wack

OK it's been sinse last December sinse I've shot my last deer. I've been out a few times this year but the weather has been hot and deer far and few inbetween. Opening morning I saw my first deer, the heart starts pumping, it's A nice doe and spotted fawn. I figure good practice to at least get drawn, but I have trouble finding my peep can't get comfortable.I wasn't planning to take the shot, it was like first hour, first day, I'll let mom and bambi walk but I had been shooting fine all morning, didn't start hunting till 3pm.
What was wrong? My big mouth was sucking air and wide open! Buck fever side affect. I've always practiced with my mouth closed. Changes my whole knocking point, angle, feel, peep,,, screws up everything. Add tree stand shooting and I'm so glad I desided to practice getting drawn!
Anyone else ever have this problem? It's easy enough to fix. First deer of the season, I always get too pumped up, kind of forget my checklist and routeen.
What are some other things to look out for as far as shooting form with buck fever? What is your check list?

huntingson

Shooting form with or without a deer in your sights has to be the same. It all comes down to not only practicing enough, but practicing realistic enough as well. There is nothing can take the excitement out of bowhunting, so you just have to concentrate. All I focus on throughout the entire shot process is "squeeze". A friend of mine put a sticky on the inside of his limb that says "pick a spot". Figure out something that works for you and go for it.

wack

If all I concentated on was squeeze, I still wouldn't have any deer in the freezer. When I concentrate, first thing is to draw quietly and in control. sSecond isposition. Figure out any obstilcles of the deer stand, i.e. lift bow over railing, make sure I've got arrow clearance , bending at the waist ect. Then I anchor, close my mouth, put my nose on the string, and naturally line up peep circle with sight guard circle, (my visual anchor point check is second nature, doesn't take any time or thought unless it's not lining up) Open my grip, balance the bow
This is when multi pin shooters deside what pin, I use a pendulum single pin, and from here it's pick a spot and squeeze. No thoughts of yardage, stand hight, guessing, adding or subtrcting, just purely concentrate on shot placement. On paper it sounds like a long proccess but in reality it's very quick. The multi pin shooters I think are at a big disadvantage because taking the time to figure out what pin, how far, how high, are all distractions that don't even enter my mind. Anything within 35 yards is 1 pin and 0 compinsation for any reason.
This is my seventh season. This summer I've learned to fletch my own arrows and have tried and learned a lot about the more technical aspects of archery stepping my game up to another level. At least I think so. lol With all the new things I tried this summer, I kind of forgot about the realistic part of practice. The shooting at a deer from a deer stand part.(I was tuning a new arrow rest all opening morning due to some bad luck and was shooting great..) I was just surprised that something so stupid could screw me up so bad. Until I figured out what was wrong it was like one of those bad dreams that you're running and can't get anywhere. I'm just glad it didn't happen with bullwinkle standing in front of me. lol For now on, I'm keeping my mouth shut! lol I'll know exactly what's wrong and what to do the next time.