Buck Fever!!!!!

[String Cutter]

O.K. I know none of us get it.But IF YOU EVER DID??? What do you do to calm yourself down. I have a friend (wink wink) that has missed 5 deer in arow... He's taken 40+ deer with rifles , compounds, shotguns and muzzle loader to the point he doesn't really feel nervous at all... But, put a longbow in his hand and he falls all to pieces???? God I love Traditional Archery!!!

[Al Natural]

String Cutter
Buck fever is nothing more than another form of target panic, ( the fear of missing ).  By the number of your posts it doesn't appear your new to traditional hunting.  Is this problem something new that has showed it's ugly head or has it been a problem?  When you practice put stress on yourself. Try shooting with other people around. At home get your heart rate elavuated. Do some push-ups, run around the garage a couple times, pick up your bow and make a shot.  In the field keep your shots at deer well within you effective range.  If you know you can shoot out to twenty yards only take shots 10-15 yards.  You will tell yourself this is a chip shot and you confidence to make the shot will be there.
P.S.  It doesn't matter if it is a doe or a 140 inch buck I still get pumped.  Hope this helps.
Al

[Don Stokes]

After completing my 47th year of bowhunting, I still get excited enough to miss sometimes. When I quit getting excited, I'll quit bowhunting!

Keep your shots as close as possible, and practice those close shots. 10 yards is just right. Remember to hold low, and pick that individual hair to shoot at. The deer will most likely drop at the shot, and holding low compensates for that. Dan Quillian told me that he actually aimed at the junction of the front leg and the body on broadside shots. He rarely missed.

[Horne Shooter]

I have tend to get nervous as well.  I have killed 18 big game species with a bow and I still come close to unglued before each shot I take at a live animal.  Some time back, I started closing my eyes and saying a little prayer before I shoot.  It calms me down and helps me to focus, pick a spot and make a good release.  Try it...you might be surprised at the results.

[Mudd]

I remember when it was as bad as it could possibly be. I mean it was so bad I thought something has to give, either I have a heart attacked or my heart has to slow down. I even had to hang up my bow one time and hold onto the tree to keep from falling out. To the deer's credit, he kept feeding on the alfalfa and walking closer. I finally managed to pick up my bow again and put an arrow exactly where it was supposed to be. Her ran maybe 50 yds and fell over in the open field.
I guess it was good preparation for my treadmill and chemical treadmill tests.(which I passed btw)..lol
One of the things I did afterward was to take my nephew to the St Louis zoo. I let my wife take him around and I spent my time sitting as close to the deer enclosure as possible.(I think it helped) Plus I got all kinds of credit from my sister-in-law and wife for being such a good uncle..lol
God bless,Mudd

[Owlgrowler]

When I miss, it's always the same reason,I snap shoot.I go through a quick mental checklist when shooting at game;1, does the sight picture look "right"?, 2, can I feel that I'm at full draw?, anchored.

[joevan125]

One thing that has helped me over the years is when the deer starts heading my way i start talking to myself outloud.

Keep on comming and you are a dead deer and there is no way im going to miss.

It keeps my mind off negative things that can go wrong and if its a buck i never look at his horns once i decide im going to make the shot.

It may seem strange that i talk to myself but i swear it works but it never keeps me from getting excited, it just keeps me from falling all to pieces.

[Izzy]

Think of the mechanics of making the shot and the hair you want your arrow to hit and not so much waht you are shooting at.Easier said than done but try it.I find buck fever delightful as long as I can control my head in man deer standoff enough to make the shot.

[CaliCreole]

joevan125,
not strange at all to talk to yourself, baseball players do it all the time. Ricky henderson is notorious for it "come on ricky u can hit this chump he aint nuthin your the greatest ever to play this game" my buddy told me that ricky doesnt stop talking to himself for the entire game he was catching in the minors one year when ricky was trying to make a comeback.

[Mudd]

I have been known to talk to the deer. I lie to them and it works! I keep saying "I'm not going to shoot this one." They seem to remain calmer and I do as well.. it's a different feeling when you're planning on not shooting. Then when they reach "that spot" I will say to myself "I lied" and the arrow is on it's way.
Try it sometimes and see if you can tell the difference between a deer that knows instinctively that its about to be in trouble versus one that hasn't any idea.
God bless,Mudd

[Jerry Wald]

Well in my humble point of view the more you hunt the easier it gets. If you get more opportunities for shots then the panic/pressure goes down.

I think we all see the horns etc and we start thinking man this is the one...wait till they see this one...and the pressure to complete the tast gets built up in our mind.....then we pull and we think "don't blow it - this is a give me"

then our eyes turn at the last second to see those antlers or the size of the bear etc....then the release happens and the arrows sails by harmlessley...atleast that's how it seems to me.

I know when I hunted in alberta i had much more success there than I have had in the Yukon.

The reason was there is WAY MORE GAME...not the variety, but there is game everywhere there.

Lots of gropers and bears and deer rabbits coyotes .

So when you go out you know there is going to be a chacnce to shoot at something today. Here in teh yukon there isn't (most ppl think) an animal behind EVERY TREE.

There is game here but they are spread out all over the place and you have to HUNT to get them. In the ruts it can make it easier, but by and large the majority of your hunting is remote areas (fly-in)- river hunting - horseback or hiking.

Not much gets killed with tree stands unless you have 2 weeks worth of food up there in the stand.

You could sit for weeks waiting for something to walk by you...i mean it. You have to spot and stock. the odd time a bear is near a road and you can get an easy one..and if the right ppl come along you can get the riot act thrown at you for even doing that.

So you go for along time withou actually pulling on a living thing....you stump shoot lots, but pulling on the game...well...it's pressure I don't care what anyone says.

The grizz I missed last spring was a prime example. I had seen him - he went in the bush - my heart was racing...first grizz - i am thinking "wait till the boys see this baby"

Then we get close - he comes charging out of the bush and stops 45 yards away and starts smaking the ground and then stands up shaking his head.

My buddy (with the gun) is saying "shoot"..I was still trying to get my heart out of my throat. Anyway he takes off. I get a chance to relax and get my thoughts and my witts about me.

Then he comes out again and walks prety calmly and I get ready 9we had gotten about 10 yards closer. Anyway he turns sideways and I am waiting for him to stop....picked a spot and my buddy is saying "shoot-shoot" I pull look at the spot and just before i let fly I look at the size of him...i pulled the shot an zipped by his leg.

he takes off...i am pissed..my buddy can't believe I missed..well I could go on.

so we waited and waited then he comes flying out of the bush...ears back and flat and my buddy drops him with the gun.

good thing too I don't hink he was bluffing this time.

Now had I had a whole bunch of chances in the past shooting grizzlies maybe it would have been just routine. I have shot alot of black bears - over ten and I don't shoot the little ones, but there is something that is different when you go after a grizz (maybe it's just in our minds), but ultimately it's our minds we need to control when we come down to the pull of the string.

Jer bearless

[inn8hunter]

Originally posted by joevan125:
One thing that has helped me over the years is when the deer starts heading my way i start talking to myself outloud.

Keep on comming and you are a dead deer and there is no way im going to miss.

It keeps my mind off negative things that can go wrong and if its a buck i never look at his horns once i decide im going to make the shot.

It may seem strange that i talk to myself but i swear it works but it never keeps me from getting excited, it just keeps me from falling all to pieces.

I don't talk out loud, but I do talk to myself like joevan does and it helps. I have some nice bucks on the wall with "wheels." Now, it will be interesting to see what happens next year with a recurve on ANY deer - lol.

The other thing I learned is that you almost always have 5 - 10 more seconds to shoot than you think you do. Now, that is an easy thing to do with wheels, and maybe not as practical with a trad bow. But, like someone else said, snap/quick shots and forgetting to pick a spot are the two most common things for missing when you know you are proficient at shooting at targets.

Tim

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

I Missed two of the easiest shots in the world this year@!  it happens , I am with Don, keep your shots short, pick a specific hair to shoot at and the deer becomes nothing more than a target, that is until you walk up to it and place your hand on its side!

[smiley]

I just listen to the voices that I hear  

[hayslope]

Jerry,

I can't imagine that buck fever can hold a candle to griz fever..........Shakin' is one thing......I bet there are a few on here that would have messed their drawers if griz did that in front of them with a stick and string in hand (even with rifle backup).

[lpcjon2]

My dad took me out and made me sit and not shoot any deer the first three times I hunted with him and it got me fairly comfortable with the fever!

[BowMIke]

Concentrate on the spot you want to hit and don't look at the rack any more after deciding to shoot. That way I don't get too excited until after the shot.

[Friends call me Pac]

I remind myself to breathe.  Take a few deep breaths as the deer is making it's way into range.  

I don't look at the antlers after I have determined if it is a legal buck (3 or more on 1 side). I don't look at a deer's eyes either buck or doe. Intsead I cocentrate on the spot just behind the elbow.

[Jerry Wald]

BOW mike - you hit the nail on the head.

lpcjon2  - I don't get that many chances to connect here - if I waited for three that would be 1 whole season GONE.

I think we are all time poor......that leads to many other things going on in our minds.

If I have a 5 day hunt say - take the horses and off we go

first day - get there set camp
last day - break camp come hoem
Second to 4th day - 3 DAYS of hunting

second day - glassing and just trying to UNWIND from the pace you had before the hunt

maybe get a shot, but generally you are just trying to find something - ALOT of country up here NO FENCES.

Day three - same as day two - maybe get close - animal winds you...you follow look for a better approach....maybe you get close enough to shoot.

Day four - PANICKING - last day of REAL hunting...get yourself relaxed - spot some game maybe...make a plan - hopefully get a shot - make it good and get it back to camp.

So five days is NOTHING really...but we all have obligations adn so LITTLE TIME.

Jer

[Jerry Wald]

As a species TIME is our worst enemy - it's the only thing we can't get back..yet it must not be very important cause we dont take it much do we.

Must be a best selling book coming...hey do something right once - sells lots of copies - make money - get your time back...hmmm

Jer Bear