My hunting partner is a 40yr old first timer,I told him I would not shoot till he gets his deer.(unless it's a big buck)He is shooting a sluggun scoped out and driving tacks at 75yds Iam shooting a M/L.Last wednesday my dad put Pat on a watch and sure enough out comes 2 does well he got blasting all for not.Mondaythe 13th Pat and I go to another spot I put him on a stand Iam about 200yds down the treeline so I get to watch this one,a doe comes out about 75yds Pat takes aim lets one rip(deer doesn't move)he lets second one go(atleast this time she lifted her head)I look down the treeline and see him walking over to a tree to lean on the third shot rings out and she walks down the field right to me but I had to let her pass.Yesterdaywe head to another location same kind of scenario but I look up the treeline and see Pat waving me up,I get to Pat and he is shaking so bad I don't know how he can stand up,He told me a good buck walked out then turned and went right back into the woods.I went back to my stand and had 7deer go by two fawns were no further than 15ft away,one even snorted twice and then stomped at me before walking away.Well getting dressed and waiting for Pat to get here,Can someone grant this guy a miracle.(we hanen't been putting the barbs to him to bad hehehe)

sounds to me like the guy needs to practice shooting. if he takes three shots a deer, one of which using a rest, practice would be the answer. or maybe the weapon isn't sighted in. if its not one of these two problems then i have no idea.

sounds like he may be pulling on the gun hes flinching as he pulls the trigger. tell him to shoot like he is shooting a 22 but sounds like some needed practice

Are you sure that the gun will "drive tacks" at 75 yds? I'm just gonna point out what the two guys above have pointed out. The two most like suspects in this situation are 1.) The scope isn't sighted in correctly or has been jumbled so how. I'd prolly sit it on a bench and once I knew it was on I'd practice. or 2.) Its not the gun, its the shooter. I would most likely suspect this. I shot a 12ga. up til two years ago for deer hunting. I switched to a ml because i could get effective loads that didn't knock the heck out of me. Hope this helps.

He is definitley flinching,its not the gun I no that beceause I have shot it.I think the real problem is he just gets way to excited.When he shot at that first deer I walked up to him 5minutes later and he was still shaking,kind of remindes me of when I shot my first deer.

Thats just part of being a new hunter. I'd prolly tell him to just try to calm down and relax before he shoots.

Some people never get over deer fever,we had one in our area that wounded 5 deer this year and did not recover any of them,next year he won't be allowed on my or my hunting buddies property. Lee

I agree with Lee.. buck/doe fever is terrible in some people. I have a nephew that wasunable to shoot at all. One friend I have, that as he gets ready to shoot, shakes so bad you'd think he was having fits. I saw him miss a doe with his T/C Hawkins at 20 yards. I told him he should have threw the gun. Yet paper target shooting this person does not miss. We tease him without mercy and he is good natured and takes it well. He even admits it. He shot a beautiful buck one afternoon. When I congratulated him on the excellent neck shot he made, he laughed and said I was aiming for his heart...

Tell your friend the next time he sees a doe, relax, watch her walk around,and breath deep. Tell himself, he is not going to shoot this one. Just simply have him watch the doe walk around. Have him pull the shotgun up and take aim on it, but tell him not to shoot. That is until he is calm. Watching the deer walk around and pulling up on it, or holding on it but knowing he does not have to shoot it, will calm him down. When he is doing this tell him to remember to breath. Also get him a set of shooting sticks. He is going to need all the help he can get.

Once the sight of the deer does not put that monster rush into the system, and he learns to breath through it in a somewhat natural manner, he can then sight down and squeeze off a shot. I worked with my nephew for two seasons. He was finally able to shoot a deer, and then when it came to field dressing we had a whole new problem. He decided deer hunting was not his cup of tea.

Sheeeesh, Dave. You said what I was gonna say!
But I couldn't begin to say it any better.

Bake North: Tell your buddy, "Don't forget to breathe deeply".
It sounds like he's seeing enough deer that he can afford to pass on a couple to pull this off.
Good Luck!