Shadow
06-29-2001, 10:56 AM
This will be my third year hunting elk. The past two years I have had good luck with one kill, one clean miss, and a pass on an easy shot at a nubbin bull. I was very shocked to see that the animals we have been hunting spooked more easily than the whitetails back home, especially the cows. Well my question is, can elk jump the string on a bow shot like a whitetail? I would think they wouldn't since they are so large, but I have no idea. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term "string jumping", it is the reflex of a whitetail to "hunker down or duck" when preparing to run. An arrow flies slower than sound, so the deer hears the bow before the arrow has time to get there. They can sometimes duck the arrow when spooked by the sound of the bow shooting. This is purely a reflex reaction. The one elk I have taken was a bit spooked. The shot was about 40 yards, and he just stood there waiting for the arrow it seemed. Is this the exception or the rule?