Well, I've heard of it happening but it never happened to me until 9:30am this morning. I had a big shooter that I've never seen before come in and work a scrape 46yds away this morning. The second I saw him I didn't care that he wasn't my target buck...he got my heart pumping and was really tall with great mass. He walked behind a clump of youpon after working the scrape and I eased my bow into position and got ready to draw. He presented a good broadside shot at 37yds and I split my 30/40 pin and squeezed off feeling great about my shot. I was so focused on pin placement I didn't notice that the buck must have looked at me at draw. The whole shot was in slow motion in my mind as I watched him duck the arrow like a scene from the matrix. I could not believe that he was able to drop that low that fast. The arrow sailed 2" over his back and stuck in the dirt as he ran off. I have killed tons of animals with my bow and have never had that happen.
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First couple of years bow hunting I thought about throwing the bow trying to knock out the deer. Have had 18 month old deer duck as many as 2 arrows.......
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Yep it happens, sucks but it does... seems to happen more so when the animal is alert and looking at youComment
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When they are alert and aware something’s not right they drop so fast it’s crazy. If he would have been working the scrape or just standing unaware of your presence you probably would have got him. Good luck! It’s a rush seeing a unfamiliar deer when on stand.Comment
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That’s a pretty good poke at a whitetail if he knows you are there or looking your direction. I have always felt like 25-40 yards was the worst for string jumping. I have shot a couple whitetails at 50 yards and they just stood there and took it.Comment
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I got tired of hitting deer high and started setting my 20 and 30 yard pin a inch low before season and try to make myself forget I did it. Still try to aim at lower 3rd of body. I’ve shot at keyed up deer at 30/35 yards and aimed a full 5 yards lower than actual distance and still hit them high. I’ve actually stuck a arrow in a tree behind a deer a foot off the ground and deer was still hit high. Good luck. Aim low and hope. Ha
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I’ve never had a whitetail buck duck my arrow. Several does have though, the older the does, the more they ducked. I did spine an antelope once and he had his head in a water trough and I could not see his eyes. Twenty-three yards. They are fast !Comment
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I don’t shoot at them alert no matter the distance, or past 20 yards even if calm. For me the pattern has been doe duck and bucks don’t, if so it’s very little. Pressured white tails move way too fast to take chancesComment
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I was bored awhile back and did some math things on how fast they can duck. The difference in 20 yards and 40 yds is crazy. I can’t remember the numbers off hand but with strictly gravity(not counting muscle twitch) they can move a long ways.Comment
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Years ago I saw a video that looked like a miss high. It was a 20 yard shot. On the slowmo he put a line at the bottom of his chest. He had the top of his shoulders 2 inches below where his chest was before the arrow got there. That's why prefer a quiet bow over speed.Comment
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One of the biggest bucks I ever killed was standing broadside at 13yds. I mouth grunted him to make him stop in my shooting lane. He was at full alert. I put my 15yd pin on the lower 3rd. Then I thought, no, put it on the belly line. I ended up catching one lung. Just a inch or so higher would had been in the spine. This was on a BIG ole Kansas buck. He had to drop nearly 2ft, and this was only 13yds away. I can remember 3 other bucks that I missed when they ducked. I'm sure there are others. Can't remember them all!!
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Had it happen opening morning on a 14 pt buck of a lifetime at 30 yds. Better that you missed. I didn’t. He ducked and I hit real high, never found him and virtually no blood. I’m still praying he recovers from the wound.
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Aim lower.Comment
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Aim for the heart and you may still hit lungs when they jump the string. I had a 10 pointer actually bounce his chest off the ground he dropped so low once on a 28 yard shot. I also made the mistake of releasing the arrow while he was looking my direction. I learned not to do that. Also if the deer has its head down feeding, it provides leverage to help it drop faster.Comment
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Same thing happened to me a few years ago except for at 15 yds. I'm pretty sure I got all backstrap. That sucked pretty bad. What sucked even worse was the next year I had that fresh in my mind and I aimed at the "belly line" of a buck at 27 yds. The buck never moved and I had a pass thru brisket shot with white hair everywhere. ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't and cehorn had 0 deer on the wall....Originally posted by jetboysixx View PostComment
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