Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

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Do you stop your deer?

Stop him.
13
13%
Shoot him walking / or wait till he stops
22
22%
Depends on the situation
64
65%
 
Total votes: 99
mauser06
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby mauser06 » Fri Nov 08, 2013 3:09 pm

first buck i ever shot at with my bow...my first season..2006...someone bumped him small game hunting and he came flying on in...i "bahhed" to stop him...he froze...i let er fly..

i watched my arrow (and lighted nock) flying right to the crease of the shoulder! SMOKED HIM!


nock went out and he went outta there like a freight train...i KNEW i smoked him...

waited a half hour or so..snuck down..went to the farm and changed and got 2 friends and lights...long story short i found my arrow 10yds from the shot..CLEAN with 3" or so busted off and the broad head...

followed a followable blood trail for 100yds or so...never bedded..never any GOOD blood..never any sprays..came back the next day with a BUNCH of buddies...we combed the entire area HARD...not a thing to be found...

replaying the shot in my head i realized what happened...he was alert and dropped at the shot...arrow hit high above the spine...

buddies dad killed him that winter...


now i wait for them to stop naturally...or shoot em on the walk...my 1st bow kill stopped naturally..my 2nd i shot on a walk at like 6 yards...my 3rd was stopped naturally..



it can be SOOOOO easy to stop them...but like was said..the majority of the time it puts them on full alert and they are VERY prone to drop at the shot...

i have SUCH a habit of stopping them from gun hunting it can be hard for me not to...ive actually let bucks walk because ive stopped them and recognized they were on full alert and didnt want that outcome...some guys "aim low" to compensate..but you never know if they will drop or how much...


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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby wibow » Fri Nov 08, 2013 3:56 pm

Dor wrote:Depends. When I do stop I shoot instantly on the stop and it helps.

Same here.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby GRUD » Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:22 am

I can only remember stopping a couple deer over the years. Most of the time I am so focused on where I want to shoot I dont think about stopping them. I have drilled deer out to 35 yds walking and trotting. Typically when things happen quick I cant even remember how far or what pin I used but I tend to drill them good when this instinct kicks in. I will say that I probably have more liver hits that most and this leads to tracking time.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby dan » Fri May 15, 2015 11:56 am

bump
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby Wapiti » Fri May 15, 2015 11:32 pm

Like most, stopping a deer is situational to me. I prefer utter surprise when taking a deer but sometimes that isn't possible.

There have been some good segments/articles on string jumping over the last couple of years that make for worthy conversation as we make the turn towards hunting seasons opening up. One is Winke's segment on Midwest Whitetail on a couple of bucks that dropped enough too survive at roughly 30 yds. After analyzing the footage frame-by-frame, he came to the conclusion that the deer really didn't react much within 15-20 yds with arrows flying at speeds typical for today's bows. Past that range is where drop, and sometimes turn, become much more noticeable.

For these reasons I don't mind stopping a buck under 20 yds if I have to. Past 20, I personally don't stop a deer and if a buck did stop over 20 and was alert, I would adjust my aiming point lower for the given distance.

I'm also convinced that deer not only react to the sound of the bow, but also to arrows flying thru the air. If you've ever stood behind an obstruction adjacent to a target and have someone shoot a broad head at it, you can often hear the arrow hiss as it travels toward the target. This is especially true with vented broad heads in my experience.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Sat May 16, 2015 3:02 am

I stop a deer when I have to. The ideal shot would be when they do it themselves, but sometimes shot windows open where you have to stop them. I've always aimed 3-5 inches off the shoulder blade and about 2-3 inches below centerline of the deer and haven't had any string jump or low hit deer. Guess I've been lucky in that. Also when I do stop a deer I'm at full draw and on him/her.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Sat May 16, 2015 5:07 am

Wapiti wrote:Like most, stopping a deer is situational to me. I prefer utter surprise when taking a deer but sometimes that isn't possible.

There have been some good segments/articles on string jumping over the last couple of years that make for worthy conversation as we make the turn towards hunting seasons opening up. One is Winke's segment on Midwest Whitetail on a couple of bucks that dropped enough too survive at roughly 30 yds. After analyzing the footage frame-by-frame, he came to the conclusion that the deer really didn't react much within 15-20 yds with arrows flying at speeds typical for today's bows. Past that range is where drop, and sometimes turn, become much more noticeable.

For these reasons I don't mind stopping a buck under 20 yds if I have to. Past 20, I personally don't stop a deer and if a buck did stop over 20 and was alert, I would adjust my aiming point lower for the given distance.

I'm also convinced that deer not only react to the sound of the bow, but also to arrows flying thru the air. If you've ever stood behind an obstruction adjacent to a target and have someone shoot a broad head at it, you can often hear the arrow hiss as it travels toward the target. This is especially true with vented broad heads in my experience.

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I shot a totally relaxed doe at about 6 years ago with my crossbow. My crossbow arrow is about 310fps and the doe was 45 yards or so out with her head down eating acorns; she had no clue that I was there.

In the amount of time it took the arrow to get there she turned hard to the right; turning what would have been a perfect double lung shot into a hard quartering away shot. I ended up getting a liver/single lung hit. Their reaction speed is amazing. She went much farther than she would have but at least she ran towards the trail I came in on.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby JoeRE » Mon May 18, 2015 11:38 pm

Wapiti it is interesting that you brought up the articles written by Winke on string jumping. In the last few years he has been a big one to make generalizations, if he sees something a few times he decides that is the way it is for everyone and always has been. I am not sure where he gets that, he should know better with his technical background.

The reason I bring that up is I think the frequency of string jumping is just as much due to hunter strategy as anything else. It seems like hunters I talk to either have tons of problems with string jumping - every other deer or something like that, or they only rarely do. I think that shows the frequency is related to hunter strategy. So many modern hunters sit over fields and food plots - when a deer is in the open it is hyper-alert versus in cover it is more likely to be relaxed. Also based on what I have seen in videos a lot of hunters mouth bleat way too loud, and when they do it doesn't sound at all like a deer. Sometimes the deer is naturally pausing and they didn't need to make a sound in the first place. I suspect these have something to do with what appears to be a modern epidemic of string jumping....not just pure noise of a bow.
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby Wapiti » Tue May 19, 2015 4:59 am

JoeRE wrote:Wapiti it is interesting that you brought up the articles written by Winke on string jumping. In the last few years he has been a big one to make generalizations, if he sees something a few times he decides that is the way it is for everyone and always has been. I am not sure where he gets that, he should know better with his technical background.

The reason I bring that up is I think the frequency of string jumping is just as much due to hunter strategy as anything else. It seems like hunters I talk to either have tons of problems with string jumping - every other deer or something like that, or they only rarely do. I think that shows the frequency is related to hunter strategy. So many modern hunters sit over fields and food plots - when a deer is in the open it is hyper-alert versus in cover it is more likely to be relaxed. Also based on what I have seen in videos a lot of hunters mouth bleat way too loud, and when they do it doesn't sound at all like a deer. Sometimes the deer is naturally pausing and they didn't need to make a sound in the first place. I suspect these have something to do with what appears to be a modern epidemic of string jumping....not just pure noise of a bow.


I agree 100% that there are no hard and fast rules with respect to string jumping (or really anything deer hunting related) and that many of the string jumping issues are hunter related. In fact, most of the my closest hunting buddies will purposely stop any deer they intend to shoot...

I don't personally try to stop deer over 20 yards or so, as the element of surprise is essential IMO. However, if I did have one more than that distance and he was in an alert mindset (regardless of the reason; e.g. cut my scent trail, a noise in the distance, etc.) I would seriously consider adjusting my aiming point down.
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby PK_ » Tue May 19, 2015 6:04 am

Hate to admit it but I almost always stop them, I have shot at a couple walking slow and I noticed that I get target panic really bad when I do. I tried practicing by tracing my bow from each direction and releasing when I got over the bullseye, I did not like the results which made trying to shoot walking deer even tougher for me.

One thing I do to help them from jumping the string is I make a very low 'buhhhhhh' and slowly crescendo the volume until the deer just starts to hesitate and I let it fly immediately. Have not had them jump the string this way like they do when you 'BAHHHH' at them abruptly.
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby Dewey » Tue May 19, 2015 7:18 am

I like the silent approach where they get shot and never know what's coming till it's too late. If there's not a shot I will not force one. A fast moving deer is already on edge and this is where many bad shot's are made even if they are stopped. Sure it works for some but I prefer not to make any noises.

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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby phade » Wed May 20, 2015 2:29 am

I've shot deer walking and I've shot deer after literally yelling obscenities at them to get them to stop.

The environmental conditions/scenarios and the deer's actions are all variables into making that decision. Usually I will try to stop them IF I believe I am not going to get a standing shot or at minimum a very slow gait shot.

That nanosecond before the arrow goes off the shelf, and you know that moment is coming, is pretty much an adrenaline dump. Outside of the hunting camaraderie...that is what I chase.
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby Gibby » Wed May 20, 2015 1:19 pm

I don't like to try to stop them unless I feel I have to, so moving for me or wait for them to stop on their own
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby stash59 » Fri May 22, 2015 7:09 am

I voted just shoot them walking. But in reality should have voted depends. All of my shots at moving animals have bee under 25 yards. so distance matters.

I have to admitt most of my experience involves pre-rut and rut bucks. The usual colder weather at this time has combined with nerves to not allow me to bleat or whistle well enough to stop some bucks. Some spooked or "jumped the string". Others acted like they never heard anything. For these reasons I gave up trying to stop them vocally.

Now elk!!!! Stopped alot of them by using my mouth diaphram call.
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Re: Deer tactic's... Stopping deer for the shot?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Fri May 22, 2015 8:54 am

This is one area where I feel my longbow, and shooting instinctively, gives me a little advantage.... I prefer to take them while walking slow.... I just look where I want to hit and follow through...... but then again I seldom take shots over 25 yards - most have been in the 15-17 yard range.


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