Jumping the String
 

I have already had a doe jump the string this year, and two last year, am i doing something wrong???? I use dead down wind to kill my scent, what are reasons for whitetail jumping the string?

Many times because they are already spooked, I don't shoot when a deer comes in on high alert...

Other than that, keep your bow quiet and aim for the bottom third...

Also, make sure you have proper form while from shooting from a tree...Many don't bend at the waist and keep their head down, so the arrow is going to fly high...They think the deer "jumped the string" in they actually shot high...

Agree with nchawkeye - watch the deer's body language. If they are on high alert or spooky I tend to let the walk and wait for the next one. In my mind, one of the biggest lessons in bowhunting is learning when to not shoot.

Good luck!

Maybe its time to get a faster bow?

First two guys got it right. Try to control yourself and don't shoot at animals that are on alert. The other thing is to get that bow as quiet as a mouse.

Deer don't JUMP the string. Usually they are alerted by the noise of the bow. In the short time it takes for them to hear and react they can drop nearly their vertical body size, but they aren't JUMPING the string or ducking the arrow but their natural reaction is to load up their muscles which causes them to crouch lower. It all happens in less than a half second.

Believe me. There isn't a bow made that shoots fast enough to counter the reaction time of a deer reacting such.

Faster bow, and shoot at closer deer. The arrow will be in the dirt on the other side of em before they know whats happening. If a deer is looking at you, wait untill he isnt.

Sometimes its hard to pass on a deer, even if it is on high alert. So if you have to shoot, shoot a little lower.. If there on high alert and there out 35 yards or more, I wont shoot.... And like Furgitter said, wait till there not looking at you too...

one thing that I have found is that if you have to stop the deer they are already on alert listening to every sound with full attention. If you don't to stop them wait until the stop on their own. That way they have no idea whats going on when they hear the bow. That is when a fast bow comes in handy. I had to stop a buck two years ago to make a shot. He was roughly 30 yards and my bow shoots 322fps with a hunting arrow. He ducked the arrow without even trying. Luckly I didn't range him and guessed him at 25. He dropped right into the arrow! better lucky than good!

all the advise is right on imo
you are shooting to far away for yer bow. inside 20 yards there isnt anytime to "jump the string"
usually they duck the shot vs jumping over it. you see them jump and figure they jumped it. but as mentioned, the sound makes em tense up and they "duck" to get ready to jump...evolution? who knows.
quiet that bow up.
sit in a quiet room, blindfolded...load and draw yer bow back...any sound is a tell tell sign for deer to GTFO, especially big deer who have been around.
now shoot the bow, blindfolded? not necessarily, but if yer comfortable at whats in front of you go for it. if not, take the blindfold off, aim, close yer eyes...the key here is to listen....the pop, vibration....the boi-oing...record it if ya can. replay and stereo helps alot.
string and limb dampeners. i dont think you can have to many. i like felt between the strings, helps alot. gl

Good insights everyone,I agree with not shooting if one is on high alert because you may not only miss but only wound the animal as well. Distance is an issue when it's dead quite in the woods and every sound is magnified 10 fold. 20 yards or less is a good limit in my opinion for taking a shot in these situations. A quite,faster bow sure can't hurt ones chances either when they are a little edgie. A good angle and a lower aim should help as well,a bad angle shrinks you kill zone. Good Hunting and stay after them you will nail one sooner or later.

Well I just got a PSE.Vendetta X-Force and it shoots real quick

May I offer that "jumping the string" is sort of a mis-speak to me. The deer are not "jumping", but rather squatting to load their legs muscles for flight. You can demonstrate this yourself. Stand straight and tall, with legs absolutely straight. Try to jump say 6" up? Cannot do it without what? First bending your knees to load your legs.

In my now going on 50+ years of archery hunting deer, I can count on one hand the number that I could possibly say did not flinch, drop, twirl, etc. before the arrow hit home. And I have had about an equal number missed that got out of the way before the arrow could strike .... including a 27 yard broad side shot at so called "relaxed" deer when I was using a bow that supposedly IMO'd at 300+ fps. She had time to completely wheel 90 deg. and haul tail. She had her head down and was munching on clover when I released! Go figure.

What I think you may be dealing with are: (1) A noisy bow. Have someone stand 30 yards or so off to the side and listen for any unusual rattles, metallic sounds or loud slaps when you fire. If that is the case, try to mitigate by making sure everything is where it should be and is tight. If you are not using vibration suppression stuff, try that. (2) You are simply aiming too low. While I will never take the aim point out of the killing zone, i do aim low ... especially on broadside shots. I put the pin abut 1/3 up from the bottom ... no higher.

As far as speed? I have killed hump-teen deer with my original 1962 vintage recurve. It was a 45# pull, 60" laminated limb bow ... cedar arrows, 6" helical feathers, and 150 gr. broad heads. What would it do fps-wise? I have no clue. Maybe 150 ?? I killed deer and feral hogs cleanly out to 40-45 yards. No more :jumping the string" issues than with my SQ2. Sure, velocity = less arrow drop/linear foot of flight traveled. But I don't think that is the issue here.

Now form may be? You may be pulling off the target, anxious to see if and where you hit. Easy trap in which to fall. Try this if you don't already do it. As you release, keep your self very quiet, and head still, loose grip ... eyes watching the arrow's flight all the way to the target. Then think about watching where the deer ran off to. I find that this helps me "follow" the arrow.

Good luck. And show us the pics.

first off, scent elimination is somewhat of a gimmick, sure it helps but you will NEVER completely beat a mature whitetails nose. There is nothing that can be done about deer jumping the string other then, try to aim for the lower third of the deer, and try to get shots at non-alert deer. and keep your shots close! But the closer you are, the higher your likely to shoot, if you are prepared for this though, they dont have an aweful lot of time to adjust to a 20 yard shoot. Keep em close, aim a hair low, youll kill a few.

[QUOTE=Mojotex;3979296]May I offer that "jumping the string" is sort of a mis-speak to me. The deer are not "jumping", but rather squatting to load their legs muscles for flight. You can demonstrate this yourself. Stand straight and tall, with legs absolutely straight. Try to jump say 6" up? Cannot do it without what? First bending your knees to load your legs.

QUOTE]

yeah i think everybody and their brother is on the same page with that.. Jumping the string is just the term used... Just saying!:party0007:

Most deer I shoot dont duck the string, and my bow is pretty loud. If all four feet are planted firmly on the ground, the deer is half way to ducking. If the deer is at a slow walk, and close, you stand a better chance of them not ducking, because only two feet are solidly on the ground. I also see that when deer have there head down as in eating mode, they tend not to duck also.
I also agree with aiming at the lower 1/3 always..... Ya never know, animals are more predictable than people, but we are still dealing with probability. Good luck buddy.

aim at the bottom 3rd? where is jesus when ya need him?
you should have a spot picked out that you are aiming at. a white spot, swirl, tick, some mud....something!!!!! not just shoot at it while its runnin by aiming at the bottom half...er third...of the deer.

Running deer dont duck, now I see why you say you are half baked. Yes, to be more clear, that spot on a non running deer, should be in the lower 1/3 in the vitals.

Here's what I feel every time I hear about deer "jumping the string" or "ducking an arrow"...

About 10% of the time (being gracious and saying 10%), a deer HONESTLY moves at the shot. In that case, it's still pretty dang rare that a deer inside 30yrds can react fast enough to dodge a 300fps arrow. If you're shooting slower, then you have to recognize that, and realize your ToF is very important. I personally want a FAST bow, and a QUIET bow.

The other 90% of the time, it's usually a poorly placed arrow. Misses are misses, buck fever is real, and both misses and fevers happen to the best of us. Getting excited and forgetting your anchor point, or sight picture, or creeping a little on your bow as a deer walks around, shooting the wrong sight pin, forgetting to set the arrow in your rest (buddy of mine sent one flying off the side of his riser once)... whatever it is.... All of this can cause you to miss in the heat of the moment. The hard part is being honest with yourself about it and correcting it for the future.

I also agree with some of the others that if a deer is on alert, or in a position where they can move in any direction (all four feet planted), it's better to wait. I never release an arrow at a deer with his head up and looking my direction.

Deer might be incredibly reactive animals, but they're not super-animals. Release an arrow at a relaxed deer and they might not even run off. Most of the deer I've killed in the last few years haven't ran. They trot off a few steps and look around, then lie down and die, never any wiser to what just happened.

But, it's all part of hunting. Sometimes, $hit happens....

speed doesnt always kill!! I will take a quiet bow over a speed bow! When you find the happy medium, thats when deer start falling, my personell bow shoots 240 fps, but is super silent when it goes off

That's assuming a fast bow can't be quiet. I shoot a Bowtech Destroyer at 315fps that's quieter than my Oregon bow at 210fps, quieter than my wife's Mathews Jewel at 224fps, quieter than my Mathews Monster at 285fps, and quieter than my buddies Diamond Outlaw at 275fps. Speed doesn't always mean loud.

If you're shooting an arrow that is too light for your bow (increases vibration) just to get extra speed, then yes, your bow is going to be louder than it would be with a heavier arrow (which would be slower), but it's not that difficult to quiet down a bow that's shooting 6grn+ per pound of draw.

My Destroyer has NOTHING on it to dampen sound. At 20yrds, you hear the arrow zipping to the target, not the bow (Yes, I have stood beside the target while someone else shot to listen to how loud my bow is).

ad some string silencers and maybe some limb savers and if you can get a string stop