A back tension style release could also help you to acheive a surprise shot execution.

I think practicing is the only way to get over it. I still get buck fever and if that ever stops I'm going to quit hunting. When I pull back my practice routine takes over. I center my bubble and float my pin over the kill zone. Practice, Practice, Practice. Get a Buck decoy practice target.

Yes i agree a deer target will help too!
Even get up in a stand and practice shooting at it. You want to familiarize yourself so boringly much that when the real deal is about to happen, everything is on autopilot.

Do what the olympic athletes do - go over and over in your mind what you want to happen before hand.

have you practiced from your stand??? alot of hunters seem to leave that out of their practice routine and cant shoot from a stand...

if you shoot alot pre-season, shooting should be 2nd nature...shooting builds muscle memory and everything SHOULD happen without you realizing you did it...

"buck fever" can be terrible for some people...i have a buddy like that...he can shoot his bow and rifle pretty decent..but ive seen most of his kills and NONE were good hits..all killed and/or dropped the deer on the spot...but all were TERRIBLE as far as placement goes...

just slow down...calm yourself...draw back...PICK A SPOT...release and hit your spot...

i consider myself lucky...when its "go time" and i need to make the shot, "buck fever" is gone. i go into predator mode...im focused on making that shot...nothing else..i dont look at anything but the spot i want to hit before the shot...

sure i get excited when i first see a shooter...heck, this year, my leg was twitching like a dogs when you scratch that special spot...but once he started heading towards my lane, i went into predator mode and my head was clear..i was focused on making that shot...everything happened naturally..i hit full draw and hit my anchors and knew everything was right...picked my spot and floated my pin and sent it...after the shot, thats when my emotions flood...i'll never forget when i shot my first deer..rifle kill...the guy i was with complimented how calm i stayed before the shot..said my rifle barrel was still as could be and it looked like i did that 100 times before...but after the shot he thought i was gunna pass out lol...

just gotta learn to control it and focus on the matter at hand....quit looking at that rack...quit thinking about anything other than making that shot...talk yourself through it if you have to...it helps get you through it...

Get a small stuffed animal. Get in your stand and have someone throw it out there 20 yards. Stuffy is now the deer and you have one arrow, practice making that one shot on that stuffed animal.

I do this 3-4 weeks before the season but only once per day (although if I'm lazy I'll do it from the shop roof, wife loves that!), that way I know if I can hit a small stuffed animal, I can drill the boiler room every time.

When it's time to let the arrow fly, I know I don't need to take my eyes off my spot because I'm confident I know I will hit it. I try to watch my arrow hit the deer and try to pick it up in the ground immediately after the hit without moving the bow, then I pick the deer up.

IMO there is no real way to get rid of Buck Fever.. Hunting is not as fun and interesting without it.

i use to be the say way when any deer came within sight i would shake like crazy but after like other people have said shooting some does every year now i dont shake at all whether it be a buck or a doe

Totally agree with everyone else. It is something that never totally goes away. But the more you are out there the better it will get. Congrats on the deer and want to see a pic.

You can help yourself by practicing under preasure. 3D tournements are great for that, only get one shot and you have people watching you. Also practice making every shot count during practice only shoot 3 arrow then pull. Pick a spot every time you shoot and concentrate on it hard until your arrow ends up there kind of feels like the arrow just appears there don't attempt to follow the arrow from your bow to the target you'll start peaking. And #1 shoot more deer, only real way to get better

Thanks guys! I'm sure that your right I just need to shoot more deer. Most of all the suggestions that you gave me I thought I was doing. But the confidence thing rings true. If I was that confident in my shot then I wouldn't have to peek. I would KNOw it was going to strike where I aimed. I need to get the confidence in the field that I have in the range. I will get that by murdering a bunch of does! I have killed two does this year and this buck so I'm sure it will get better. The Apha Max is blood thirsty so I better feed it. Thanks agian. I would also love to show the deer but I have no idea how to upload it to here. Like I said it says that its to big of a file to upload it. How do I make it smaller?