Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

How does everyone react after taking a deer? Some people get extremely pumped up and let everyone know about it, however, some people keep reserved and are as cool as a cucumber. I personally am overran with emotions and tend to get a wee bit excited. I took a nice 8 pt. this year and my dad and brother heard my victory yelps on the other end of the property!:) But I have heard some hunters grief about 'excessive celebration' with the old saying "Act like yo've been here before". I disagree with that, but understand its all about personal preference. What do you guys think?

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

i get pretty excited too :D

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I get excited too but I don't do a jig, pump my fist, and all that other stuff you see on TV. My excitement comes later after I have the deer out of the woods, gutted, and hanging. I have to stay calm, my peak is right before I pull the trigger. I feel my pulse in my ear tips

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

After I kill any animal I give some sort of thanks! I'm not talking about fist pumping and all the hoop~a~la all the TV guys do but say a little prayer of thanks in my head! I get excited but no need to act it out! :)

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

Once the reality that I had shot my first deer sunk in, I started whooping and hollering, pumping my fist in the air and all that stuff.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I get pretty excited and do a little fist pump or something and also say thanks for the opportunity.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I got a 6-pointer in Oct. (archery), and all my hunting buddies come to expect a phone picture of somesort in the field, my little way of messing with them (that's big fun!). I then got an 8-pointer with my .44 mag pistol 4 weeks later. Once again a phone picture was circulated. After the muzzle blast ringing stopped while in my climber, I did the Jonathan Papelbon jig (redsox pitcher) and always thank God!
How can't you be exceited, I ask???!!!

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i'm yet to witness anyone that is "as cool as a cucumber",sounds like a fairy tale,lol!

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

it all depends. When I got them with the bow I tend to be a little loud! haha all the adrenaline....... With my gun, if I get it while sitting I tend not to be reall energetic aboutit, but when one comes out on a drive, thats when the blood gets pumping and I get pretty excited taking deer off of drives!

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I can feel the adrenaline pumping pretty good right after the shot. I don't tend to respond with much in the way of a huge outward showing but I am certainly very excited.
When I get up to and see the animal there is a mixed bag of emotion. I am very happy i was able to hunt and kill the it but i also have a moment where i feel a bit of sadness for the animal. It is at that time that I will sit there with it and give thanks to god and to all those, including my family, that have allowed this event to take place

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I'm usally pretty alert when I hunt since I walk or still hunt on the ground. There have been times I have to take a breath and slow my heartrate down when I hear one walking and try to pinpoint its location.After the shot I'm all business.Listening to hear them pile up, tracking and confirming my kill. Then I relax take a breather and out comes the camera to memoralize the moment and the great animal no matter what the size.My knees still shake sometimes at the point I start to get ready to clean them,it has all sunk in by that time.And yes I get a bit excited when they turn out to be a bit bigger than I thought!
But no yelling in the woods,It's like yelling in church :)just don't feel right!
And I might miss seeing something else!

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I always thank the Lord, but as far as yelling and screaming, I don't do none of that. That doesn't mean I am any less excited about the whole ordeal as the guy doing backflips. We all express emotion differently.

I do think alot of the guys on TV try putting on a show. You can tell if its real or fake. Can't stand the fake crap.

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I'm pretty reserved since I'm able to take several a year. This year I did get rather loud when my 7 year old son shot his first deer. He thought I was crazy the way I was whooping and hollering.

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You don't need to overreact but I give a fist pump and jump up and down unless i made a bad shot

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I usually am trying so hard to keep my emotions under control right before and during the shot that after the shot i usually go right to pieces. All that pent up nervousness and adreniline comes out all at once and i just start shaking like a rag doll haha, i have to hang the bow or gun up and sit down for a minute just to get ahold of myself. I usually do some kind of prayer of thanks. I usually don't holler too much, just have the biggest Sh*t Eatin' grin on my face. The turkey i got this past spring broke like a three year dry streak turkey hunting, and i'm not going to lie i did a little yelling over that one.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

first one of the season usaually gets a little scream,then the rest get a fist in the air and my little ritual dence

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I still get as excited as the first deer I shot.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

Great posts guys, we all go about it differently. The 8 ptr. I took this fall was my first mature buck of life after 12 hard years ofhunting. And to be honest I really couldnt control it, when I saw that buck go down, I completely lost it. Will I feel that way after every big buck I take? Let's hope so!:D I also forgot to mention that I do, as many of you mentioned, give thanks for the opportunity to harvest the animal, especially after a cheal kill. Without Him it just wouldn't be possible, and I owe all of my success to him. I give thanks after every animal I take, no matter size or species.

I also agree with IntroC, many of the guys do try to fake it, and that is what I was trying to refer to in my initial post, those guys who just go through the motions, can't stand it. And when they try to put on a show, it just makes it even worse.

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I think if you dont feel some emotion what the heck you doing out there anyway,not to many people living in mudd huts or cabins anymore. What gets me fired up is when I take a youth hunter out and they get their first deer and they dont know what to do or how to feel,now thats exciting.:D

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I get excited as heck man, jump up and down.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I think we all get excited, otherwise we wouldn't go back.

The first thing I do is thank the deer for giving its life so I can extend mine, and offer it tobaccoas thanks (Native American Custom). Then I promise it I will try to live a good life, worthy of its gift, so it won't have died in vain. Then I'll get a little pumped up, but Itry to keep it respectful, and quiet for other hunters nearby.

I think any reaction a hunter has is fine, as long as its respectful and not proclaimingsome perceived dominance. I have no problem with people getting fired up and hootin and hollerin, as long as its not disrupting someone elses hunt.

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One of the things i don't get is when you see guys on tv, or in magizines or wherever posing with huge deer and they look like they are taking a mug shot, it always cracks me up a little. It's like buddy you just shot a great animal go ahead and smile, i dunno maybe it is a macho thing or something haha. Speaking of hootin' and hollerin' do any of you guys watch Ted Nugents show and see the way he goes nuts after the shot? Haha sometimes i think he is a little over the top but that's kind of his personality and its usually good natured.

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I start punching the air, yelling "THE BEAST IS DEAD, THE BEAST IS DEAD!":D

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gmil, I agree with you a 100%!! In just about every magazine they have a spread dedicated to members who send in their pictures, and it kills me when I see a guy with a huge buck looking like they wanna take the photographer. Come on man, God gave you those teeth flash em once in a while!I think you are right it is a macho thing. Saying "Look at me everyone, I'm a pretty tough dude" When in reality the deer beats you more times than you beat it sooooooooooo why not SMILE! :D

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I get very exicted. I get the jitters specially when they run after the shot.

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i get excited after wards. I like them good quick hunts when the animals come in unexpected or i get all bent out of shape. I get real excited after i kill something though. everyone that hunts with me just laughs because i get pretty worked up.

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I tend to get pretty excited. I usually will shoot and then text message a few people while I sit and give the animal time to die. Our code is BBD ! Big Buck Down........I get excited when little bucks step out, that why I hunt. I think I get more excited today than I did in years past.........its an addiction, obsession, passion......

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

Lots of folks here dislike Ted's antics. But, to me at least, he appears to be rejoicing.

I don't like seeing Stan Potts after a shot. He looks like a wild man. Like he was seething, boiling, red-hot ANGRY at his prey. He may not have that intent, but, I find it really bizarre...

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I get pretty pumped up, but 99% of the time I'm all alone, so what is the point in yelling? I don't do that. Sometimes I'm so excited it's hard to deal with all the post kill tasks such as tagging and field dressing. It takes a real effort to calm down and be organized and safe with that stuff so I don't lose any equipment, mess anything up or hurt myself. I usuallyoffer tobacco and have a smoke.

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I prefer to do a Kurt Thomas floor routine (gymnast) then walk back to my truck on my hands.[:-]

I am guilty of the "no smile" pose with some of my deer and I figured out why that happens. Usually the best pic is the first one taken. The guy that I hunt with is almost always the photographer and he is HORRIBLE with cameras. After many shots where it was out of focus, something cut out or crooked picture, I find myself squinting to see if he's operating the camera correctly! Therefore a lot of my pics come out with me having that "mugshot" look! [&o]

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

GregH,you're forgiven haha. I usually brake down deer pics into three categories.

1) Hunter Smiling: The hunter is smiling, obviously proud of the downed animal.
2)Hunter not smiling, but still enthused: Hunter may just not be the smiling type, but you can see in his eyes that he is no doubt excited.
3)Hunter ticked off: Hunter not yet realized he has something to be proud of right beside him, and capable of Kurt Angle like actions in an instance.

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GregH, LOL! Yep my Uncle and cousin do the same thing to me too. It goes like this...The buttons on the top,no, the top,thats the flash.Yes! You have to hold it in to make it work.Back up your going to get it fuzzy. The flash didn't go off, hold it in! What do you mean smile! I am smiling! And by that time I get 2 weird pics to 1 good one LOL!

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i get pumped

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a left a voicemail to a buddy of mine only a few minutes after i found my first buck. he let me listen to it (several times).. i thought i was pretty cool but the recording shows my voice shaking big time... (pretty funny to listen too) :D

RE: Post-Harvest Celebrations
 

I have been hunting since 1959 when I got my first gun a model 69 Win. 22, that's almost 50 years. I don't get excited, been there and done that. I marvel at what a great 1 shot kill I had just made, like the 125 yd. off shouldershot that my 06 blew the top of his heart away. Next comes the feed back at camp.

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I am more reflective than loud.I think most celebrations are fine as long as there real.I think that the animal is due respect so the over the top stuff is a bit much for me.
The combination of factors that gets me fired up the most is a big deer that I have shot at that shows no sign of a hit and doesn't bleed right away or scalds out of an area like they are on fire.When you get on their blood trail there is a heightened sense of emotion going on.When I come upon a big buck I have shot under those circumstances I am more excited than I ordinarily would be.

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Harvest, After I pick corn, I just boil it and put some butter and salt on it,no need to celebrate.

When I kill me a deer. I moon walk and then do a little Samba dance.

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I celebrate with a 1 mile drag thru heavy cover, uphill.