As bowhunters, many of us have had at one time or another had a deer react a certain way after we released our arrow. They seem to “duck” or as most folks refer to it as “jumping the string.”
But is this really the case?
Depending on the distance we are from the deer, do they react to the sound of our bow or the sound of the arrow and broadhead that is whizzing towards them at 250 to 350 feet per second? Would the type of broadhead, either fixed or expandable, cause a different sound which would cause the deer to react differently?
So my friend Dave and I thought it’d be fun to conduct a unscientific experiment to test my silly theory out. We used his Mathews Switchback bow which shoots over 300 feet per second and the following broadheads:
- Slick Trick
- Rage
- 3 Blade Muzzy
- Tekan
- Montec
You can see the test in our above video. The results are clearly inconclusive. I’ll leave it up to everyone to come to their own conclusions. Or, should someone conduct a more thorough test, I’d love to see the results.
The one thing which sticks out in my mind that could potentially be a red hot topic of conversation at this years deer camps is this:
If a deer does react to the sound of the “BOW” at close distances and as a result “jumps the string”, which could cause you to miss or even worse, wound the deer, could it make more sense to take longer shots so that the deer does not get scared and jump the string or duck after you shoot?
The idea being that if they don’t hear the bow, and the arrow or broadhead is a non-issue, then maybe they will be more at ease at the point of impact and cause more folks to……drum roll please…..make more “ethical” shots.
I’ll be the first to say that what may be an ethical distance for me may not be for you. Too many factors come into play. Each archer and hunter has different levels of confidence and proficiencies. But that’s a whole other topic of conversation.
Anyways, just thought I’d throw these thoughts out there.
PS – Montec and Muzzy broadheads provided by Gannett Ridge Hunting Equipmnent
About huntography
Hi, I'm Rudy and I'm Filming America's Whitetail Deer and Elk Bow Hunters, One at a time. You could be in our next documentary hunting film. Email me to learn more.
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