KyBH

Hopefully some of you can help me out. I have been bowhunting for a few years, 6 to be exact. I am not a trophy hunter, I love Bowhunting, and want to put meat in the freezer. With that said, This year for me has been outstanding up until it's time to shoot. When I say outstanding, I mean every time I go in the woods I have seen deer except for maybe 3 times. Now to my problem. I have had 3 occasions on an 8 pt., 6 pt., and a doe (the doe was earlier tonight, very upsetting) that I when I know I've got this great shot I am screwing something up. All of these thoughts run through my mind about drawing back, anchor point, sighting in, and releasing. My point is that I rehearse this stuff in my mind, but when the moment of truth is there I screw it up. Everything happens so fast, I can't tell what I did wrong.Any help will be greatly appriciated.
Tim

RMQ

KyBH,
I think many of us have been in your shoes and some still are. The only advice I can offer is that the more time you spend in the deer woods and on the range, the better. The more you practice, the more instinctive the act of drawing your bow, and aimming at that 1 spot on the deer becomes. The whole process should almost be instinctive; which allows you to mentally prepare before, during, and after the shot. You shouldn't be thinking maybe quite so much on all the drawing, anchoring, aimming ect.., if that makes any sense; just try to relax and not over-think and and over-work your mind into a tizzy(thats the deer's job); tons of practice helps you to relax and have confidence in your abilities and equipment. I still get buck / deer fever, thats part of the reason i hunt; but i practice a lot and have confidence in my abilities and judgment. it comes with time and plenty of hours shooting. Hope my 2 cents helped some. Good luck and hang in there, it will all come together for you too.

Hunter_59

KyBH, buck/deer fever is a condition that affects more hunters than are willing to admit. Practicing with your weapon of choice will ease the symptoms but they may be present for life. You should start worrying when the sight of deer doesn't bring on some sort of excitement. Confidence in your shooting ability will help control the symptoms. Just keep practicing and spending time in the woods getting close to deer and hopefully you'll learn to control the condition.

BigJ71

I must echo what the others have said. The most important being you need to practice more. The more you shoot the less thinking about the shot process will be needed. It's called muscle memory. After thousands and thousands of shots you will just anchor in the same spot time after time. This will put your sights inline and everything else will fall into place as well. I know you said you have been bow hunting about 6 years now but if you don't shoot enough in the off season (and during the season) you will never get the practice you need.

Now as far as buck/deer fever is concerned, this is a completely different ball game. I think most bowhunters (if not all) get excited at the sight of a deer in range. I know I do, I don't care if it's a doe or a buck. Myself, I just let my emotions do what they are going to do. No matter how much I tell myself to calm down and breath deep etc... I still find my heart racing. Ibelieve this is where all the pratice comes in, your muscle memory will kick in even without you thinking about it.

KyBH

Thanks for all of your input.

statjunk

Try practicing in your stand. The next time you get the heebies because you thought you saw some thing move. Go through the motions. In essence pretend the situation is real.

Tom

Finch

I am by no means a trophy hunter either. I did score a couple times early in the season on some does and then started to let things walk. I would still see does after that and would practice drawing on them. I would not release but see how much I could get away with. I get deer fever everytime I see a deer like the others have said. To be honest, I don't want that feeling to go away. I have alot of fun when I can feel my heart coming through my shirt.

bigcountry25

I still get Deer fever to this day. Though it is not near as bad as it use to be. It doesn't matter if it's a buck or a doe. The only thing I can tell you is just try and clear your mind before the shot. For me it is not a problem the way I look at it ifI'm not excited about seeing deer then I know it is time to hang up the bow for a while because there is no need for me to be out there if I don't get excited.

Scott/IL

I have the same problem, although I have gotten better over the years. The day I see a deer and don't get the "fever" is the day that I will stop hunting. The rush of spending time on the stand to see that buck or doe walking towards you and into range and the feeling you get is amazing.

Trapper_Hunter

I'll confess of having this problem ITs what i hunt for. NO other feeling like it