Like must of other big game hunters I get a case of buck fever when ###I see a legal buck. But, my fever is more like maleria. I get the shakes big time. I shot a nice buck last year in Colorado, he was a 4x5 250 lbs. Man when I saw him my knees were buckeling and my hands were shaking. What do you guys do to try to keep the fever to a minimum?
I wait as long as I feel comfortable in doing so. If nobody else is in the area, and the animal is unaware of my presence, I will put the gun up, sight on, and wait until I can settle down.
Its funny. ###I never got the fever shooting deer. ###But a couple of weeks ago I got a shot at a pig. ###I did not get the fever (or so I thought) while shooting, but afterwards my knees were knocking from the rush. ###I missed that pig, but managed to shoot a bigger one about an hour later. ###That first pig did manage to get shot by a buddy in our triangle offense. ###No fever on the second pig and it was about half the distance from first (15 yards). ###Here's a link if your interested in reading about the whole story:
QH, we all get some form of buck fever at one time or another. The more self-control you have the less severe it is. Also the more you have the chance to see game animals in a nonhunting situation the more you can control yourself when you do. If you went to a game farm or just observed wild game in the off-season, would you get buck fever then? I would hope not. It's all about mental self-control. On the other hand, I think everyone NEEDS a little buck fever. If I didn't get at least a little "shiver up the bowel" when I encounter a target animal, I'd have to look for something else in life to do.
I'm with Songdog, I usually get it after I've made the shot. ###Although, there once was this pig that was standing still, broadside at about 75 yards....
My first deer, yep, I got it. ###Got the deer also (with a bow). ###Then I moved to hunting with a rifle. ###After hunting with a bow (where the deer are walking underneath your stand) hunting with a rifle was not quite as "fever" prone. ###Now after the kill (like previously mentioned), my heart still starts going!
This past fall, I went back home to Texas to do some whitetail hunting. ###It was my little brother's first hunting experience. ###The first day, both my little brother and I were in the same stand when a nice little buck came by (out of view from my little brother). ###I calmly took aim, settled my breathing, and took the shot. ###Boom! ###My little brother was all excited, and started crawling out of the stand. ###I told him to wait a sec, "let's let him fall hard just in case it wasn't a "light switcher" shot". ###As we were sitting there, my little brother turned around and wispered.........."Is that your heart?" ### My heart was pounding so hard he could hear it through my jacket! ###LOL! ###The next day, he found out what it was like firsthand! (Bagged his first deer/buck.)
The point is, we all get it. ###The difference is whether or not you can have enough discipline to put it aside, until the task at hand is completed. ###It sure is something, feeling your heart race and the blood pounding in your ears...something premordial that transcends time itself...
I don't practice shooting my rifle much during the off-season. Maybe that's is why I get the shakes when I am setting up for the shot. I guess I don't have confidence on my shooting. I also do alot of second guessing. Do any of you know of a good buck fever psychologist? :)
Good answer (LOL!) ###Some times I guess I can get a little too sarcastic. ###When you run in Dr. Time can you get an address so I can get a referal from him? ###:smile-big-blue:
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