Do you still get the shakes when you see deer coming your way?

I didn't get the shakes til after I shot Muley! Then my legs started wobbling so much I had to sit down!

 

love this thread! this is my first year bow hunting, but i figured i would be ok when deer are approaching. i have caught plenty of muskies over fifty, have had coyotes rushing in on me, hundreds of roosters getting up and huge flocks of geese locked and ready to drop on my face so i was going into the bow hunting thing a little cocky. i told my old man that i could control myself because i have had my adrenaline spike many times before while hunting and fishing. first time i had deer in range i was shaking so bad i had to put all my weight on my left leg, and my breathing was so uncontrollable that even with a 10 mph wind she heard me breathing and locked eyes on me for a few seconds before stepping inside the tree line and the other 4 or 5 deer with her where fawns so i wasn't gonna take any shots at them. i have had plenty more deer walk by in shooting distance and other then my breathing not being as bad i still get the shakes bad, worse then any other game that i have been hunting or fishing for.

 

I hope I never lose the shakes. Its one of the things that keep me going with my bow. When I gun hunt I feel like im cheating. almost like its not hard to go see and look over an 500 yard field and shoot them. but with the bow its a different story. I shake from when i first see them and then when I start to pull back I dont shake at all. Maybe bc when i practice i think about the moment on every pratice shot. SO shakes keep on coming.

 

My heart skips a beat on first sighting of a deer. Then immediately calms down and almost becomes business like. If I know the deer isn't coming toward me or I'm not going to shoot it if it does, I simply watch them stroll off and not nervous at all. If I sense they are coming into range and one I'm going to shoot, I get another moment of adrenaline. Short lived and back to business like and figuring out when to draw, etc... Not a moment of shakes or nervousness at that point. After the shot I hyperventilate and shake like a tree. Takes some time to calm down. Love the feeling after the shot.

 

I think it really depends. I have noticed the same thing; I don't get the shakes any more unless I see a monster. I used to shake at the sight of doe's but I have since then really calmed down. I shot my buck last Sunday and I did't shake at all but I did have a difficult time drawing my bow. I think the draw issue was because I was sitting angled to take a shot to the left but I had to draw across my body to my right and take a shot. I had never practiced this shot because it's so awkward but I will from now on.

 

Greetings from Wichita!

 

Sometimes I shake like a leaf sometimes just a little sometimes before the shot sometimes after sometimes both. I love it.

 

Oh yes...

 

I've yet to get my first bow kill but with a gun I shake just for the first bit.
If they are strolling in and I have a minute to calm myself down I do pretty good. If they kinda suprise me and I have little time to get my shot off then I shake a fair amount.

 

If It's an animal I'm thinking about shooting you can bet your ass I'm going to start getting excited and possibly get the shakes. To be honest though I think I've gotten worse the last couple of years and I've been doing this for 26 years. Back In the day I held my cool good until after the shot.

When I shot my big bear In 2000 I held my cool better then I would've ever expected before and during the shot. After the shot which I knew was a good shot my legs damn near buckled on me as they started shaking so bad. I was pretty sure I heard the bear die not more then 20 yards away from me but It was Impossible to see him as It's very thick where I bear hunt. My adrenaline was at an all time high. On the half mile walk out 5 minutes after the shot I must've puked and dry heaved at least 100 times. Man my gut hurt as my nerves were high.

 

I get the shakes instantly. Even if a deer is 400 yards away, I shake. Its the feeling that keeps me going, Its why I bow hunt. The meat is an added bonus.

 

Absolutely! When I stop getting that feeling is when it's time to hang it up!

 

Definitely this ^^^

 

I don't shake till after the kill. I'm cool as a cucumber till then.

 

^^This

 

Usually just stay really calm throughout the encounter. Hours of mindless practice will step in as my subconscious takes over telling me to draw, anchor, aim, squeeze. Really no thought on my side. After the shot....I'm a total train wreck.

 

^^ this.

 

Shot an eleven point once and was still shaking so badly an hour later, I had to get my buddy to gut it for me. I was afraid I would cut my fingers off. That was only my third buck with a bow so I was still learning. I still get the shakes today when I am waiting but once I draw, it all seems to clear up until after the shot.

 

Its the reason I hunt!

 

No & honestly I've never gotten the shakes on a deer until the encounter played out and was over, whether I was able to get a shot or not.

On elk, something more is definitely at play. I realize I am 1000x more jacked up, but for the most part I feel I'm able to mentally hold it together. Unfortunately my results speak otherwise that I'm not as composed as I think I am.