a deer jump string on me, however, I know that it happens. To aim low anticipating a deer to jump string is a big mistake in my opinion. Assuming the deer will move, after the shot, is not what anyone should do. If you're going to aim at a deer, go for the heart. It's low enough on the body that if by chance the deer does drop a bit, there is still room for a high double lung. Aiming any lower than the heart would mean...many, many missed deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? Have heard the aiming low theory too, but then what if the deer decides to jump up instead of dropping. So long as the deer is not too far out, I think most bows now a days are fast enough there is minimal amount of movement of the animal from the time the arrow is released until it hits. I think where you get in trouble is on longer shots. Really honestly dont think a deer has time to react and jump a string when an arrow is traveling over or around 280 fps when the shot is inside of 25 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bruteshooter Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: String Jumping? Thanks all. Made sense as I thought about it and slow motioned some video, but I think I'll stick with aiming at what I want to hit and it sounds like you support the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Re: String Jumping? A deer (like humans) can't jump without squatting first (ie dropping)...try jumping in the air with your legs straight. The speed of sound is like 9-10 times faster than the speed of the fastest bows...even inside 25 yards. I will never shoot at a deer that is alert or looking at me. I've tried it before...shot at a buck at 20 yards broadside...he totally ducked the arrow (twice) before running out into the middle of a field. So in my experiences...you could hit high or even miss because a deer can react faster than you arrow can travel! With that said, I've never seen a deer react that fast if it wasn't alert or looking at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Re: String Jumping? [ QUOTE ] If you're going to aim at a deer, go for the heart. It's low enough on the body that if by chance the deer does drop a bit, there is still room for a high double lung. [/ QUOTE ] Exactly!!! That's exactly what I do. However, unlike most of you these Mississippi deer sure seem to duck more often than not even when they are relaxed with their heads down. I guess we have some pretty spooky deer here. I did noticed that deer I've killed in the midwestern states didn't duck at all. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Re: String Jumping? [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] If you're going to aim at a deer, go for the heart. It's low enough on the body that if by chance the deer does drop a bit, there is still room for a high double lung. [/ QUOTE ] Exactly!!! That's exactly what I do. However, unlike most of you these Mississippi deer sure seem to duck more often than not even when they are relaxed with their heads down. I guess we have some pretty spooky deer here. I did noticed that deer I've killed in the midwestern states didn't duck at all. Go figure. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, these blacktails might flinch sometimes, but I wouldn't call it a duck, like I've seen whitetails do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ultralite31 Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: String Jumping? i like to aim for their spine that way if they jump up i will still be in the vitals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: String Jumping? This is an oldie but goodie about string jumping that I saved from a post over a year ago here. Seems like a good time to bring it back. http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/deer/stringjumping/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimPic Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: String Jumping? I took a shot at 15yds on this buck on a Saturday.When I released,the upper limb of my recurve hit a branch and made one heckuva crack.He flattened out and I watched my arrow sail harmlessly over his back.The following Wednesday,I got another shot at him and this time ,the arrow went true.When I went to tag him,I noticed a perfectly shaven cut and a small slice on his back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutz4bucks Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: String Jumping? I have noticed deer do this on occasion for me but they dont go down that much maybe 2 inches so i just aim normal(heart and lung shot) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnatecsteve Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Re: String Jumping? You're still hunting Jim? Wow, that's a late season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimPic Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Re: String Jumping? No-that was back in 1999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: String Jumping? [ QUOTE ] i like to aim for their spine that way if they jump up i will still be in the vitals! [/ QUOTE ] I'm not trying to attack you or anything. Welcome to the best website on the web. What you are doing is a huge mistake. You need to correct this huge mistake. If a deer is going to jump string, (which by the way, they rarely do, if your playing your cards right) they will go down, before they jump up. Try jumping in the air yourself. You can't without first going down. Please correct this thought process you have. Your only going to wound deer, maybe get "lucky" and spine a few, or miss them completely, if you continue. You owe it to the deer and yourself, to stop this aiming for the spine practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bruteshooter Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: String Jumping? I'm not trying to attack you or anything. Welcome to the best website on the web. What you are doing is a huge mistake. You need to correct this huge mistake. AGREEED 100% - bad practice in My Opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ultralite31 Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: String Jumping? no it puts the deer down quick and it does not ruin any meat! its a more ethical shot in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: String Jumping? Ha...I thought you were just pulling our leg with this aiming for the spine stuff. You are serious! I guess now I can say that I have heard it all. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bruteshooter Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: String Jumping? And the room for error is huge in comparison=injured deer never found. And I've seen one happen. It puts them down but not out. They lay there unable to do anything. They panic and pant heavy and try to die but they can't so they lay there waiting for someone to come along and finish them off. But if it can save energy tracking them down??? . . . NOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: String Jumping? [ QUOTE ] no it puts the deer down quick and it does not ruin any meat! its a more ethical shot in my opinion. [/ QUOTE ] Sorry, gotta agree with the others....the only time a spine shot is "ok"...is if its not intentional and by mistake! Way to much room for error...we owe it to the deer to make a quick clean kill. The best way for that is to shoot at the biggest vital area (heart/lung). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ultralite31 Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 Re: String Jumping? i bowhunt because its a challenge and it is even more challenging to shoot them in the spine so thats where i aim. Hunt for the challenge. Its more fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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