BUCK FEVER!! Leave me alone!!!!!!

[Clint T]

I am 5 years into my trad journey. I have taken 16 white tails and a few hogs. 4 I think. I remember reading this page as I started out with all the typical shooting problems/challenges as I was getting started, and I must say its been a big help and I appreciate all the advice. However, the debilitating effects of buck fever still to this day take a HUGE toll on my effectiveness. It's to the point that backyard practicing is not even close to the same as drawing on a deer. At least not for me. I have honed my skills better than I could have ever imagined and its all for not when a deer steps out. Even though I've whacked a few, I've had way more than my share of embarrassing misses. Anybody out there mastered this?  What mental approach can be taken to keep you "in control" of the shot. As I said, 5 years into and I still have no clue.

[tuscarawasbowman]

I have found that the longer the deer mill around me out of range the less I'm affected by it. I realize that this is totally out of anyones control how fast animals will approach but my theory is I get it because I don't spend enough time around large game in the off season.

[moebow]

Clint,  This is a very difficult thing to try to fix or even provide guidance on.  I would offer this explanation as a suggestion.  When that deer (or whatever) comes into shooting range, we start thinking about the outcome.  "Back straps on the grill? or trophy antlers on the wall?"  The only real comparison I can think of is top level competitive archers shooting for the championship.  We tend to "self impose" an image of the OUTCOME of the shot rather than continuing to concentrate on the PROCESS of making the shot.

Learning the mental control (discipline) is difficult because as you point out you can't very well duplicate the pressure situation on your practice range.  Top level competitors are taught to rely on their training and to focus on the steps of the shot required rather than the image of the arrow in the ten ring.  They (target archers) learn this mental control by competing.  Us hunters need to do the same by hunting but at the same time having a clear and focused mental plan.  That plan should be that you will execute the shot as you have practiced it and concentrate on that.  This is the way a person can still shoot well even though your sub conscious has imposed a strong case of the "jitters" on your body.  Concentrate on the shot and you can shoot through the jitters.

Obviously, this is easier said than done and each person must "confront their own demons" and figure out an approach that works for them.

I would offer this as a thought.  Buck fever and target panic are OFTEN caused by our minds focusing on the wrong thing during the shot.  Breaking either of them requires a change in the thought sequence, not necessarily a change in equipment or form.

Process not outcome.

[Stumpkiller]

Each year the first deer that comes in range really gets my adrenaline pumping.  After that I stay cooler.  

Two things I have found to help are a lot of stump shooting and squirrel hunting.  The first gets you used to odd angles and positions (provided you don't wander all around looking for only easy open shots) and the second gets you used to drawing and shooting at live game.

I also have two 3-D deer targets hung in the brushlot behind my house.  Not in the yard, but down in among the trees and saplings so I have to shoot between and under obstacles.  In fact, one is within about 30 yards of where I arrowed a deer.  Can't get better practice than that.

[KSdan]

Get Jay Kidwell's book.  He addresses this from a professional sports psych point of view.  He has 100% success helping Olympic shooters. It is a brain issue (the way our mental/physio system was created to work) that can be overcome with the right type of "mental" training.  No amount of shooting or physical training will solve it.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Even though I would chose a different choice of words for "Whacked",

Talk yourself through the shot. It doesnt cure anything but helps with the symptoms.

[Mudd]

I am getting way better and I truly believe it comes from my ground hunting without anything at all in front of me.

It is full of draw backs as far as getting a shot off, in fact I've only dropped the string once all season with a good clean miss. String slap on the arm because of my hard angle caused the "Texas duck & roll" and my arrow going over her back.

I absolutely love the thrill of the hunt this way and it has helped the "buck Fever" jitters.

I hope I don't become a junkie....lol

God bless,Mudd

[Mark Baker]

After 3 decades of hunting with a bow, I still get it.   It's funny, too, how it can "change", after a few misses or a bad spell of it.  It usually starts with trying to hurry a shot, as if I might not have a chance if I wait any longer.....to becoming more of a "confidence in my ability" issue, and then "overthinking" the whole process.  It's a nasty thing.   And in hindsight, thank God for it.  

If I could master this one thing.....I'd quickly "bore myself to death" with killing animals, I think.  It is one constant challenge that I know I will never over come, that puts the ????? in the outcome, and is the essence of the thrill of hunting with traditional gear.  No crutches....just me.    If you had to define traditional bowhunting, that is a good place to start.

[stevewills]

i like it...but when my finger hook my string its game on.the best way i found out to cure it on my end is when i decide to shoot,i focus on the spot my arrow needs to go and thats it....then when i hit my spot i look like a heroin junky getting his fix.....woooow i love it

[Shortlongbow]

I try to focus on picking a hair to shoot at. I think more encounters help but I always get an adrenaline rush when game shows up and hope I always do.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Go to war!  Cures buck fever right now!    

[Stump_pounder]

I dont look at the head. I pick my spot and when its in range I shoot. then I fall apart. one thing that really helped me is Elk hunting during the rut. After having big screaming bulls come in and bugle at you from 10 yards away. a big buck just isnt getting the heart going like that bull, I guess im getting desensatized (sp)

[wingnut]

I've been hunting for over 50 yrs and bowhunting for 30 of them.  The day it doesn't happen when game is close is the day I hang it up.

Managing the excitement is the key to success.  We practice under ideal conditions usually and hunt in everything but.  You need to drill the shot sequence until it becomes automatic.  Then a live target is no different then a foam one.

Except of course the heart rate of 200 and over active adrenal glands.  LOL

Mike

[Rik]

You just need more practice killing things.

Hunt pigs, javelina, elk, deer, bear, coyotes, and anything else you can as much as you can. That's how you get used to killing, by killing.

Your shaky nerves will calm down when you get used to it.

[Plumber]

A lot of great points here today. I can remember when I would shake an shake. the best I can tell ya is keep hunting an work your way through it. when an animal is approaching dont think about anything but the kill zone on the body. you can do this an never remember seeing the head after the shot.after I shoot an the animal running away an all I remember seeing is brown then chances are it is a good shot.

[Shawn Leonard]

I agree with Mike, I have bowhunted for 34 years now and I still get it. When I stop getting excited thats when I stop hunting. You just have to learn to control it, I have a lil'piece of paper taped with clear packing tape on my lower limb that simply says "Pick A Spot!!" I actually look at this and read it several times before I shoot, it helps calm my nerves and makes me do exactly what it says. Something so simple, but it helps me for sure. Shawn

[Duncan]

I think buck fever is just anxiety, something I am very familiar with and have dealt with my whole life. One thing people tend to do without thinking in a tense situation is they stop breathing properly. The diaphram tenses up and we start chest breathing which can lead to hyperventilation. I used to count to 10 and force myself to remember to breathe from my belly. Given practice this will help calm you and get it under control. Another technique used by us anxiety sufferers is to just say to yourself "OK I'm having an anxiety attack" or "buck fever" if you like and begin to belly breathe and you will feel yourself relax some. Another technique to try is tensing and then relaxing various body parts such as the buttocks, leg, etc. This has a calming effect and can help you regain some control. As with anxiety, you may never get rid of the buck fever but you can reduce its power by acknowledging its presence and just saying OK buck fever is here you'll have to excuse me but I'm hunting right now.

PS - It actually helps me to tell others about this

Duncan

[Clint T]

To be very specific, what actually happens is as I try to move my bow arm onto the deer an overwhelming desire to release consumes me. Making it impossible to actually settle on to the deer where I can actually pick a spot. Once I know I am on the deer (or very close) I lose control and typically flinch real bad and just wildly release. I can't tell you how many times this has happened. The further away the animal is the better for me. It's the close shots (10-15 yds) that eat me up. Most of my kills are in the 25 to 30 range. Not once can I remember actually drawing down on a deer that's in good close trad range and executing perfectly. Very frustrating. However, I appreciate all tips, I will press on.

[centaur]

Ragnarok Forge wrote,
"Go to war! Cures buck fever right now!"

Whether or not that was meant in jest, there is an awful lot of truth in that statement. For those not 'fortunate' enough to have experienced combat, shooting lots of animals really does make it easier to avoid buck fever, but as others have said, if the adrenaline rush ever completely goes away, it is time to call it quits, at least for me.

[Izzy]

Hunt squirrels and hunt them often. I swear itll help you. But if we didnt get that buck fever adrenaline boost why hunt? Unless its for needed groceries. I wouldnt hunt, Id sleep in til 8 and chill in my warm house all day. Its why many of us hunt. Ive never been into martial arts but Ill bet there are writings on separating the body and the mind.

        I do know of a book titled "On Killing" by Col. David Grossman,   breaks down the before and after effects of battle which is not exactly the same as buck fever but does have some of the same physiological effects on your body. Managing these physiological effects is what we need to learn to do but Im sure it will still get us every now and then. Dont battle it, learn to manage it.