“Buck fever,” if you haven’t had it, take up golf. Getting really close to big game animals is so exciting that your heart races, your knees may shake, and all that practicing in the back yard suddenly is forgotten. Casey, a young man in his mid 20’s’ moved into my neighborhood and noticed the 3-D deer target in my back yard. He asked about bowhunting, said he’d always wanted to try it, and we quickly became friends. Luckily, we were about the same size so that I loaned him one of my bows and set him up with arrows and the other gear he’d need. An athletic young man, after four shots with the new set-up, he could group arrows in the kill zone of my deer target from 20 yards. I was amazed how quickly he learned and how proficient he soon became. When deer season arrived, I put him in my favorite stand while I hunted 100 yards away. Soon after daylight, I heard him shoot and saw
two deer running from his location. “I missed badly,” he whispered after climbing down. “I think I forgot to look through the peep sight.” Pure and simple, he got buck fever even shooting at a doe, a result of enhanced excitement interfering with a normal routine. Josh Honeycutt will give you eight tips for beating buck fever in the upcoming post, information I should have read last week. Recently, I got a chance at one of the biggest bucks I’ve seen in years and did everything right but one. I spotted the buck, grunted and rattled it into range and then selected the wrong reticle on my crossbow sight. Luring the buck within range was like dragging an anvil up hill. The buck with long wide beams took several steps closer and then watched and listened for two-to-three minutes before taking a few more steps. It must have done that 10 times during the half hour approach, all the while trying to spot the bucks that were fighting and clashing antlers. My arrow struck just below the chest, an exact 10-yard error. Even with 50 years of deer hunting experience, it happened to me… simply too much drama with the slow approach.
I can’t speak for you, but buck fever is one of the reasons I go deer hunting. Of course, the main reason we go is to bring home nourishing food for our families. But we also like the thrill of seeing — and shooting — big bucks. It’s part of the experience. And the adrenaline always kicks into overdrive when a big-racked buck steps into view. For most hunters, the emotions that rise up and boil over prove enough to shake them to their core — which is good — but as ethical hunters, we must be able to control those emotions in order to make an effective, lethal shot on deer.
I’d never encourage anyone to “cure” buck fever. If you lose that adrenaline rush, the core has been stripped from this sacred, adventurous way of life. Instead, I do encourage you to follow these eight steps to help you temporarily desensitize yourself during the moment of truth. It’s okay to get rattled. Just learn how to shake the shakes prior to settling the pin or crosshairs on that big buck’s vitals.
1. Use a Practice Regimen
