Great post.

I know when I killed my first big buck, my nerves were on the edge. I had glassed him at about 500yds, and was trying to lure him across the field. A doe had come through earlier and I thought she was in Estrus because how spooked she was when I touched the horns together. Anyways the buck was following her trail, nose to the ground, I grunted, but he did not want anything to do with it, I hit the horns hard and he picked his head up and made a B-Line towards me. I grabbed my bow and prepared for the shot, he got to a point, and stopped. He was weary since he heard the bucks fighting, but did not see them now. He then picked me off in the tree. I was at full draw and shaking like a leaf. He stood behind a branch, where I had no shot to vitals, stomping his front foot into the ground unsure of me. I had to turn away from him, so I could gather my composure while at full draw. He finally stepped out from behind that branch getting ready to turn tail, I put the pin on him and let it go. Hit him perfect from 20yds, watched him make his death sprint across the field for about 85yds, and fall. I could not stand I was shaking so bad, I had to sit down, and just sit there for a half hour...

Now fast forward to last season, it was the first season I shot a doe, I was totally composed for the doe, I watched her for 15 mins, and shot her at a total of 7 yds, complete pass through double lung shot. She never phased me. Then later last season, I shot another Pope and Young buck, and was not phased by him either. I was super excited after the shot, but I knew I put the smackdown on him. I watched and heard him crash 60yds away.

What am I getting at?

I believe confidence in yourself is the biggest key to success in avoiding the "fever". Once you have killed a deer, I believe it becomes easier to control your nerves and mental thoughts. All of the points from the first post, can be correlated to confidence in someway. The more you shoot, the better prepared you will be, the more deer you kill the more prepared you will be. In this case, practice makes perfect, but that practice never quits, you will do it your whole hunting career!