Have you ever been Awed out of a shot?

[Tom]

One year hunting in January had a red fox come towards me. It was one of those perfectly clear cold days, slight wind and he just kept coming.Saw the breath from his nostrils and at 10 yeards he looked at me. I didn't even raise the bow as figured I had already killed several previously and he was just like me-out looking for a meal. But seeing him in the snow and so close was a memory for sure.

[onewhohasfun]

Hey Charlie, I have Experienced Quite a lot during my 38 yrs of bowhunting. Probably had  several hundred deer within range while my bow sat on a hook. But when a deer I want to kill is in range you can bet I have never been caught drooling with my "fly catcher" open, and you can bet I never will. LMAO

[LongStick64]

I was hunting a remote section of public land, as the day was winding down I had a group of does heading in my direction, clueless of my position, I started to dial in on one of the does, when all of a sudden, a loud grunt and a buck crashed through the woods chasing the does. He was a thick beamed 8 pointer, He was the dominant buck in town and he was looking for a date. All I could do is just sit and watch and laugh, watching the gorgeous deer chase all of the does around.

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by TDHunter:
Never awed, but aaaaaaaaad once.  

Or with a fawn: "Awwwwwww, so cute.  You may pass."


Awed out of a shot, eh?  

We used to call that "buck fever" in politically less correct times.  

I put an arrow about three feet over the back of the nicest buck I've ever had in bow range.  THAT was buck fever

Been more that one dandy buck that snuck up on me and I was afraid to move for spooking them and never did get a shot.  On such occasions generally I seem to remember my legs turning to jelly about the time they departed.  I know guys who have "Pick a Spot" stenciled on their limb face above the riser.  I decided "Just Take the Shot" would be a good one as well.

       

[jonsimoneau]

Bryce...I know what you mean about Eland.  There are few animals that have inspired as much awe in me as eland.  I was hunting in Namibia on my second trip to Africa, when the first mature eland bull I had ever seen came in to water.  I was in such awe, that I doubt I would have taken the shot if the tracker in the blind did not wake me up.  Luckily, I put a perfect shot on him and watched him go down in sight.  I think the other thing that awed me was that I shot him with a 55lb. recurve, and he went down so quickly.  The bull was huge!  I remember him breathing his last breath and I put my hand on his side without even bending over!  
   Eland are still one of my favorite animals.  Before I went to Africa, I had absolutely no interest in them.  I figured them to be like cattle.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  It still amazes me the way an animal so big can just melt into the African Veldt the way they do.

[Looper]

The first time I went bowhunting in Alaska was for Sitka Blacktails on Admiralty Island.  I was up above the treeline and was sporadically blowing a deer whistle.  I had a couple of bucks come in to the call, but they never offered me a shot.  

My last calling sequence ended with a very large brown bear sneaking through the alders below me at 25-30 yards.  Fortunately his attention was on something on the other side of the draw and not on me.  I had a brown bear tag, but I was so amazed at how huge he was and how silently he was moving that I didn't even think to draw my bow.

When he move out of sight I started shaking like you wouldn't believe.  After I composed myself I made a hasty trip down the mountain.  When I got back to the boat I realized I had inadvertently left a really nice set of binoculars up there on the rock I was sitting behind.  There was no way I was going back up there in the dark with that big sucker prowling around.  The binos are probably still there.