Anyone have any recommendations for controlling buck fever?The closer the shot the harder it is on me to maintain sometimes,especially with a bow?Its got to be really bad on some of you elk and bear hunters!
Tree stands have allways helped alot more than being on the ground and hand shaking distance.
The older i get the worse i have gotten. Especially if i have to watch the game for a real long time to get into bow range or rifle range.
When i was young i really had no problem much with it .
Does this just happen from time to time and never goes away?
You african hunters have got to get the shakes tracking wounded lions and such!Especially bowhunting dangerous game!
Anyway maybe we can all learn something new?
Thanks in advance!

You never want it to "go away", because if it dos, then you might as well quit hunting.

Terry has a good point. It's good that you know what it's like for a pointer when the boss pulls out the pumpgun and calls him to the truck.

On the issue of controlling it there are several things you can do to help mitigate the effects. Most of my deer hunting is done on the ground these days and I'm usually nose to nose with deer because I still hunt mostly. I find the most likely case for it affecting me is lo-o-o-o-o-ong waits between first sight and the shot.... Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and say to yourself "Get a grip", or some such. I would suggest you say that mentally, not verbally BTW. Another action that will detach you from the moment is to look around for other deer or whatever you're hunting, ie. take your eyes off of the target animal. You might see something bigger and better, or even see another that is about to blow your cover. It is the distraction that makes the difference by breaking your concentration on the quarry.

One good way to develope control of this is to desensitize yourself to it. Try still hunting Turkey. Your heart will still be pounding away, but when you can walk up on a half dozen birds without being made you're on your way to controlling the issue.

Right On Terry!

I think more encounters w/ game make you better at controlling "buck fever." I find that when I'm bow hunting if I have to watch the game for a long time I get very nervous but, I usually calm after a while. Now when they see me and give me the stare down, that's when I get shaky. Sometimes I get so dang nervous the tree starts shaking and I can actually hear my heart pounding. Man, that's the best feeling in the world to me. I love it and like Terry said. if it quits happening, I'm gaonna hang it up.

I have found that not matter how shaken I get, I usually become totaly calm when it's time to squeeze the trigger. Then, it comes right back after the shot has sounded or the arrow has left the string. You just got to love it!

Good Luck!

Reloader

I do also have a problem with it, and no solutions actually. It`s natural, and I must agree with Terry.
For me the situation can get pretty bad if I watch the animals for a long time. But then you can use time to get in a comfortable position. Prone with a rest if possible.
I`m more likely to flinch and make bad shots on short ranges. If the shot are longer, I know I have to focus and really concentrate to make it right, and then the shaking dicreases most of the time. In Boddingtons book "Shots at Big Game" he talks about this phenomenon. He goes through a checklist in his head about the shot. Position, safety, trigger..etc.. Try to focus on other things than the animal. Try and avoid to think: "if I get nervous and start shaking, things get screwed up.." At least I have such thoughts..

Do you guys think it would be less if we could hunt alot more or because in my case i have to wait like a whole year between seasons that i get unconditioned to being around game that much?I know after i make my first harvest the others after that ,if iam that lucky,are not as intense.I had to wait and let two deer walk past at something like 10yrds.one time,they feed around me for a hour and never saw me,when they left the big buck came and i managed to take him cleanly with one shot.If i hadnt been able to sit still and keep my cool the other deer would have blew the snort call and gave away my position.It was a great hunt needless to say and i think about it ofton.It was a classic!
One thing i have noticed about deer thru the years is if i watch them ,they will sometimes FEEL MY EYES and turn and look strieght at me for no appearent reason!So since i have learned this little indian secret,I only watch them a little and try to avoid starring!Have you guys ever experince this?I feel like they have some sorta rader or something unexplained and it is indeed real.It helps me also when i start to get the shakes on a long wait not to just stare the whole time. If i can react semi quickly to a shot iam pretty cool, but those loooong waits get to me sometimes.This is one topic i never hear alot about, but has got to be pretty common. I also have read that a hunters heart rate goes up from adrenalin ,something like 150 beats a minute or more really quickly and is really bad on your heart if you are a older hunter. My cousins father in law died on a grizzly Hunt in alaska years ago when the bear charged thru a thicket and ran right by him at close range.Another hunter my taxidermist knew died after killing a super large moose.He showed me the head ,he was mounting it,he said the head/cape with horns alone weighted 250# i think it was,he said the stress of carrying the weight out after the stress of the shot killed him on the trip out.I have heard lots of stories about hunters having trouble with the adrenline rush and dying.I think it was a col.dave h
Harbor? that died after killing a turkey on a turkey hunt back in the 80s?He was well know turkey federation member ,writer,I just cant remember his last name right now, we talked about this around the camp fire at deer camp before and the guys all said- heck you got to go sometime,might as well go doing what you love to do!!!!Sounds like a good plan to me too!!!!See you guys on the big hunt one day at the happy hunting grounds!!!!and dont be late!!!

For me, it helps that once I decide to take a shot, I stop thingking about 'that deer' or whatever I am aiming at, and focus completely on where I want the bullet to hit. It is no longer a deer, just a target point. A deep breath or two helps...just don't hyperventilate!

Sometimes it helps to get out around the critters during non-hunting times of the year. I usually see many more deer and elk at closer ranges while hiking in the spring/summer than I do in the hunting season. "Camera Hunting" during the off season is sometimes fun too.

Also pay attention to your breathing and ensure you are taking regular breaths. I think a lot of people quit breathing in anticipation and get the shakes, then follow the proper breathing method while shooting whic calms them down.

I was sitting in a tree stand during Muzzle Loading season. I had hunted this area and never had a shot. Two does came walking by I never seen them until they were there all of a sudden. I had my Muzzle loader pointing straight up and the deer were looking straight at me it seemed like it took me 5minutes to get my muzzle pointed at them I was shaking sooooo bad that I knew that I was going to miss. I took the shot and they stood there. No way I could have missed at 20ft finely they ran toward the road through all of the thick brush. My dad came walking by and asked what I had shot at I told him a doe, but I was still shaking so bad I couldn’t climb down the tree. Finley when my dad hollered at me that he had found the deer I got down and we dragged it to the truck. Sometimes I get shaking but not always. I think it is the fact that I only have a limited time to get a deer and if I miss I know that I may not get another chance.

I would love to experience that feeling one more time.

Take a tranquilizer!

Two things.
Get around game as often as you can and shoot as often as you can. If you can get into some highpower matches where you are shooting shoulder to shoulder rapid fire or shooting pistol sihlouette with 44 mags going off on both sides of you, you will learn to concentrate on your shooting and block out anything else around you. Just you and the target and the trigger, man that's nirvana

bbh,

Try a fifth of Jack Daniels before you head to the stand!! Just kidding!! I have no problem when hunting with a firearm, but when a nice deer comes into bow range, my right leg starts shaking like I'm having a convulsion!! I can't explain it, but it happens every time. I like you, did not have this problem when I was younger. Wierd huh?

BOWHUNR

BOWHUNR

quote:

Originally posted by blackbearhunter:
Do you guys think it would be less if we could hunt alot more or because in my case i have to wait like a whole year between seasons that i get unconditioned to being around game that much?

Hey BBH, That is a mistake a lot of folks make - not being afield all year long. I've found it very beneficial to pick up a 22 rifle and go to the woods and swamps just to be there. Wear the camo and practice the sneaking along skills throughout the year so it becomes second nature.

I still feel the adrenalin kick in when a huge Trophy shows, but it is controllable. The more time you spend around them, the more mistakes a person learns from, so they are not repeated(as often) during the Season.

quote:

One thing i have noticed about deer thru the years is if i watch them ,they will sometimes FEEL MY EYES and turn and look strieght at me for no appearent reason!So since i have learned this little indian secret,I only watch them a little and try to avoid starring!Have you guys ever experince this? ...

Absolutely. If they see your eyes, the game is generally over.

One thing that will help you is the way you wear your Face Mask and Hat. Wear a Mask that has individual eye-holes and get a Boonie style hat. Position the Mask so your eyes are just barely looking over the bottom of each eye-hole. Then pull your Boonie hat down so you are just looking under the brim. Now the whites of your eyes are fairly well hidden, plus they are in the shadow of the hat.

The Boonie hat has another significant advantage by presenting a similar "profile" when you slowly turn your head from side to side. With a baseball style hat, the brim looks like a HUGE moving Goose Bill. So, I leave the regular hat(baseball style) in the truck and hunt in a Boonie.

That's just the thrill of the hunt. Embrace it!

Easiest way to control the shakes is to just back away 800 yards or so and snipe the animal. From long distance you can disassociate yourself from the act, and there is nothing unique or exciting about being a half dozen or more football fields from your quarry.

All sarcasm aside, that adrenaline rush and the associated fast breathing and shakes is one of the things that draws me to getting as close to game as possible. There is nothing like being 10 yards from a screaming bull elk with a bow in your hands.

As far as skills go, I am personally more impressed by those that can make a good shot under those types of conditions (animal in spitting range), that I am by those that can overcome "conditions" to correctly place a long shot. To be clear, I am not against taking long or longish shots (unless you deliberately try to get further away to make a longer more chest-thumpable shot), but it certainly doesn't have the same level of adrenaline pumping, goosebump raising excitement.

JMHO, of course.

Cheers,
Canuck

I expect Im going to get heckled for this, but essentially what we are talking about is exactly what many teachers attempt to educate their martial arts students about. Mind over matter, the ability to remain calm. This is also something that the military attempts to instill into its soldiers and is extremley valuable training. But no amount of training or knowledge will ever stop the adrenaline, only help to get a handle on it.

There are books on the subject that can be suprisingly enlightening and provide a window into the very functions of the human mind.

A couple that I personaly found particularly revealing some years ago are Tao of jeet kune do by Bruce Lee and a book of five rings by Miamoto Musashi.

Perhaps our enlisted guys or veterans could share something about the way Uncle Sam goes about teaching it.

quote:

Originally posted by Wstrnhuntr:
I expect Im going to get heckled for this, but essentially what we are talking about is exactly what many teachers attempt to educate their martial arts students about. Mind over matter, the ability to remain calm. This is also something that the military attempts to instill into its soldiers and is extremley valuable training. But no amount of training or knowledge will ever stop the adrenaline, only help to get a handle on it....

No reason for anyone to heckle you at all, because you are 100% correct.

The very best "shooters" I've known over the years all have "Mental Discipline" as a key element of their skill base. And just as you mentioned, various forms of martial arts contain this as a basic element within their beliefs.

But, it doesn't stop there. The physical demands of martial arts also helps with all aspects of shooting. The muscle control is as important as anything else.

Excellent point on your part.

As others have said, the rush of excitement and adrenaline is natural and part of what makes hunting enjoyable, and only becomes "buck fever" when it gets in the way of your making a good shot. I've found that after that initial thrill and decision that this is a legal and worthy animal to take, my mind shifts over to the shooting solution as soon as I start moving into position, and that settles me down. I am focused on the target zone, not the whole animal, and on target angle, bullet placement, possible obstacles, timing the shot, and trigger control. I can still recognize the physiological effects of the adrenaline, including time dilation, but they're in the background.

I credit a lot of this to proper training that includes shooting under stress (time pressure, instructor pressure, etc.) Jeff Cooper's mantra that the goal of practical rifle shooting is "first round hits at unknown distances with a cartridge suitable to the task against the clock" is a good one and focuses one's mind on the task at hand.

My personal experience has certainly validated for myself his nominal times of three seconds for an off-hand shot and ten seconds for a braced position shot, starting from a field ready position. One usually does not have more time in the field, and often less, before the animal no longer presents a good target.

I also agree with others that competitive shooting, even just for fun, will help you learn to master technique under stress. Of course, it won't get you used to seeing that magnificant buck of a lifetime pop out from the thicket!

"Into a soul absoloutly free from thoughts and emotion, even the tiger finds no room to insert its fierce claws. One and the same breeze passes over the pine trees on the mountian and the oak trees in the valley and why does it give different notes? No thinking, no reflecting, perfect emptiness, yet therein something moves following its own corse. The eyes see it, but no hands can take hold of it, the moon in the stream.

Clouds and mists they are midair transformations and above them eternally shine the sun and the moon. Victory is for the one, even before the battle who has no though of himself, abiding in the no-mindeness of great origin."

-A Taoist priest


One common goal of the Samauri was that they consider their lives forefiet and themselves to be already dead, and as such the angst that occurs by the natural tendancies of self preservation are curbed which allows total focus on performing their training.

This is perhaps as extreme as such mental discipline can get, but when taken seriously it is most certianly effective and can be utilized under many different pressure type situations.

Many atheletes and businessmen also use such teachings as a basis for their mental discipline. It works.

I have found that as I have started to pass up younger deer and do more watching, I have become less nervous. Now, I don't bowhunt, but I rifle hunt like one would bowhunt - tree stands tight woods etc - I've shot many deer within bow range. Nothing like being close enough to wild animals to see the shine in their eyes.

When I decide to harvest an animal, whether buck or doe or hog, I get a little jittery and it becomes worse after the harvest. But I don't think I'd hunt if I didn't get that thrill. Deep breaths, looking away, etc. all help. However, as others have stated, offseason practice and small game hunting are great ways to improve confidence - which lessens anxiety. People that give speaches, or similar activities, also get nervous but plenty of practice gets them though it. Also, get thyself to Central Texas on a doe hunt and slay 3 or 4. Gets some of that out of your blood.

blackbearhunter: I think most of the actions you are talking about are basic preditor behaviors. I have to agree with most of what folks have said here...when I started hunting deer with a bow and arrow in NE Oklahoma 15 years ago, I was lucky enough to hunt does-only on a friends place...I started in a large open clover-covered pecan grove and you could see the deer coming from 1 km out...it would drive me nuts and, before I killed my first deer with a bow, I would be shaking like a bird dog when they got within 70 yards...one of my legs would involuntarily start shaking..I over came my shakes (I think from exhaustion) and killed a doe cleanly after several days in that pecan tree. When I moved deep inside a wood lot about 300 yards away and where I could not see more than 50 yards effectivley, I never got the shakes...the deer would appear and within a couple of minutes I would shoot the deer..since I was only allowed to shoot does, I watched lots of bucks walk around me with the bow hanging on a limb. There is something about bow hunting and looking at your prey for long periods that makes us shake. I have never had the shakes with a gun. I usually get a little giddy and shakey after I have killed an animal I really wanted...

I had it real bad when i was young ,e,g 15 or16 nothing worse !!!!!!!! used to shake like shit with a 30-06 ,an old mauser when i saw a roo or hare or something ,even worse i would pull the trigger and and the damn gun would for some inexplixable reason not go ''OFF''.MY only advice is avoid caffeine like the PLAGUE"" iam sure it makes it worse, or alcohol,avoid these two!!!!! or anything that ''ups''your heart rate, believe me it works !!!! a couple of days before hunting ,stay off the shit

black bear hunter i know how you feel,one thing that used to really piss me off !!!! i would ''lineup '' on a roo and just as iwas about to pull the trigger the bastard would hop off !!! or they would hop behind a tree just as you were about put a bullet in there general direction ,used to drive me crazy ,there is something ''UP THERE I KNOW IT "" !!!!!!!!! its not all chance !!! hmmmmmmmmmmm

The advice I have given in the past is to shoulder the rifle and begin to aim before taking the safety off or pulling back the hammer.

This "interruption" in the aiming process tends to keep the momentum from taking over and having the trigger pulled before the precise spot has been located.