My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

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stash59
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My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby stash59 » Fri May 22, 2015 12:43 pm

I've thought about pointing out my take on this for quite a while. The thread on what you do about moving/walking deer hit this subject a little so here goes.

1st IMHO jumping the string is a true misnomer. Yes they eventually kind of jump away but they drop first to load their mucsles for the getaway.

Next I'm sure this "name" started way back when modern bowhunting was in it's infancy cause the term seems to have been around for a long time. So all of you even slighly familiar with want is now known as traditional equipment have to agree that at release they are pretty quiet. Yes deer hear way better than me/us but IMHO the sound of the release of a traditional bow is pretty inconsuquential. So what caused deer to "jump the string" even back then?

IMHO it was the arrows. They used fairly large feathers and broadheads. Some of the heads were vented. These Items while in flight make a fairly noticable noise. While this happens the Doppler Effect happens. Most of you I'm sure have heard this in an old movie with a train and the sound you hear as it speed toward a junction bell. Or more up to date the whine of an Indy car as it heads toward a tracside camera/sound position.

All this really hit home to me while my good friend owned his archery shop. Because it was in an old non air conditionede building he would open the double back side doors and the service door to the shooting lanes to try and get some air movement.

While one was in this backwork/storage room (yes it was still very safe) on the target end of the building you could hear this arrow noise. Even with compounds of the day. Yes those shooting release aids had that initial trigger release thud or snap. Many of us shot fingers even with our compounds. Pretty quiet at release.

My buddy was a total anti noise freak and would often just go out and grab a loud sounding bow of a customers and do everthing he could to help get it quiet. So in general all the regulars had real quiet shooting compounds. Most at pondages over 70.

He also had a hanful of tradiional shooter as regulars. They usually had the loudest arrows. Most of us compound shooter shot vanes but in reality they weren't much quieter. Adding vented broadheads made all setups louder.

So I believe that deer react as much to arrow noise as bow/release aid noise. Especially from treestands. JMHO

Now let me hear it!! Your opinions.


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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri May 22, 2015 1:29 pm

I agree I have heard some loud arrows and wondered if they would cause some deer to jump the string. I shot some steelforce cut-on-contacts one year that whistled just a bit in flight. I shot a big buck looking at me at 25 yards and he didn't twitch but just one example doesn't mean much. I stopped shooting them at deer for that reason. I shot two elk with them no problems but from what I understand they are not as quick on the draw as a whitetail.

My personal theory is a lot of string jumping now-a-days is tied to hunter strategy, in the videos I see guys who always shoot deer out in the open in fields and food plots (where they are naturally more alert) and guys who make weird/too loud of sounds to stop them have more problems with string jumping.

So there you go - three posts and three different theories. I bet we are all right some of the time :D
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri May 22, 2015 1:40 pm

[bbvideo=425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nPRzItxT9Q[/bbvideo]
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby purebowhunting » Fri May 22, 2015 2:13 pm

I don't think its possible to quiet a bow/setup enough to not have an alert deer jump the string. If alert you must account for it.

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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby Hawthorne » Fri May 22, 2015 2:16 pm

I shoot slick tricks that whistle in flight. They had a write up on their website about it. They said only the person behind the arrow could hear it and not the deer. Not sure if I believe that fully but I haven't seen a difference in the way the deer react compared to other broadheads.

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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby DeerDylan » Fri May 22, 2015 2:44 pm

This is is interesting. I'm not sure what to think

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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby Stanley » Fri May 22, 2015 4:06 pm

An alert deer is way more likely to react than an oblivious deer. A moving deer is less likely to react. Windy days deer are less likely to react. A deer that has busted you is more likely to react. A deer looking at you is more likely to react. A deer that has been stopped is more likely to react. With some extraneous noise (trains, road noise etc.) a deer is less likely to react.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Sat May 23, 2015 12:09 am

BassBoysLLP wrote:[bbvideo=425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nPRzItxT9Q[/bbvideo]


In the post about stopping a deer, I commented how I compensate to aim in case of drop. Whether they drop or don't it still blows thru the vitals. Nice video Bass

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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby bones09 » Sat May 23, 2015 1:22 am

Yes, deer do react to the shot by ducking to run, if they are alert. I also believe that many high shots out of the tree are due to the shooters poor form combined with the movement of the animal. I combat this by aiming for the heart at any range less than 20 yards and i practice from an elevated position as often as i can.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby The Runt » Sat May 23, 2015 3:31 am

With average whitetail distances I think that deer react (when they do react) to a combination of the release, bow noise, and the arrow/broadhead combo. I have done several tests (not scientific/quantifiable) with different fletching combinations, basically sit down range behind a backstop close to a target and listen to a variety of arrows being shot numerous times to make sure the results were consistant. Size, shape, and material makes a huge difference down range. The same goes for broadheads.

Obviously our hearing doesn't compare to a whitetails, but as the yardage gets extended I could hardly hear the bow going off over the everyday sounds. The arrows on the other hand whistled like crazy. At 80 yards I think that I could almost duck the arrow ;) .

Paying attention to the deer's demeanor can really help estimate if a deer will react and then help you decide where to aim. I am a heart shooter! If they duck you have all lungs and if not you take out the pump station all is good as well!
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Sat May 23, 2015 4:06 am

Have you ever opened a door that somebody was just about to open on the other side and jump because you weren't expecting them? Have you ever also had the same thing happen but you didn't jump? I think that in the same way we do or don't react to something that should surprise us, deer are the same way. If they're on edge, they should be more likely to react but not always. A sharp whistling of an arrow on an otherwise calm evening might cause a reflex response because it's a contrast to the rest of the surroundings. I don't think deer often comprehend the sound of a bow/arrow and consciously decide to move. It happens too fast. Reducing noise from the bow, and silencing the arrow through broadhead and fletching design should always help, as will a windy day that masks the noise. But I don't think there's any amount of silencing that can stop the string jumping reflex in all cases. That's why I don't spend a bunch of money on bow silencers anymore, try to judge the animal's body language, and always aim low in the lungs for a bigger margin of error.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby stash59 » Sat May 23, 2015 5:57 am

Stanley wrote:An alert deer is way more likely to react than an oblivious deer. A moving deer is less likely to react. Windy days deer are less likely to react. A deer that has busted you is more likely to react. A deer looking at you is more likely to react. A deer that has been stopped is more likely to react. With some extraneous noise (trains, road noise etc.) a deer is less likely to react.


Totally agree with this and all who mentioned similarly.

My buddies indoor range was 20 yards. With my hearing I could always hear the release from a release aid shooter and then a few milliseconds later start hearing the arrow that must have been quite a few feet away from the shooter.

So my and I emphasize MY thinking was if a deer can pick up the release they can pick up the arrow noise much sooner than me. Thus my opinion on the subject.

I'm not implying that I'm right just food for thought.

The Beast style is so detail oriented that I wanted to see and introduce somrthing that others may not have heard of or realized and wondered if anyone else thought on similar lines as me.
Thanx everone so far.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby kurt » Sat May 23, 2015 6:21 am

Hawthorne wrote:I shoot slick tricks that whistle in flight. They had a write up on their website about it. They said only the person behind the arrow could hear it and not the deer. Not sure if I believe that fully but I haven't seen a difference in the way the deer react compared to other broadheads.

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I shoot slick tricks and love them. But sound travels faster than a broadhead/arrow combination. I've seen what slick trick wrote also and don't agree with it. I've never had problems though. I wish they would make solid blades though it can't add much weight. I think visually when you shoot they notice movement. Add In a slight whiff and you can run into problems. that's my 2 cents on it.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Sat May 23, 2015 8:57 am

I agree with a lot of posts here. first, the "string jump" like said is a misnomer. the term actually is coined for when they drop, not bound away or jump. "jumping" to me is just another meaning of reacting. also I think form is an issue like mentioned. some people fail to bend at the waist and keep their body and bow arm at a 90 degree angle. this is a cause of a miss as well. but most importantly, I think it happens most when people shoot at a deer that is keyed up and on full alert. as far as arrow noise, you can watch videos of people shooting arrows. you can hear the arrow a lot better from behind than in front.
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Re: My thoughts on "jumpingthe string".

Unread postby stash59 » Sat May 23, 2015 11:13 am

Bowhunting Brian wrote:I agree with a lot of posts here. first, the "string jump" like said is a misnomer. the term actually is coined for when they drop, not bound away or jump. "jumping" to me is just another meaning of reacting. also I think form is an issue like mentioned. some people fail to bend at the waist and keep their body and bow arm at a 90 degree angle. this is a cause of a miss as well. but most importantly, I think it happens most when people shoot at a deer that is keyed up and on full alert. as far as arrow noise, you can watch videos of people shooting arrows. you can hear the arrow a lot better from behind than in front.


Maybe it sounds that way in some videos but it's my experience live that it's the opposite. Much easier to hear them when your near the target. I remember the 1st time I experienced it. I was totally caught off guard because of how loud it was. Again it's got to do with the Doppler effeect. Which if I under stand the science behind it right the noise gets increasingly louder as it approaches because the sound waves are traveling faster than the object. So it actually kind of gets amplified. If I'm wrong on rthis someone please let me know.


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