I was fortunate enough to harvest a nice doe on Friday night. Everything worked out as planned. I had scouted the spot through the summer and ran cameras in the area. I know there are some good bucks in the area and the area is getting good use. I snuck in as the wind was right on Friday for the spot. I got in and settled about 2:30pm as I had gotten off work at 1pm with some comp time. I got settled in and waited. I had planned to take a doe as well if one came along. Right at about 6:15pm some does came down, perfect placement to my climber and the tree I picked and a 15 yard shot was placed real well. It played out exactly as I had planned and visioned in my mind. Now this is the first time out of all the deer I have shot and had a chance at that I didn't get the "knew knocking" excitement. Don't get me wrong it was awesome and unbelievably exciting. It was picture perfect. I just think the planning and strategy and everything involved coming together made it more of a "mission accomplished" then it did an "oh my gosh" moment. I think running my cams and scouting and figuring it all out made a difference. I know a nice buck will bring that feeling back as well as any other deer could as well. It was just a little different this time for me. Anyone else ever go through this change?
Well you have just moved up to the next level. There are 5 stages of hunters and while at times the lines are blurry they are still there. You did a job well and should be proud. One more step up.
I have been bowhunting for quite a while & have shot plenty of bucks & does & still get the "high" EVERY time I harvest a deer. It's "that" feeling that keeps me coming back. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I too recently harvested a doe. Does came straight down the tree line as they were supposed to. As soon as I saw them coming the rush kicked in! But when I came to full draw I was able to contain my excitement and put a perfect shot on her. Not only did I get meat for the freezer but it was great practice on calming my nerves to try and make he best shot I could. That kind of practice you can't do at any range. So hopefully that will pay off in a couple weeks.
When the deer come in quick I still get pretty jacked up and need to take some deep breaths and try and slow the heart beat. When they come in slow, there is still anticipation watching them come in but the adrenaline has time to settle down. Been hunting 33 years and have shot a bunch of deer, but there is always that excitement and joy of the animal and knowing that you put your own natural food on the table.
Yeah, I feel the same as you. I would certainly shoot a buck over a doe Billy only if it met my expectations. I love seeing does, but not as much as seeing mature bucks. However, the clean up from a doe is so much easier then a buck. And often after shooting a buck I had wished I shot a doe instead.
I have that feeling for about 5 years now. I try to make my doe hunting more challenging by doing it on public land. It ads a different element to the hunt because of how public land is. I passed on a 125" 8 last night that a couple of years ago I would have had the jitters over it just means you're maturing as a hunter.
Congrats on the doe. I get excited just seeing deer. I've never lost that high feeling, and always get that nervous shake. That in itself is the reason I hunt. Sent from a piece of paper, tied to a rock.
No other feeling in the world when you know a deer is coming in but for me when they sneak and you don't see them until the last min and don't have time to get nervous yeah that happened on the doe I shot the other day but Oct 2nd I had a 2 twins come out somewhat slow and steady and the juvenile doe hung back my heart was pounding but didn't take me long to talk myself down and just tell myself it's just a deer a yearling at that that adrenaline keeps me wanting more Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
I have been bowhunting since the 1980's, if I ever stop getting excited when seeing or shooting deer, I will probably quit. I disagree with the maturing as a bowhunter comment. If you get excited does not mean that you are some newb. There is also nothing wrong if you don't. We are all different and respond to things differently.
In 1976 I came into possession of a third hand left handed Bear recurve and a collection of cedar arrows. No one in my family bow hunted nor did I know anyone who did. There were not many deer in the Ozarks of Arkansas back then and gun season was a week long and a good season was you saw a deer. There was a archery season with little pressure. In bluejeans and flannel shirt I stood on a limb in a white oak tree, no safety line, no scent control, no ideal of what I was doing, but God was kind and a doe came to eat acorns as a last meal. I was so pumped up it was a wonder I did not fall off that limb. That was many years ago and that old bow long gone. Lost tally of deer somewhere in the 150 area with many of them archery. Now I have a 25 lb pack with gadgets & gear and a grand worth of stands with a bow three times faster then my first. Way more deer and hunters now and I let many deer walk safely by now as I hunt just to hunt. I eat plenty of venison and have no more room for horns but spend many hours in the woods. Taught Hunters Ed for twenty years and help many others take up the sport. Just last weekend my DIL took her first bow deer and I am as proud of that doe as my first. There are stages of hunters and I hope all who step afield get to them all. Do not rush or worry about getting there, like all things good it takes time. You most likely will never know when you change gears or even believe they are real, but no matter just enjoy the hunt.
I made many a mistake and missed many a deer when I first started bowhunting. Buck fever or whatever you want to call it. As I matured and grew as I hunter, I learned how to lock out the emotion and block the adrenaline rush that you get. Sometimes we become our own worst enemies and succumb to the fear of making a mistake or the pressure of the moment. Because of that, I've worked pretty hard at minimizing that. I let dozens of deer walk every year and I pass on bucks that many others would shoot. I focus on staying "level" emotionally. That has really helped me to be a much more successful hunter when it's crunch time. Typically after the release of the arrow, I will get that surge of emotions and get the leg shaking, but it's still much less than before. It's not that I'm not super excited and super happy, I've just done a good job of maintaining my emotions. Not saying that's what everyone should do, I just feel like it has really helped me stay focused and steady at the moment of truth.
I hope you guys didn't misunderstand my original post. I def still get excited and the nerves are still there. I still get the high. This time it just felt like mission accomplished. I think the preparation I have done this season has made a huge difference. I have vowed to myself to up my game and improve myself and my abilities. I have put the time in and the homework and I think that has changed my experience. I went out this morning. Snuck into the stand, got the climber up and it was still very dark. I didn't even get time to sit down when a deer came in, walked up to the tree I was in, smelled around the rinks doe pee spray I put out and just slowly wander away feeding. The deer came right down the trail I walked in on. It was very cool. Just let me know that I'm doing it right. I have taken my scent control to the next level this year and I see a difference already.
