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Buck fever got me today

Black Titan

Black Titan

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2023
Messages
750
My third day in this spot. Been hunting morning and evening, no sign of deer. Im situated on top of a knob in a ridgeline. Finally this morning about 9:45 I hear a blow off to my 2 o clock down the hill. I had been using my grunt. Just a couple grunts every 30 minutes or so. After I heard the blow, I stood up, gave a soft grunt. All of a sudden I spot movement to my left. At first I thought it was another tree rat. I saw brown at ground level. But it was the head of the deer coming up the hill.

I raised my bow, hooked my release, and the deer came out perfectly broadside, about 15 yards away. I thought it was a doe at first, but it turned its head and I saw it was a spike. I was hyperfocused on a small quarter sized spot behind its front shoulder.

Now, this is only my 5th sit, and 6th hunt. I've never killed a deer.

I could instantly hear my heartbeat going a gazillion miles an hour, and im trembling, ragged breath, telling myself to calm down, and I just stood there froze. I don't think I could have even drawn a 10 pound bow at this point, much less my 70 pound bow.

All over a darn spike. This whole thing felt like an eternity, but I bet it played out in less than 30 seconds. The deer got even closer, looking around frantically. I was happy my grunting actually called one in. He then locked eyes with me and froze, me still sitting there with my bow raised, pointed right at him, not moving a muscle except for the trembling. He threw up the white flag and bounded down the hill towards where I heard the other deer blow, then I heard several more blows right after he disappeared.

So, long story short, I let him walk, decided to give him another year. Lol.

Any tips to get over buck fever? I don't know if my heart has ever raced so fast.

BT
 
Black Titan said:
My third day in this spot. Been hunting morning and evening, no sign of deer. Im situated on top of a knob in a ridgeline. Finally this morning about 9:45 I hear a blow off to my 2 o clock down the hill. I had been using my grunt. Just a couple grunts every 30 minutes or so. After I heard the blow, I stood up, gave a soft grunt. All of a sudden I spot movement to my left. At first I thought it was another tree rat. I saw brown at ground level. But it was the head of the deer coming up the hill.

I raised my bow, hooked my release, and the deer came out perfectly broadside, about 15 yards away. I thought it was a doe at first, but it turned its head and I saw it was a spike. I was hyperfocused on a small quarter sized spot behind its front shoulder.

Now, this is only my 5th sit, and 6th hunt. I've never killed a deer.

I could instantly hear my heartbeat going a gazillion miles an hour, and im trembling, ragged breath, telling myself to calm down, and I just stood there froze. I don't think I could have even drawn a 10 pound bow at this point, much less my 70 pound bow.

All over a darn spike. This whole thing felt like an eternity, but I bet it played out in less than 30 seconds. The deer got even closer, looking around frantically. I was happy my grunting actually called one in. He then locked eyes with me and froze, me still sitting there with my bow raised, pointed right at him, not moving a muscle except for the trembling. He threw up the white flag and bounded down the hill towards where I heard the other deer blow, then I heard several more blows right after he disappeared.

So, long story short, I let him walk, decided to give him another year. Lol.

Any tips to get over buck fever? I don't know if my heart has ever raced so fast.

BT
Click to expand...
Dude that’s what it’s all about!!!! Congrats for a deer in bow range, that’s the tough part in the beginning. Just have some internal dialogue & talk yourself through it. Tell yourself you can go to pieces after the shot. I’m fine beforehand now & full Elvis leg after
 
I've always said that when I stop getting the shot of adrenaline when hunting its time to find a new "thing". This is my 50th season hunting whitetails and I still get a charge when I see a buck coming to range with a bow in my hand. It happens to all of us. The key for me is maintaining my composure under pressure and working off muscle memory derived from a ton of practice.
 
Haha!! I almost wish that would happen to me it's been so long. I don't get shook up at all now either before or after the shot. I did actually blow a chip shot on a doe that for some unknown reason gave me a case of buck fever once though. Shhhhhh!! Don't tell anyone. :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy:
 
Black Titan said:
My third day in this spot. Been hunting morning and evening, no sign of deer. Im situated on top of a knob in a ridgeline. Finally this morning about 9:45 I hear a blow off to my 2 o clock down the hill. I had been using my grunt. Just a couple grunts every 30 minutes or so. After I heard the blow, I stood up, gave a soft grunt. All of a sudden I spot movement to my left. At first I thought it was another tree rat. I saw brown at ground level. But it was the head of the deer coming up the hill.

I raised my bow, hooked my release, and the deer came out perfectly broadside, about 15 yards away. I thought it was a doe at first, but it turned its head and I saw it was a spike. I was hyperfocused on a small quarter sized spot behind its front shoulder.

Now, this is only my 5th sit, and 6th hunt. I've never killed a deer.

I could instantly hear my heartbeat going a gazillion miles an hour, and im trembling, ragged breath, telling myself to calm down, and I just stood there froze. I don't think I could have even drawn a 10 pound bow at this point, much less my 70 pound bow.

All over a darn spike. This whole thing felt like an eternity, but I bet it played out in less than 30 seconds. The deer got even closer, looking around frantically. I was happy my grunting actually called one in. He then locked eyes with me and froze, me still sitting there with my bow raised, pointed right at him, not moving a muscle except for the trembling. He threw up the white flag and bounded down the hill towards where I heard the other deer blow, then I heard several more blows right after he disappeared.

So, long story short, I let him walk, decided to give him another year. Lol.

Any tips to get over buck fever? I don't know if my heart has ever raced so fast.

BT
Click to expand...
Get over buck fever, Quite Hunting!
If I dident get excited hunting I would not do it.
 
Nice lol. Sounds a lot like the first couple times I ever drew back on a deer. I don’t have many deer under my belt what so ever and still fight with this myself a lot. The only thing I can tell you is just get yourself into the position to be able to draw back on deer as much as possible and work through it. Once you’ve knocked a couple down or at least been able to draw back and felt “the pressure”, it starts to get easier and more routine and then I find even though you’re excited, you can start to control your motor functions a little easier and can talk yourself down a bit so you can focus more. In my mind it gets easier but never “easy” if that makes any sense.

If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been trying for years to get my best friend on a deer. He’s definitely interested in hunting but does not want to do ANY of the work to make it happen, or practice like he should, etc. But the one time a couple years ago I was FINALLY able to get him in front of a deer (for the first time ever) he whiffed the shot at like 10 yards full broad side because he forgot to look through his peep sight. . So here we are a couple years later still trying to get him a deer. But that moment taught him what it’s really like and what it feels like to draw back on a live animal and the pressure you suddenly feel when you’re about to take it.
 
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Black Titan said:
My third day in this spot. Been hunting morning and evening, no sign of deer. Im situated on top of a knob in a ridgeline. Finally this morning about 9:45 I hear a blow off to my 2 o clock down the hill. I had been using my grunt. Just a couple grunts every 30 minutes or so. After I heard the blow, I stood up, gave a soft grunt. All of a sudden I spot movement to my left. At first I thought it was another tree rat. I saw brown at ground level. But it was the head of the deer coming up the hill.

I raised my bow, hooked my release, and the deer came out perfectly broadside, about 15 yards away. I thought it was a doe at first, but it turned its head and I saw it was a spike. I was hyperfocused on a small quarter sized spot behind its front shoulder.

Now, this is only my 5th sit, and 6th hunt. I've never killed a deer.

I could instantly hear my heartbeat going a gazillion miles an hour, and im trembling, ragged breath, telling myself to calm down, and I just stood there froze. I don't think I could have even drawn a 10 pound bow at this point, much less my 70 pound bow.

All over a darn spike. This whole thing felt like an eternity, but I bet it played out in less than 30 seconds. The deer got even closer, looking around frantically. I was happy my grunting actually called one in. He then locked eyes with me and froze, me still sitting there with my bow raised, pointed right at him, not moving a muscle except for the trembling. He threw up the white flag and bounded down the hill towards where I heard the other deer blow, then I heard several more blows right after he disappeared.

So, long story short, I let him walk, decided to give him another year. Lol.

Any tips to get over buck fever? I don't know if my heart has ever raced so fast.

BT
Click to expand...

get over it? Never. But you'll learn to control it better. The more deer you have close to you the less high your heart rate will go. Sitting on a feeder or some other high traffic area and letting the deer pass by will get you used to having deer close. Physiologically, the adrenaline seems worse if I have an empty stomach so eat some snacks on the stand. And deep slow breaths help to lower your heart rate when it spikes.
 
Dealing with buck fever just comes from experience and is not something to dread, it is part of the hunt, part of the excitement. You get to where you deal with it. I missed the first two deer I ever sent an arrow at. The first one went right over her back, the second went right under the buck.

One thing that helped me out was a little psychological trick I played on myself. When a deer was coming in that I wanted to arrow, I would tell myself that I am not going to arrow this deer, it's just not big enough, etc., and all the while physically preparing to shoot it. That little trick of telling myself I wasn't going to shoot calmed me down.
 
It's one thing to get excited it's another to get buck fever to the point you can't draw a bow. Unfortunately the only answer I have to getting over buck fever is to shoot a few deer and start getting used to it. At some point the buck fever becomes controllable to just be excitement. Agree with others about quitting hunting if that excitement ever goes away.
 
I missed a lot of deer back when I was a pre-teen and teen starting out. I would get all amped up, and rush every single shot. Thankfully, I was so bad that I either killed the deer or missed completely back then. Since I got back into hunting about 10 years ago after a long hiatus for college, I haven't struggled nearly as bad.

I find that now, I feel a focused, determined excitement when I decide to pickup the bow or gun, and the shakes don't start until I set it back down either after passing or after making a shot. It all takes time, experience, and an understanding of the importance of making the best clean, ethical shot possible.

But, boy do I enjoy the rush after I set down the bow!
 
I too struggled with it tremendously as a teenager.

It's all mental.

Killing deer, any deer, definitely helps. Desensitizes you a bit. I'd shoot every legal deer you can for a spell.

I think a big part is just learning to enjoy the journey. I think we're in an era where we are so conditioned to succeed, to seek approval, to reach a destination, we put way too much emphasis on killing any given deer. No one cares. You're not answering to sponsors. There's no pressure to kill a deer. It's not going to make you a hero, or change your life in any substantive way. Just go out there and enjoy the process, and if a deer wants to die, you're the guy to do it.
 
That's what it's all about. Something you could try to help control it is to make a list of your protocols and tape it to the inside top limb. Grab bow, stand, breathe,hook release, judge distance. Something like that. It will help you focus and go through the motions you have practiced. Good luck and keep grinding.
 
During practice, do some sort of physical exercise to get your heart rate and respirations up to simulate buck fever and then shoot your bow.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
DroptineKrazy said:
For years I had a note taped to the back of my upper bow limb that reminded me to "pick a spot and follow through" it seemed to help so maybe it would help you.
Click to expand...
This is a good one!… once you decide it’s a deer you want to shoot do your best to breathe deeply and focus ONLY on your shot process; your only job is to pick a small shot location, float the pin, once it’s settled, slowly slowly squeeze. Especially when I was younger I could almost get there but several shots decayed into center of mass punch the trigger, so common. Breathe, float the pin on a small spot, forgot about the animal. I’ve also backed down to 65 lbs and 60 would probably do just fine. Being marginally overbowed is more of a liability than an asset, especially if you are cold or need to do a stealthy draw. Welcome to the thrill of the shot!
 
I remember when I used to shake like a leaf when I would spot a doe walking towards my stand. I used to think "why do I always get cold at the wrong time?" Then one day it dawned on me that it was an adrenaline rush, I had doe fever! Haha. Nowadays, I'm cool as a cucumber before and during my shot process. After I send it, whether it's a hit or a miss, I still get a case of the shakes and love it.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
For years I had a note taped to the back of my upper bow limb that reminded me to "pick a spot and follow through" it seemed to help so maybe it would help you.
Click to expand...
Heck, I don't even really get the shakes and I still needed this a couple of years ago. Took a shot from the ground on the biggest buck I've ever shot at and raised up out of the peep to peek during the execution and sailed one just over him at like 18 yards.

After that, my shot execution has changed quite a bit, and I focus on burning my pin through my point of aim well after the arrow is clear of the bow to exaggerate a full follow through and keep my eye in the peep longer.
 
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