Buck Fever?

I draw and plan a shot. Close my eyes, when I open them I don't see anything but a spot. No elk, no deer only a spot. It doesn't matter what else is going on I watch that spot until the arrow has a clear path and whaaaack! I hope I never quit getting buck fever.

It's mostly mental IMO, I used to get BAD buck fever.

Still do, but it's more under control now, I think. :)

You have to talk to yourself long BEFORE the shot and then do the ssme during.

I remember the first deer i shot at , i drew back and looked at the deer and shot , the arrow went way high and then i thought to myself, I didnt look through my peep sight :)) i still get way pumped but i go through steps in my mind.

I say sort of a chant in my mind when it is close to the time to take the shot. Depending on what I am hunting with it usually consists of everything I do to make a solid shot. I just say it over and over until the pin/crosshairs steady on the sweet spot then time stands still! I think I would stop hunting if my buck fever ceased to exist!

I've never had a problem before the shot its always after that I shake like a leaf. My brother on the other hand is a different story.

Got it bad on an antelope and missed this weekend. After that I calmed down and smacked my buck at 40. Definately get it lots worse with a bow, I don't get it too bad 'til after the shot with a rifle.

I don't get buck fever too much, but one thing I do that I think helps is to visualize the shot several times before hand. I used to play LB (football) in college and I would sit there in the locker room pregame and go over possible scenarios in my head. Certain plays that I knew the other team would run and watch them play out in my head, then visualize what I would do. Anyway it seems to help me get prepared mentally before hand so that when a shot presents itself, I have already been there in my mind. I thinks it's mostly mental, especially because I know you've put in the time with practice.

Next time you'll calmly squeeze the trigger and come away with some tasty back straps. It's all about learning and improving.

i used to get it really bad! to where i couldnt hardly see straight lol but the more i hunt the more i am able to calm down.. now when i get on a good animal my right leg trembles and everything else stays steady weird i know! have no idea why but thats what it does lol i feel like thumper in the movie bambi haha. i can live with it tho.

When I was first learning, I used to get it really bad, and miss bad. . .

Now its a different rush, after you kill one, it all changes, you no longer"Think or HOPE" you will hit one, but you "KNOW" you will kill it, it changes your whole entire outlook and thought processes. You change from a hunter to a killer.

The first time I had a bull elk inside 20 yards with my bow and tag in hand I could NOT even stand up! let alone draw my bow! I had jello knees couldn't breathe, and could hardly stand. . .thats how bad it was, I chuckled in disbelief! And watched my bull walk away. (I killed him half hour later after one helluva stalk though)

Now I just try to maintain my breathing and pick a spot, once you decide if he is a shooter or not, don't look at his antlers again, only find that spot! Think about the spot and not peeking. . . breathe. . ..pick a spot, follow thru . . . . breathe, pick a spot, follow thru. . . .

But if you ever lose the feeling and rush, hang it up. :thumb

If you have put your self in the situation before you will know how to handle it. Your pin doesn’t move any more when you are shooting at hay bales then it does when you are shooting at a big buck.

The best practice for buck fever is shooting in tournaments. You know if you miss the dot or the 12 ring you might be out of the competition this simulates the same shot as a big buck, especially if you have a 4-wheeler on the line or a couple of hundred dollars riding on the shot.

If you have a shot routine and run it in times like this you will make the shot under pressure.

dont get it too bad, just concentrate on the pins on my bow and focus on the shot polacement,