Do you have a scope on your rifle? If not, I bet you are looking over the sights in anticipation of seeing the deer fall.

i got a scope

and someone said its only 1 year, im workin on my third saturday


thanks for the help

Hey guy, don' t take this as a flame - I got a lot of respect for you for admitting a problem and asking for help - takes a man, imho.

To me, if you' re missing -whether you want to call it buck fever or what - I still think it' s because you haven' t practiced enough and practiced correctly. Practice till it becomes perfect and automatic. This includes all aspects of practice. Seeing target with eyes, bringing the gun up and making it steady (various methods depending on position - practice all of them including the position you' ll be in your stand), finding the sight picture through sights or scope, controlling your breathing (I exhale), squeezing the trigger without closing your eyes or any other form of flinch, chamber new shell, get ready for follow up. I mean practice, practice, practice all of these steps. Muscle memory, you know - until you' re not thinking about it, and furthermore, you can' t do it any wrong way because you' ve *always* practiced the right way. This also means doing all this practice in real shooting positions, not solid on the shooting bench (after zeroing of course - you need as solid a rest as possible for zeroing).

To me, Buck Fever is a myth caused by bad or poorly developed habits due to lack of practice or lack of methodical correct practice. A coach once told me " perfect practice makes perfect, imperfect practice makes imperfect" . Just an opinion, of course. Best wishes to you and I' m looking forward to hearing about your first harvest! -zeke

Also try to remember that range shooting is not the same as game hunting . Targets and 3-ds don' t move , and you always know the range . Learn to estimate ranges with lots of practice and a good 100' tape measure , have your scope checked to insure that it' s hitting where you aim , and fire way more rounds before the season starts . When you aim at game try to picture the deer going down as you slowwllyy squeeze the trigger . It sounds like you' re jerking it and throwing off your aim .

hang in there ive missed more deer than i really care to count shots that would be second nature now and like you stated at the range i coudn' t miss i could cover a three shot group with a quarter at a hundred yds but in the woods i couldnt hit a deer to save my hide. my brothers were no help with all the razzing.long story short my grandfather gave me a hint when shooting at running deer aim for the feet i was shooting high which he found out on one of my hundreth missed shots he found a bullet hole in a tree about five feet up thats why he told me to aim at the feet on running deer. on standing or walking deer he told me to pick a spot on the deer the size of a pencil eraser and try to see the bullet hit it a great marker is the notch right behind the front shoulder .since that information was passed to me ive improved my shot ratio 100% hope this helps hang in there it will come together for you

Hey i had this prob my first year. i was a lil afraid of the kick and just excited. then once u get ur first deer, it all starts workin smooth and easy.

One of the best tricks I ever knew to overcome "buck fever" was in the off season, take your stand, a binoculars, notepad, and camera to the area where you are going to hunt. Try and spend as much time out there counting animals. While your out there use the binoculars and looks at all the animals, squirrels, grouse, deer, bear, everything. Let them come real close. Try and judge their distance as they move around. Also you can use your camera and get some excellent shots of animals during this time. The other benifit of course if the pre scouting. Believe me, when you see a monster buck walking around your stand before season, and you have been out there a number of times watching him and even taking his picture, when you see him come season it is not such a breath taking experience.

Of course you still have to take the bow out and practice or the rifle what ever you are shooting. As the others have said, get the shooting down second nature. When you fire, follow through. You will know even before the arrow hits or the animal drops that your shot was good.

Other then that... join the club. We all have had the shakes in the stands or woods when it came to that moment. If your gun is accurate at the range the problem is elsewhere.. At least your on the right track to solving it... Good Luck out there.

Not so... it's called adrenaline. Although, some are affected more than others.

I'M IN THE OUTFITTING INDUSTRY AND I'VE FOUND THAT IT COMES WITH REPITITION YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE THE SHOT. (IF ITS NERVES) THAT IS.

If in fact your rifle is properly sighted in and you are golden at the range, there are three key things to focus on in the woods. First, and this is really important, once you decide to harvest the animal, select and focus on your target. It should be a tiny spot in the deer vitals. Once you lock onto this spot, you shouldn't even see the entire deer anymore - the only thing that you see is that spot. Do not shoot until you have the cross-hairs centered and resting exactly on that spot. Secondly, make sure that you select the opportune time to make a killing shot; The deer is clearly within your range, is giving you an unobstructed view of the vitals and is standing or walking very slowly. If the deer is running, try to stop him with a snort, or a "baaahh" (like a sheep) sound. If you can't stop him, don't shoot. IMO it is a low percentage kill shot and a high percentage miss or worse - a non-lethal wounding shot providing poor chances of recovering the animal. Third, ALWAYS go to the spot the deer was when you shot and search for signs of a hit - even if you know you missed - check thoroughly anyway just to be sure.

Lastly, keep in mind that while we all like to fill our tags and enjoy bbq'ed backstraps, the actual harvest is only one of the many fulfilling aspects of the sport. Enjoy your time the woods and NEVER GIVE UP!