What do you do to control your Buck Fever?

[Pygmy]

I just think about baseball....

[MPHunter]

Had buck fever with my first few deer.  I can remember my first buck, resting off my knee, bouncing up and down, trying to pull the trigger when cross hair was on his body. Luckily was still able to make a killing shot. Hard to control but just try to remind myself to take slow breaths and once I decide it's a deer I want to shoot, don't look at antlers, concentrate on the shot. 

[Just Lucky]

I really don't focus on antlers cause if I do there is a greater chance of missing. I focus on my target. It is almost easier when deer is moving along for me to find the next opening they will come to and be ready for the shot when they come.

Focusing on antlers makes it worse and more apt to miss, probably biggest reason I am against ARs. 

I also practice alot with the weapons I hunt with so I am confident in them.

If I don't hunt with it I don't practice with it.

[Nomad]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I’m lucky, never had it in my life, after the shot and I know he’s dead I come unglued.


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Same here , once I see a deer I want to shoot I mostly feel this is a slam dunk ,and it’s a relaxed shot . Not bragging it’s just how it’s always been for me .

It was the same at work ,there’s all this talk about stress when you get toned out for a fire or fire with people trapped , never seemed  to raise my heart rate and I was always calm .

Just the way I’m wired or short circuited perhaps 

Edited November 12, 2018 by Stay at home Nomad

[ncountry]

1 hour ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Same here , once I see a deer I want to shoot I mostly feel this is a slam dunk ,and it’s a relaxed shot . Not bragging it’s just how it’s always been for me .

It was the same at work ,there’s all this talk about stress when you get toned out for a fire or fire with people trapped , never seemed  to raise my heart rate and I was always calm .

Just the way I’m wired or short circuited perhaps 

Same here.. With a gun. Everything seems to slow down...of coarse with a gun my success rate has to be just under 100%.. 

With my bow it is  totally different story.. I fall to pieces... I havnt yet figured out how to consistently lower my heart rate and relax.. .. and my success rate is no where near 100%

Im thinking practice is the key. One year I shot my bow 100s of times every week all year out to 70 yds.. My confidence level was really high so I could calm myself down better for the shot.. I havnt been practicing as much the last few years and I really get the fever again..

[doebuck1234]

Get it bad myself and blew it big time with a poor shot on the 9pt I recovered this morning.still kicking myself for that poor shot as I shot multiple time during off season,just got the best of me.when he grunted back and came right at me I had him within 10 yards.walked out to 18yrds looking for the buck that was looking for a fight.between drawing and the shot it had to of been 5 seconds.rushed it bad not wanting him to catch me drawing back or having to draw down.never want to loose that feeling but self control is deff in order.good suggestions guys!

[Hunter007]

I practice shooting at small game then a deer seems like a ridiculously huge target to you at moderate range and  it calms you down .

Edited November 13, 2018 by Storm914

[airedale]

9 hours ago, Storm914 said:

I practice shooting at small game then a deer seems like a ridiculously huge target to you at moderate range and  it calms you down .

I agree with Storm, I believe to be relatively calm when taking a shot at game no matter what implement ones uses comes down to being mentally conditioned. Hunting small game frequently is a great teacher, it provides mental conditioning because of much more opportunity taking shots and the phenomena of "Buck Fever" fades away. The more shots that are taken at game the more second nature it becomes, and while the excitement is still there you will aquire a confident calmness that allows you to close the deal.

Al

Edited November 13, 2018 by airedale

[Robhuntandfish]

16 hours ago, ApexerER said:

I have had an issue with Buck Fever since I started hunting almost 30 years ago now. I thought I was getting better at controlling it but I totally blew it yesterday. This isn't a feeling I ever want to go away, its the reason I hunt. I am worried about wounding an animal because I can't control my emotions. I feel like if everything is slow and developing I have gotten to the point where I can control myself and make a great shot. When it happens fast, I proved I can still blow it.  Yesterday at a little after 3 I had a buck come in from behind me on my left. I didn't see him till he was at my 9 oclock. I saw him and it seemed like in a span of about 20 seconds I said to myself holy crap, that's the wide white horned 8, got my crossbow on the shooting rail, found him in the scope, figured he went behind a scrub bush that I know is 30 yds, figured he was 35 yds, found him in the right reticle (between 30 and 40) looked out of the scope and gave him a mahhhh….and he stopped dead. After that my memory is all blurry. I dont' remember finding him again in the scope, I am sure I peaked at the shot or maybe I wasn't even looking through the scope when I shot, maybe I squeezed the trigger when I stopped him. I know I watched my bolt fly right under him. I am still so mad at myself, I kept my composure about half way and threw it all out the window at the most critical part. This might have been my biggest deer ever, I do have a really nice 9 pt that is my avatar but this was a really nice deer. For sure my largest archery deer and if you guys have read posts, I don't see deer like that every day. I am so glad I didn't wound him. That would have been way way worse but if I can't get this under control with archery gear, I feel like that could happen. I could have easily shot him in the @ss....

did the exact same thing a week ago on a smaller buck but shot over.  Pretty sure i was pulling off before i pulled the trigger.  It still happens to most on occasion.   I have to tell myself "easy" 

but i notice in years i see more deer and by the end of season i am a lot calmer , early season a deer comes in and im a mess!  lol 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Robhuntandfish

[crappyice]

I practiced less. Hear me out- a few years back I shot my bow every day; I was dialed in and fired up to get an opportunity in the woods. When The opportunity finally came I was so jacked up for it since I have been preparing for it for so long that I rushed, flinched, peeked, dropped...etc.

This pre-season I put new strings on, had it dialed in by my favorite bowsmith and made him watch me shoot. He gave me one tip (after drawing back immediately move trigger finger over release-I use to keep it behind for safety until I was ready to fire-he said that’s too much to do and then pull trigger).

I still practiced (one arrow a day or bs shooting with friends now and then).

One little change made me have a different focus then killing the deer.

I also wear women’s garters under my scentlock camo and breath through my eyelids when shooting.



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[LET EM GROW]

I used to get buck fever bad when i was younger. If it wasnt for Buck Fever I would have a dozen slammers on the wall. I mostly missed but there was 3 that I hit "good" but never found. Memories ill never forget that I have since learned from greatly... 

Practice as much as possible on and off of season. When i shot the most throughtout the year, i felt the most confident. Since i like to over think things sometimes..

One thing i have done that helps incredibly once you determine you are going to attempt a shot opportunity. Build yourself a fast quick mental checklist. and Breathe! deep breaths. Dont hold your breath. lol  Its a bit different with Xbow compared to Vertical bows, since you have to build a steady and constant form. But build yourself a quick mental checklist that you can run through in the matter of a second or two. And dont look at the antlers again.. 

For me with archery its, Range, draw, find my thumb at the back of my jaw bone and first knuckle under my ear.  line peep up with site housing  and breathe.. release when ready..

Edited November 13, 2018 by LET EM GROW

[Renegade Hunter]

I think a lot of buck fever comes from the fear of the deer hearing or seeing you. You start to shake and take shorter breaths. I get it whenever I have deer come in close let alone a buck. I have to tell myself to breath and relax. When it comes down to It I take long deep breaths and it actually gives me a warm calming inside and I hone in on the shot. I will become perfectly steady then start jack hammering afterward. The cold doesn’t help the matter! 

[Merlot]

Enjoy buck fever...just keep under control and concentrate in the moment. If buck fever leaves me, I quit deer hunting.

[Uncle Nicky]

I have heard people say "don't look at his antlers, just take your time & line up the shot". I haven't had my knees shake when I killed a deer in a long time, the only thing I recall thinking to myself when shooting a decent buck has been, " don't screw this up dummy".

[crappyice]

I think a lot of buck fever comes from the fear of the deer hearing or seeing you. You start to shake and take shorter breaths. I get it whenever I have deer come in close let alone a buck. I have to tell myself to breath and relax. When it comes down to It I take long deep breaths and it actually gives me a warm calming inside and I hone in on the shot. I will become perfectly steady then start jack hammering afterward. The cold doesn’t help the matter! 

Anyone meditate on here? I can’t say that I do regularly but a teacher friend is big into it and she sent me to an app with 2-20 min mediations. I was doing them fairly regularly to the point where I got used to breathing Long and slow. Instinctually I reverted to those breathes when my big boy came in this year. Double lunged him and then shook like crazy as the adrenaline dumped after the fact.


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[Nomad]

Interesting varying experiences with “ buck fever “ . For those that get it every time a deer comes in close, I’ll ask how often that happens ?

I have deer from 5 to 20 yards pretty much every sit ( bow ) often multiple deer , maybe why it doesn’t effect me . I also find it good to practice drawing on them, even though I’m not shooting them .

[moog5050]

I must admit that I wish I still got that shaking excitement with a doe or buck in range that I did when I started hunting.  Perhaps because I have killed my fair share over the past 7 seasons, the adrenaline doesn't really get going until after I shoot a buck, at least with bow.  I do think shooting the bow a lot allows one to simply start the process of getting into position and shot routine which takes the focus off the antlers so to speak.  Its a target.    I think its likely I could get hit with a bit of buck fever with a gun because (1) I don't shoot near as much with a gun; and (2) I have seen far fewer (like close to 0) really good bucks during gun season.  Last 2 years I could have shot a couple of nice 2 years olds and was excited just to see them.  Those are the best I have seen in 6 seasons of gun hunting.  I suspect a big buck in range in gun might start that adrenaline earlier than in bow.  Hope to find out.

Actually I think it was 2 seasons ago we saw a great shooter in gun but no shot as a road was his backdrop.

Edited November 13, 2018 by moog5050

[wooly]

I'm trying something new this year where I don't see any shooter bucks.

Seems to take care of all that buck fever stuff really well.

[moog5050]

3 minutes ago, wooly said:

I'm trying something new this year where I don't see any shooter bucks.

Seems to take care of all that buck fever stuff really well.

And I thought you were way to busy ridding the world of trees!

[The_Real_TCIII]

3 minutes ago, wooly said:

I'm trying something new this year where I don't see any shooter bucks.

Seems to take care of all that buck fever stuff really well.

Thats working for me as well! Ive been as cool as a cucumber on stand this season

[BowmanMike]

20 minutes ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Interesting varying experiences with “ buck fever “ . For those that get it every time a deer comes in close, I’ll ask how often that happens ?

I have deer from 5 to 20 yards pretty much every sit ( bow ) often multiple deer , maybe why it doesn’t effect me . I also find it good to practice drawing on them, even though I’m not shooting them .

I have had one deer at 15 yds all season,and screwed that shot up. It might be because i didn't get many close encounters this year. 

In a good season i get maybe 5 or more really close. I have had a bunch within 40 yds,but my confidence in my broadhead trajectory is not great at the moment,so nothing further than 20 yds is an option.

[NYBowhunter]

 I typically dont get jacked up until after the shot.  What has worked for me over the years is in the off season just go drive around and glass at as many deer as you can, this gets you use to seeing deer. As your watching deer just try to keep your breathing steady and try not to get excited. All of this will then eventually roll over into hunting season, where you will find yourself  much more relaxed leading up to the shot and at point of release. And it also helps when you have killed a ton of deer...lol... With time you learn to control the excitement. The more you glass or are around deer in the field the more comfortable you will feel when you see them in a huntable situation. 

[BowmanMike]

1 minute ago, NYBowhunter said:

 I typically dont get jacked up until after the shot.  What has worked for me over the years is in the off season just go drive around and glass at as many deer as you can, this gets you use to seeing deer. As your watching deer just try to keep your breathing steady and try not to get excited. All of this will then eventually roll over into hunting season, where you will find yourself  much more relaxed leading up to the shot and at point of release. And it also helps when you have killed a ton of deer...lol... With time you learn to control the excitement. The more you glass or are around deer in the field the more comfortable you will feel when you see them in a huntable situation. 

I dont think glassing helps me personally. I checked out a group last night just after legal light and there was a good buck with the group. 

But it is very different to be 130 yds from them than being 13yds away.

This is only my fourth bow season and 7th gun season,so it is all pretty fresh for me. But during gun i rarely get over excited,just pulling the trigger is much easier then shooting the bow.

Last seasons gun buck was only 25 yds away and i had my gun leaning on a tree next to me. I had to grab it and aim pretty quickly and it was no big deal.

[UpStateRedNeck]

I got the fever bad when I saw a massive boy at 7am in Saturday, was shaky, the whole 9.  He didn't come in, and I was chastising myself for it afterwards.  Then when the one I hit came in, I was calm.  Like others have said, breathe deep and even, focus on the shot, not on all that antler.

[ApexerER]

15 hours ago, wolc123 said:

If you struggle with buck fever, then Culver's idea is probably best.  After you decide the buck is a shooter, immediately move your focus to the individual hair that you want your projectile to strike.  Do not look at the antlers any longer than necessary.   Antlers never did much for me, so I never struggled with that, but I have struggled with "meat-fever" in my younger days.   A good cure for that was lots of squirrel hunting with a .22 rimfire.   After you get comfortable with those tiny kill-zones, larger animals are more like taking candy from a baby.   Even more important, is realizing who controls the fate of all living things (even sparrows), and staying on good terms with Him.   If He wants that buck to suffer some other fate, it don't matter what you do, it will not go your way.     

While that sounds easy to do, I really struggle with it. I shake like a leaf at the site of any deer that I intend to shoot and don't stop shaking for a while after the encounter. Even after it is long gone or dead. I have shot dozens of squirrels. I haven't hunted them in years because there is really nothing exciting to me about shooting a squirrel so I am not sure how that would help me with buck fever. I am a very good shot when shooting at paper, clays, cans, squirrels even the few coyote I have shot. For some reason a deer that I intend to shoot makes me come unglued. The funny thing is, it is also the same thing that makes me continue to hunt deer and I hope I never lose that feeling, I just need to figure out how to control it so that I don't blow it in the moment.