joevan125 is right on........The only way to take the edge off buck fever,is to have been there often.
If you can go visit pen raised deer or a zoo with big bucks that you can get close to, make the trip prior to hunting season. It will take the edge off when you see one in the wild.
In my own experience, I live in Iowa, not much chance for elk hunting here. This year prior to heading out west, I visited a farmer that raises big bull elk..................
I won't mention what for because it sort of turns my stomach.
At any rate the farmer took me out in the middle of his field and surrounded me with about twenty 400 class bulls. Even knowing that these bulls were pen raised couldn't prevent my heart rate from "red line."
It took a while for the spectacle of these magnificant bull elk to soften enough for me to remember why I came. I wanted to get my eyes calibrated for the size of the animals and distance judging as well as picking a spot.
I bet I slobbered for ten minutes before I came arround. The point is that I think a guy just plain gets caught up in the splendor of a big buck or any big game animal as it approaches and the whole event just sort of pushes the timming of the shot and shooting mechanics right out the window.
How many guys that miss a slam dunk shot at an animal come away with no idea what happened.
My moneys on........."caught up in the moment".
To round out my elk farm experience, this year in colorado I was fortunate to get myself into a group of 5 bulls including one T-Rex of a herd bull. I managed to get ahead of this group of elk and call in a nice 6x6. I watched him come for 50yds and it looked like a 5 yd shot but he made the right choice at the last second and chose a different path to pass me. Too much brush for a clear shot and he caught me trying to kneel to shoot through. Wow! what a mornings hunt!.
As I relived the mornings events hiking baack to camp I realized that had I not been in the company of big bulls prior to this hunt It would have been hard to process all the excitment and focus on the shot timming. I do remember thinking, hey, this bull is walking up to me just like at the farm. It really did have a calming effect........."been there....done that"...
Well enough of my rambling. All the talk about remain calm, pick a spot, concentrate, don't look at the whole animal, and pick a hair are all true statements..........................
BUT YOU WON'T!!! remember any of it if you cant believe your eyes and "OH my God, I'm gonna get the shot at the buck of a lifetime."
Small game hunting and filling those doe tags gets you the experience and confidence in shooting deer to say to your self "I've been there, I've done that". Don't get me wrong. Taking a doe can be as exciting as a buck anyday......but probably not as hard to come by.
Last but not least..........congradulations!! You are not a stone cold individual intent on killing. You have a passion for the whole event....your excitment is proof. You just need to take the edge off, that's all.
Topic: How to over come buck fever (Read 381 times)
