STRING JUMPING - The buck is casually walking along and enters your shooting lane at 28 yards. You came to full draw just before he presented himself. Suddenly, hecomes to full alert! His head is up, his nose is working the wind, and his body twitches with the not-so-subtle indication that he might bolt at any second. Something isn’t right and you can tell that he isn’t going to stick around to find out what the problem is. You know you only have a few seconds to get the shot off. You set your pin right behind his front shoulder and gently trigger your release. And then all heck breaks lose.
It happens so fast that your brain doesn’t even register what just happened. In the blink of an eye, the buck is gone and you know you’ve shot over him.
But how could that happen?
You knew the distance, you had the right pin, and you were steady on your release. What could have possibly caused you to shoot high?
The answer, my friend, is that you didn’t shoot high….your arrow went right where you were aiming.
What happened was that in the time it took your arrow to travel that 28 yards, that buck was no longer is the same position he was when you triggered your release. This is what we call string jumping.
And the name does not imply what actually happens.
An arrow traveling 290 feet per second (fps) takes just under a third of a second to travel 30 yards. Upon hearing the sound of your bow, a deer on high alert will drop towards the ground in an effort to gets its legs in position to vacate the area. Sometimes, this drop is so great the back of the deer will fall below the impact point of your arrow. It happens so quickly that the arrow sails harmlessly over the deer’s back. Even we humans do it.
Let’s say you’re going to sprint a short distance. If you are standing up in a normal position, your entire body will drop several inches vertically as you bend your legs under you to push off horizontally.
And if you don’t believe me, try this experiment with a friend. Stand up against a wall and have your friend draw a line on the wall with a piece of chalk at the top of your head. Now turn so that you’re parallel to the wall. Have your friend get about 20 yards away with a video camera. From an upright standing position, sprint as fast as you can for a short distance. Don’t run too far…we’re not as young as we once were. Now go back and review the recording in slow motion.
Just before you start moving horizontally, your body will drop vertically several inches as you get your legs and feet in position to push off. A deer does the exact same thing.
The deer is not trying to avoid your arrow. Instincts take over and all he’s trying to do is get away from the area that is causing him uneasiness. The sound of your bow prods him into immediate action.
So, how do we combat this?
There are two options. First, we can hope that the deer relaxes so thathe’s not on pins and needles. A relaxed deer will still jump the string sometimes but if their senses are not on overload, they won’t react as quickly and allow enough time for your arrow to impact where you are aiming. But this is taking a huge chance that a deer will come back to a more relaxed state. A big buck doesn’t get big by hanging around an area that makes him nervous.
The second option is to aim lower than where you want the arrow to actually impact. When the deer drops in the effort to gathers its legs under him, he will actually drop down into the path of your arrow. But again, you’re taking a chance that the deer will drop the right distance to put your arrow in the kill zone. A good rule of thumb is to aim about two inches up from the chest of the deer. Even if the deer doesn’t drop, you still get a bottom heart shot.
One other thing to remember about putting an arrow in a deer that is on full alert…every nerve in that animal is functioning at top levels. When that arrow hits, the deer is already in extreme survival mode. Be SURE to give the deer PLENTY of time before you pick up the trail. It could take awhile before the shock to the body registers in the brain.
Experience will teach you if you should let the deer calm down or take the shot right away. But at least now you have an option that may yield good results.
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