Buck fever?

[salty]

Hi guys,

I have shot many bucks but last year was the first time I actually experienced buck fever. Not sure why. Now I have a fear of ruining my chances with another buck this season. I am 31 and have been hunting since I turned 14 in NY. Do any of you guys ever get buck fever and how do you control it?

BTW, I refrained from taking a shot at the buck last year during my buck fever episode LOL...


I apologize to all my fellow NY'ers for comming clean with my buck fever case last season. I hope this was an isolated incident.

[KonaBoy]

I usually am shaking like a leaf when I can hear one coming, and after I take the shot. But when I have my gun up, I'm as steady aswhen target practicing. I guess just try to calm yourself down and take a few breaths.

[RDHunter]

Yea I still get it when I see walking toward me , one time it so bad I had a hard time drawing my bow.
Last season I saw one coming and pulled my bow back right away and then I had to hold it for a long time before the buck came in to range , then it happened again.
All I could do was to take a deep breath and hold it but then my legs started to shake real bad , (bummer )I couldn't control myself long enough to take the shot.

[Hiawatha]

I took a few sports psyc classes in college and tried to work some of the techniques into hunting and found that they do work. While i am shooting my bow i state 5 or 6 steps in my mind to myself each time i shoot. eg, pick a spot, keep pin in middle of peep, hold steady, do not drop arm follow arrow etc. Now when i have an animal in range and draw i go over these steps in my mind quickly like its natural. I tend to concentrate more on the shot now rather than the animal.

[Rebel Hog]

Yep! I let a 12pt go out of shooting range into the brush and just sat there watching it disappear.

[Gimp Hunter]

I have hunted deer for 53 years and get buck fever at least once a year. It usually happens on the first shooter buck but sometimes later if I see an exceptional buck in my shooting range. I believe it happens to everyone that is a hunter. Good luck and God Bless. Norm

[Rebel Hog]

ORIGINAL: Gimp Hunter

I have hunted deer for 53 years and get buck fever at least once a year. It usually happens on the first shooter buck but sometimes later if I see an exceptional buck in my shooting range. I believe it happens to everyone that is a hunter. Good luck and God Bless. Norm

From one old timer to another, Welcome to the forum!

[kwaldeier]

it happened to me last year but i guess it wasnt so much buck fever as the safty of another human being....this buck was ontop of a hill and i knew there was a well travel gravel road on the other side.....who knows but i took the safe way....came up buckless o well

[younggun308]

When my dad was a kid, he and his older brother went hunting for deer.
My uncle had saved up a lot of money and bought a Remington model 7400I believe it was. It was in .243.
My dad had a Winchester Model 94 .30-30.
THey were hunting, and they hadn't seen a single deer the whole day that they could get a shot at, when all of the sudden, a buck appeared out of some cover and was out in the open. My uncle aimed, but he caught buck fever, and to steady himself, he got into a kneeling postistion, but hestill wasn't sure of himself, so he tried to get intoprone position, but he snapped a twig and the deerstarted to take off, but my dad quickle pulled the lever on his .30-30and fired at the buck and it dropped, needless to say, my dad was all siked up and they went to look at it, but they didn't see any holes,except for a bit of hair lost on the backbone. The deer starts to wake up, and shakes his antlers, and my dad shoots it in the neck. My uncle's semi-auto gun, couldn't beat my dad's nerves, and my uncles buck became my dad's

[Oneshot7]

still get it when they walk toward me if i stood up i would fall outta the tree but i can calm down with a few deep breaths...most of the time