Campfire Talk: I have read many articles on deer jumping the string (ducking the arrow) over the years. Some because the arrow made a whizzing  noise from helical feathers on a traditional bow. Others because the bow or crossbow made a thump, whack or bang noise. Others because the arrow was so slow that the deer could see the arrow coming. And finally, it is a great excuse, if you miss! 

My compound bow killed deer were taken from a treestand and around 20 or so yards. None jumped the string! All could hear the bow-shot thwack.

That said, I ran into this fun-to-read article below by American Hunter written by Bill Winke on the “Science of String Jumping” written back in 2010. As the bow is fired, some deer instinctively duck and the arrow sails over the deer’s back. 

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2010/7/14/the-science-of-string-jumping/

The lesson I take away is “arrow speed trumps bow noise” for closer shots say 20 yards or less. At 30 yards other experts calculate hold low on the heart, if the deer drops then you are high in the lungs. If the deer does not drop then you have a heart shot. A winning approach. Maybe! 

So it is speed that Bill says is all important not necessarily the quieter bow. Quiet does help. How much? I like a muffled thwack not a hard bang. I think the unnatural bang sound from today’s crossbows can spook other nearby deer more than a muffled thwack.  But if the deer is close, say 20 yards, then it does not matter, the arrow is already there.

The video below demonstrates this lack of deer jumping at close range with Lumenok™ arrows.  Few really jumped the string in this video! The Lumenok tells the story! I ordered some of these lumenok’s for my crossbow arrows. But also purchased some brass washers to add to my arrows Front of Center FOC weight to account for the Lumenok weight. 

Food for thought!

Good Hunting!