wack

You can try shooting a doe early season to get rid of the "buck fever". You can try a lot of different things but the truth is nothing but experience is going to help. What might help a little bit for one person, might not help another person at all. For me, buck fever gets worse the longer I go with out seeing deer. When I finally do see deer it's like a big surprise. To make it not such a surprise I tell myself I expect to see the big one and visualize the deer I've seen in the past. I'd like to say antler size has no effect on buck fever but that would be a lie. The guys who say stop looking at the antlers has a good point. A deer is a deer, antlers or not I still get hyped up.
One thing that I've learned from experience is that when I get buck fever my heart pounds, my breathing gets heavier and my jaw drops wide open, messing up my anchor point and sight. I have a hard time getting the right sight picture and my draw is uncomfortable. That's my "Q" that starts my shot process. Close my mouth, breath through my nose, relax, aim, kill.
The only smart thing I've ever seen Tred Barta do actually looked kind of stupid but I know it helps. That is practicing running to a spot and take a shot. This, like buck fever, gets your mouth open, gets your heart pumping and gets you breathing hard. It's about the closest you can get to practicing shooting under buck fever conditions. I practice from my garage roof so I'm climbing the ladder a lot. At the end of each summer session I do a little race against time. Shoot 4 arrows, climb down go get them climb back up and shoot them again as fast as I can. Durring season, when I shoot/practice less, that's my practice routeen. Climb up real fast, shoot 4, go get 'em and shoot again as fast as I can. 8 fast shots and if all's well I'm on my way hunting. I've noticed that this has also given me more confidence and starts me off for a hunt in a better mind set to battle buck fever.
Good luck.

TimberWolves

monday afternoon hunting from a blind i missed a beautifull 6 pt. I did not want to shoot through the shoot through mesh so i unzipped the the window. the tip of my arrow never cleared the opening so when i shot, the arrow passed through the flap of the window and the side of the blind. i had missed him to the right.i keep hearing the noise my arrow made in my head as it went through the blind material. six does and the buck bolted. i hope i have another chance at him.

Schultzy

Good old buck fever! Been there done that!

cynikalHC

Thats an awesome feeling seeing a buck like that. As long as you dont give up you will get another shot at a nice buck.... but this time you will be ready for him.

passthrough24

After hearing some of your stories I dont feel so bad...I got a smaller buck earlier this year in a different state, so that whole shooting a doe early in the year thing didnt seem to work for me haha...After thinking about I am just so thankfull to have seen an animal like that I am not even sad about missing him, and I am proud of just having an opportunity like that on public land...I dont know if I ever want to "get over" buck fever, the shaking, the sweating and everything else that goes along with it...Isnt that why we spend thousands of dollars and countless hours in the woods?

ahunter55

Join the crowd-If I had KILLED all the BIG BUCKS I have missed at close range I would be sought after by all the "anything to do with Deer Hunting" people. I "TO" have had those jitters-BUT, isn't that ONE of the reasons we Bowhunt? You did 99% of what is required. You got a trophy buck to come to YOU in his territory & close enough for that bow shot-YOU MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. You can close the deal (that 1%) next time.
I've only been Bowhunting 51 years & still get rattled. If I didn't, I think I would just hang my bow up.
Good Luck. It will happen when it is supposed to.

stabnslab_WI

Alright I'm taking myself out of the woods for good this bow season. Last week I shot at a 150 ten point with bladed brows. My shot hit the front shoulder and went in about two inches. Those rage broadheads aren't made for bone that is for sure. After tracking the deer for about three hours, he made some scrapes andacually watched him chase some does that night,so I was sure he was ok. Then three days ago I saw him chasing a doe with four other bucks. I have most of my mornings off and love to hunt so I decided to hunt just this buck. I got my crack at him this morning again at seven o'clock at twenty yards. I hit rib and deflected into theshoulder as the deer was 1/4 away from me. He acted like nothing happend. After letting him sit for about four hours I went and looked and found my arrow, not good. Then I found the blood trail it was easy to follow didn't even need to hunch over, once again the rage left good blood but not the penitration I like. After about two hundred yards I could here a deer get out of its bed so I got down to my knees and there he was with a doe. When she got up he got up and ran her all over the woods. He acually passed my stand again. All I can think of is that when he came in to my grunts he thought that he got gored by another deer. But that is a first for me I have never shot the same buck twice within a week. Poor shot on my part if I could do it over again I would of went through the guts into the vitals. My dad has three hundred acres and it is mainly thick woods and some CRP with marsh. He could be anywhere come gun season but I'm only going to hunt this buck, he's not the biggest on the property but I owe it to myself to get him.