Sorry I'm just now getting around to the well-wishes good buddy, but I was hunting most of the weekend. Matt kept me up-to-date relaying texts anyway! I almost took one within 30 minutes of you, but was afraid she was going to take her death run across a ditch/small river with 10-foot steep banks, and I didn't especially feel like pulling her back up that by myself. I told Matt there'd be easier does.

As far as the 40-yard-shot and sound theory; you're exactly right. I've read several articles by Chuck Adams stating he believes the same thing: It's far easier for a deer to attempt to jump the string at 20 yards than it is 40... If an alarming noise happens unexpectantly close by, even we humans jump can be prone to jumping out of our skins... Move that same noise 40 yards away, and we'll turn sort of nonchalantly towards it.