When I was younger (read teens), I had issues with buck fever during shots, I don't think I ever missed one because of it but it was a problem. I remember particularly, I was bowhunting once when I was about 13-14. I'd been sitting for about 20min after school, the whole time hearding what I thought was squirrels down in the woods from me (I was sitting on the ground on a field edge). Finally, I see movement and turn in and ready my bow. All I see is antlers, spread way out, coming right toward me up the trail. The adrenaline surged and I drew the 70 lb compound back like it was 5 lb. I'm holding as the deer closes to within 30 yds. It's the huge local buck people have been talking about -- about 16 typical points and 250lb, unheard of in that area. The whole neighborhood had been after him for at least 5 years, and here I am the only person to ever lay eyes on him in season during legal hunting hours. The nice 8-pt behind him looks like a baby. He turns sideways, and I search frantically for a place to thread my arrow through. However a 2-3 inch diameter branch cuts right across his vitals. No clean shot! I know he's about to turn off the trail and leave, and thoughts of taking a marginal shot and hoping to track him cross my mind but reason prevails and I hope against hope that he turns back and walks around that branch. He doesn't, leaves, and eventually dies of old age as he was never seen by anyone again after the following season.

By my 20s I no longer had issues with buck fever. I see a nice deer and I go into a sort of Caveman Killer mode, focusing cooly on executing a good shot and putting the animal down. Ruthless focus to the point where I often don't remember half of what I did during that time. Of course, as soon as the shot is made there's the old adrenaline rush and shakes if it was something big.