I guess it would be Whitetail fever for me as I am not concerned with whether my first bow kill is a buck or doe, but my question is how did you vets handle buck fever when trying for your first bow kill? I am sure a lot of the advice given will be similar to the advice for gun hunts, but I would still love any advice you could give. I have a feeling I'm going to be shaking like a leaf in the wind when that first deer walks into range.
Glad you posted this because I'm going to be in the same boat. I got all tore up this morning when I saw two decent bucks on an empty lot in my neighborhood. I can only imagine what it will be like if/when I get a nice one in my corn pile ! I look forward to seeing some of the veterans advice.
Honestly, only one thing helped me. Experience. The more close encounters I had the moer I stopped shaking. At first, even when I thought a doe was going to give me an opportunity I was a mess. As the years went on I got used to having deer close and it helped when the big ones would come close. Theres also a mental aspect where I stopped concentrating on the deer and started preparing for possible situations based on the path he was on. However, the fisrst deer of the season almost always gets my legs shaking Good luck this year!
Visualize your potential shot opportunities over and over and then over again prior to even climbing into your stand. As Cubs stated, the exposure you have to deer and shot opportunities it will get easier and you will become less anxious. Good luck and I would like to add that if that "rush" I feel when I see a deer ever dissappears I will sell my equipment....game over man!
I agree 100% with you. I never want to lose that feeling. I am trying to find a way to steady my nerves. The last thing I want is to ruin a good shot opportunity with a bad shot, or even worse, wound a deer that I can't recover. Sent from my SGH-T959 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
Think to yourself "its just a deer". Not the end of the world if you don't connect. Stay calm pick a spot.
Maybe I am an odd example, but I can feel my pulse quicken when I see a big deer, and if it starts heading toward me it quickens a little more, I am steady but my mind starts to think a million thoughts like, well if the deer goes here then it this yardage, if he goes here I have to stop him before he gets to the thicket, or something else on that order, everything seems to be well thought out, but when that arrow hits the deer, and it runs off I am calm for about 30 seconds after I lose visualization of the deer. Usually something comes out of my mouth like "that was awesome!" or some other adjective. Then all of the sudden it hits me like a train, and once I realize everything that happend and replay it in my head I am a nervous, pacing, chatty, wreck until we find the deer.
I use to get nervous when I first saw them. Now I still get nervous on does but not like a nice buck that I am wanting to put a tag on. I seem to do better now when they are close to me. But, when I stand an commit an start to increase the tension on the bow string the heart rate climbs. You have to learn to hold it all in a stay calm an focus on where you want your shot to hit. After the shot everything goes silent. The only thing that will ease the adrenaline rush is experience an putting tags on them. Do not hesitate to shoot a doe. They are a trophy too. Nothing like having four or five does around an trying to get a shot off.
Once you look at the antlers and see that it's what you want don't look at the antlers again. Just focus on that spot behind his shoulder. Only way to do this is time in the field and experience. After the shot I still get weak in the knees.
I would take a doe in a heartbeat. I have been shotgun hunting for a while now and any deer I am lucky enough to harvest is a trophy to me.
Ahhhhh the rush of seeing a whitetail coming into range. It's a great feeling. Try to stay calm, pick a spot, and don't rush the shot. You've waited a long time for this opportunity and it takes mere seconds to blow it. If you miss, well than you missed, so what? We all have done it. I'll take a clean miss over a bad hit any day. Just take your time when it comes to sealing the deal. Good luck & shoot str8!
It's like wearing contacts after awhile you'll get use to it. it's not that the feeling will go away its just that they'll be easier to deal with. Now my biggest issue is trying not to move too fast and yet fast enough before the deer is out or range. When that happens its 10 times worst then buck fever. You should try and hold the pin as long as you can before releasing the arrow. you may just get over it while your aiming. Best of luck to you.
Man I still get a bit of the fever when ever I decide I am taking any deer and I have shot 22 bucks and over 30+ does(bow and gun combined) and passed on a couple hundred shootables...its the ones that come through at medium speed that get me. If they come in quick and I have to make a snap decision there is no issue but if they take thier time then I have to wait it out till I feel calm enough to take the shot. Been many times I let them pass because I couldn't get in the zone. When I do a spot and stalk I usually have gotten over it by the time I get to shooting range(this is often over a half hr). In a way I hope I never lose that feeling but it can be extremely frustrating - especially knowing it's all in your mind. As some others already stated, just focus on your target(not the whole deer or the rack), take your time, and know you will make a good shot. Then you'll bring home some venison more often than not.
A wise hunter once told me that the way to stop shaking when a deer comes in, is to convince yourself your not going to shoot it... Man, it worked.. If you think about it, you usually do not get excited if you are just gonna watch it.. If you see one while driving, do you shake? If you see one out a window, do you shake?..... So, when a nice deer comes in, I think over and over, " I DO NOT HAVE TO SHOOT THIS DEER, I WILL JUST WATCH IT".... And I find myself not getting nervous near as much.. Now, I have been bowhunting for almost 20 years, so that uncontrolable shaking is pretty much gone. As said above, the more encounters you have, the less it is a "shocker" to you............ Try convincing you are not going to shoot it, and see if that helps.. Good luck this year !!!!!!!!
Once you look at the antlers and see that it's what you want, don't look at the antlers again. Just focus on that spot behind his shoulder. Only way to do this is time in the field and experience. After the shot I still get weak in the knees.. Same here....Your focus on the antlers should be over with. Your mind has done been made up on taking the deer. This is what I do and it has kept me in mental control of what I call Pre - Buck Fever. I close my eyes for a brief Milli second, at the same time take in a deep breathe as I slowly exhale. My eyes are no longer just trained on the antlers, as I focus on the deer. I now zero in on the spot that I mentally prepared myself so many times while practicing. Now this is where years of experience kicks in automatically for me. My mind has learned from past mistakes and I check each one off instinctively these days without even realizing it. I have passed this mental checklist on to young hunters and some have thanked me saying they remember doing some of them just prior to killing their deer. I still to this day believe it helps on not being entirely focused on just the deer, where if he stops and hangs up for to long you start to get the shakes. My checklist while still focusing on his shoulder is. 1) Find my pre determined Yardage Markers - these I have picked in all directions as soon as I settled in to my stand. I measure mine with a yardage finder these days which is the same way I sight my hunting pins on my bow. These yardage markers could be a stump,small tree,scent bottle I hung, any number of natural things that stand out quickly when I need them. (Usually 20 - 30 yds.) While finding these markers I still quickly glance back at the spot I M going to put the arrow. 2) Subconsciously scan between you and your buck. Has, any other deer sneaked in without you seeing them? (Years ago I was busted a few times not realizing a doe snuck in before I seen the buck). 3) Arrow properly knocked and on the rest. Keep mentally noting these three things over and over in your mind while still focusing back and forth on the spot behind the shoulder. As you draw the bow back on this spot, focus all your mind on a good follow through after the release. If you mentally note these every time you get ready to harvest a deer hopefully you will not have time for Buck Fever to kick in.
Experience has been the only thing that has helped me, and to be honest I still get the shakes on does when I know that I am going to shoot them. There is nothing like that rush, but being around deer more and more and staying calm and focusing are the only things that have helped me.
Thanks for all the advice guys. It should really help once I'm in the stand. Does anyone else use a checklist like flopdrop? If you do could you share it? Sent from my SGH-T959 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2
I can tell you that one thing that has hurt me in the past that i have learned from is to be ready always. If you think you hear a deer coming, or see a deer coming, don't wait til you know you want to shoot it to grab your bow. Start getting ready, then if you don't want to shoot it, you can pretend that you want to shoot it to practice a routine. That will give you a little experience with it as well. I will agree that buck fever is worst for me when I see the deer coming from a long way off, or its coming in really slow. You just have to reach way back and find that caveman instinct, go into killer mode and let all that practice and visualization pay off. Good luck to you, and great post, I love reading this stuff.
one thing that helped me was in the off season shoot your bow alot. i even set up a stand and shot from there because shooting on the ground and shooting up in a tree are different. so when that deer starts to walk in and your heart starts racing and when you get to full draw and you pull that trigger it will all be natural too you. best of luck!
truth is there is no cure for Buck fever. and if there was noone would be in the stand cause thats the fun of it! Embrace it while you still have it! After all thats why we all hunt, its the thrill and rush we get when we see that animal. The people who can retain that excitement are the die hards who go after it every day no matter the weather or plans with friends, their priority is bow hunting, and that my friends is what builds a community and comradery like we have on this cite. As for your jitters the only trick that helped to calm me down was think of it rationally. I still say this every time i take a shot at a buck - "hes not mine unless i make the shot". This just reminds me that all my excitement is for not if i dont make a clean shot and successfully harvest the animal. Also this will help your mind channel its focus on the shot instead of "HOLY #$%% LOOK AT THAT RACK"! then after the shot and you hear that buck crash is when you get all wishy washy and call everyone on your contacts list. Best of luck to you, just remember its the shot that counts.
