I get buck fever - like some of you said, it's much worse when bow hunting and the deer is walking under your stand 15 yards away. When they're that close, it's really hard to control the shakes. I've gotten better with time, though - when I first started hunting it was terrible.

My first deer was with a Winchester 1200 shotgun- had to be plugged to only hold 3 shells. So I was sitting on a log overlooking a creek bed, and a doe comes down the hill through the thorn bushes. I'm shaking like crazy, but manage to wait until she gets within 40 yards and turns broadside - I let 3 shots fly- fast enough to sound like a 3 round burst from an M-16. Missed all 3! I only had 2 more shells in my pocket, I quick load one in and the doe is still standing there looking around like "what the hell was that?" I shoot again, to no visible effect (though I did hit it with that one in the ribcage). I quick load my last shell and shoot again - hitting it in the spine and dropping it. I was shaking like I was having a seizure

oldsmellhound.. that is a good story you have there. That made me laugh.

Actually after I shoot and it is on the ground.. that is when the real shakes hit me. My knees go weak, and I normally just stand there and breath deep while I reload and watch the animal...

One common theme to this thread is;

"The day I stop getting the shakes, is the day I'll quit hunting."

I guess that explains why it is so hard to stop hunting even when you know your body can't put up with it.[]The shakes never go away!

I have been hunting deer for fifty five years. I hasn't gotten a lot better. I don't shake, but I can feel my pulse speed up and I have a hard time to keep from shooting to fast. Not to much with gun hunting. But I want to rush my shot bowhunting. Afraid he is going to bolt. When I am bow hunting I can feel my pulse speed up even when does come in.
We were mule deer hunting one time. I had shot my deer. We were walking cross country back to the pickup. We walked by a little brush spot about twenty feet in diameter. A real big four by four mulie ran out at about ten yards. He emptied his 30-06 into the ground ten feet in front of us. Like the rest are saying, when I quit getting excited it is time to quit.

Speaking of after the animal is down.
I always feel a little sadness when I walk up to the animal. I give thanks to the great spirit for allowing me to hunt and harvest such an animal be it buck with a nice rack, small rack or a doe. I think back to a spring many years ago when I as a member of a club went out on a week end and counted winter kill deer in a section. After I think of all those deer that suffered that winter I no longer feel bad.
The animal will provide meat for the table, will not suffer from starvation, will provide many hours of memory for me and friends as we chat about seasons past.
My hunting partner said one day we will have to stop doing this some day. I replied the day after I die is when I stop HUNTING.
HUNTING isn't the killing to me, like Davesetting and watching the turkeys was a thrill, to me seeing the egale fish in the bay is a thrill, having the chickadee land on my shoulder and peek at my ear is a thrill, Thats HUNTING to me.

Al

I couldn't have said it any better alleyyooper. I feel a little sad sometimes as well- I think it's a respect thing. If you respect the game you are hunting, you are going to feel a little sad when they give their life so that you can have meat. I'm not a believer in the whole Native American "animals have spirits" type thing, but I do believe all animals should be treated with respect, and not killed just for fun or tortured or anything.

Just being out in the woods and being close to everything is one of the things I enjoy most about hunting. Some of my best experiences hunting were when I didn't get anything, but was able to witness something neat or unusual - like 2 turkeys sparring with each other, with about 10 other turkeys forming a circle around the fight - just like kids in junior high.

I started hunting about 10 years ago, but haven't made it every year. I've only shot two dear and my last one was by far my worst case of buck fever, to the point that it's almost embarrasing. But, after reading this thread it appears that I'm not alone, so here it goes.

My parents, my wife and I were out hunting public land mulies on what was the last day that I would be able to be out hunting. We got to the area about 1:00 pm. We'd hunted the area a few times before and had seen some deer. This year, since I was driving, I decided to drive in a little farther back into a draw. After parking, while everyone was getting ready to start walking, a buck and two does jump up about 20 yards in front of us and start jogging up the hill. (Deer jog, don't they?) We watched them for a few minutes until they disappeared in the brush and rocks. My dad took off one directions and the other three of us started going the other direction up the hill.

Somewhere after about 20 feet, my mom fell behind, and I didn't really notice. About halfway up the hill, my wife sees something moving across the valley. We sit down and watch for awhile, and from what we can tell it looks like the same three we saw before. They clearly aren't spooked, so we start talking about the best way to get to them. About this time I hear this incredibly odd scream sound and the deer can't get up the hill fast enough. I stand up and start looking for what made that sound, and there it is again. It's this high pitched scream/yell type of sound followed by a poor attempt at a whistle. It's then that I realize what odd animal this is... about a hundred feet downhill I can see my mom's hat trying to crawl over a rock. She finally gets up to us, and, disgusted, I try to remind her that we're HUNTING and deer can hear also. She counters with she got lost and we didn't even notice. I tried to explain that she wasn't lost and point to the bottom of the hill where you can still see where we parked.

As that conversation came to an end, we spotted my dad working his way up the hill behind the deer. We take off to the top of the valley and around to meet him. At the top, he says he saw another small buck by itself that went up the hill, but lost it after that. He asks whatwe want to do, as it's getting late and we're almost out of time. He wants to godown and around, I want to go to the left since I think that's where they went. My wife doesn't care, and my mom wants to go home because this is the biggest waste of time ever and she could havegone to the store or something. Him and my mom decide to walk around to the right and down, and I think the deer went left and down the hill towards the bottom.

So off we go. At the top of one ridge, my wife wants to stop and look around a little, see if she can see something. I leave the binoculars with her and walk over the next ridge. I get about 20 feet down and there's four deer standing there. I instantly start shaking trying to shoulder my rifle while the deer stand there laughing their butts off. I get the scope up and there's two does and two bucks. Score!

I pick outa buck and fire. Two does and a buck walk off chuckling, while the bigger of the two bucks is laughing so hard he can't move. I shoot at him again. And again. I shot about a 1 inch 100 yard group at the range a few days before, but trying to hit a deer at 25 yards was practically impossible. This buck stands there and lets me shoot at him once more, and then realizes that my magazine is empty, so he shakes his head andstarts to walk away. About 35 yards away he decides to stop and look back, get in one more good laugh before he calls ita day. Well, after three more shots, he dropped hard. I decided my scope must have been off, because I was aiming behind the shoulder but I shot him in the neck. Don't know how that happened.

Well I got to him, he was a decent 5 point. And finally, to top off a great day hunting, I got to drive home in a Bronco II with 4 people and a deer.

SK, I wouldn't have told that one.

Great story SK. Did you let the deer sit in the front seat??

That was a good one Super Kirby. I am glad you taught that laughing devil who the boss was. I bet that was a run ride home.

My buddy had one of them Bronco II vehicles and while they got around good in the snow and mud, got a lot better mileage then my full sized pickup truck. A group of us went hunting one afternoon in his. There werefour of us, and the smallest around #200 pounds, then two labrador dogs, and all the shotguns for pheseant hunting. All I could do was pray that no one ripped a ripe one. We were packed in there.


I admit, I might tease or have a good laugh at people for missing a shot, but it is a lot easier to miss a deer then people think. All too often I have seen people who on a target range will shoot the bulls eye out of a target, miss a shot which should be a gimme. They forget, some of us have perhaps walked long distances, are not on even ground, perhaps are physically tired, then throw in the adreneline rush of the animal so close.. Then again.. some have BUCK FEVER !!!