Getting nervous!

[adberry69]

So what do you guys practice when bow hunting and deer comes in real close and you start to get the shakes. I have missed two deer so far. How do you calm yourself for the perfect shot.

 

[DntBrnDPig]

Get in the zone

 

[Moonman]

Breathing deep breaths. In through the nose out through the mouth

 

[UTGrad]

Take beta blocker before going hunting.

 

[adberry69]

Like that's smart

 

[TNDeerGuy]

After you have decided it is a shooter. Practice slow deep breathing, close your eyes for a few seconds to relax. Open your eyes and focus only on the spot you want to shoot at....do not look at anything else.

 

[UTGrad]

After you have decided it is a shooter. Practice slow deep breathing, close your eyes for a few seconds to relax. Open your eyes and focus only on the spot you want to shoot at....do not look at anything else.

Are you a ninja warrior?

 

[Pinwheeled]

I freak out after I shoot one. Before the shot, I'm good. Everywhere I hunt is so thick that I'm just focusing on finding a shooting lane.

 

[DMAG]

I just tell myself "Hold it together, your taking a life"

 

[UTGrad]

Honestly it also depends on how quick the opportunity arises. If a deer comes in on me quickly, I don't have much time to get all worked up until AFTER the shot. If I have to wait for several minutes for the deer to get close I'm worked up when its time to draw.

 

[catman529]

just something needs practice, best advice I can think of based on my own mess ups, SLOW DOWN....rushed shots will make misses and injured deer that run away never to be found. Take a few extra seconds to be sure the pin is where you want it. If you're up in a tree you want to aim low... say the deer's at 20 yards, put your 20 yard pin on the brisket, going for a mid/low heart shot. If it hits its mark it's a heart shot, if it hits high (probably will) it's a double lung shot. Don't aim for the general area of the vitals, I've done that and paid for it. My best shots were heart shots because I had a point to aim at, that being the crease between the elbow and the ribcage. Finally when you do find your pin resting steady over that bulls eye, don't jerk the release, just carefully squeeze the shot off while keeping the pin steady. Aside from rushing shots, I've just plain pulled a couple because I was nervous. I shot an 8 pt two years ago, first shot hit a tree, the buck came back and the next shot hit him in the liver. He only made a little past 100 yards and I was lucky to find him easily. I got too excited and nervous about that... it's part of it. But remember, it's just a deer. Better to let it walk than to spend hours looking for nothing.... Tell yourself two things before shooting- slow down, it's just a deer. If you think you can probably kill it if you make that shot, don't shoot. You got to be sure you are locked onto your target and confident the arrow will fly where you are aiming. Check for twigs and stuff that can knock the arrow off course too.

 

[adberry69]

Thanks catman.

 

[UTGrad]

Saturday I had the adrenaline rush on a doe that came in on me. The shakes are the result of your body dumping loads of adrenaline into your system. I always remind myself that the shakes will pass shortly once my body absorbs the adrenaline.

I wasn't joking about the beta blocker. I occasionally have anxiety attacks under acute stress. Physiologically there is no difference between a panic attack and "buck fever". Both are the "fight or flight" response necessary for early human survival. My doctor prescribed a low dose of metoprolol to take before an event that might cause an anxiety attack like public speaking or flying. The stuff works amazingly well. It blocks the effect of adrenaline on the body. I've taken it before going hunting and I won't get the shakes nor will my heart beat out of my chest. Mentally I'm pumped but physically my body is normal.

I don't take them everytime I hunt, just the first few hunts of the season cause I'm so pumped up.

 

[adberry69]

What kind of broadheads you using? I'm slinging the rage 2 inch cheisel tip.

 

[WRbowhunter]

Just relax and when the shakes will stop. Once they stop concentrate on the mechanics. Archery is pretty simple. Draw , anchor , aim, release. Where it gets tricky is when you rearrange the order. Guess I'm lucky as I don't get the shakes until after the shot. I did have a patch of target panic for about 2 years but I think I have pretty much worked through it

 

[BallisticV]

Tell your self if you don't settle the heck down.. Your gonna keep missing... Seriously. Lol :) its mental you gotta realize it's game time compose your self and make it happen..!!!

 

[UTGrad]

Today I killed a buck and had the shakes after I shot. He came in on me so quick I didn't have time to get worked up until I after I saw him take a dirt nap. Needless to say I spilled half my powder when trying to reload lol

 

[tree_ghost]

I have had to overcome buck fever countless times. I concentrate on slowing down my breathing and picking exactly what shooting lane I want to bust him in. It takes practice to calm down while the deer are there but I wouldn't change the old knee knocking after the shot for anything!

 

[Vince]

Praying here to see one so I can feel whatever that buck fever/panic shake is..lol.

 

[UTGrad]

Here's another way to overcome buck/deer fever but it takes some discipline and practice.

Go hunting and take your weapon but when you see a deer make the decision to not shoot. You don't "have" to shoot a deer when you see one. Expose yourself several times to deer within bow range before actually picking up the bow and taking a shot.

This is a form of "exposure therapy" that is frequently used in psychiatry. Try it sometime.

 

[UTGrad]

It's made a real difference when I simply tell myself "you don't have to kill this deer, you're free to let it walk". Odd as this sounds it calms my nerves. As hunters we get so fired up that it's overwhelming when the opportunity comes to kill a deer. Remember you can let a few walk.

 

[BallisticV]

Here's another way to overcome buck/deer fever but it takes some discipline and practice.

Go hunting and take your weapon but when you see a deer make the decision to not shoot. You don't "have" to shoot a deer when you see one. Expose yourself several times to deer within bow range before actually picking up the bow and taking a shot.

This is a form of "exposure therapy" that is frequently used in psychiatry. Try it sometime.

This is very true! I second this!

 

[catman529]

Here's another way to overcome buck/deer fever but it takes some discipline and practice.

Go hunting and take your weapon but when you see a deer make the decision to not shoot. You don't "have" to shoot a deer when you see one. Expose yourself several times to deer within bow range before actually picking up the bow and taking a shot.

This is a form of "exposure therapy" that is frequently used in psychiatry. Try it sometime.

This is very true! I second this!

that is a good point. I don't get the shakes as much when I let the pressure off. I started passing does during the month of November, and when a decent buck finally walked under me on the 27th, I didn't get the shakes or anything. I had already killed 5 does with a bow and a spike with a rifle, and let several others walk by in range, so the nerves were worked out.

 

[StalkingWolf]

Calming you mind and maintaining your focus can be a difficult thing. I usually try to take slow deep breaths through my nose and try to tell myself to relax. Putting all of it together at the moment of truth is something that experience will teach you. I can tell you from experience that one of my biggest mistakes was being scared to death that the deer was going to get by me and rushing the shot. As others have said in the above posts, you must take that extra second or two to get settled in before releasing the arrow.

 

[StalkingWolf]

Here's another way to overcome buck/deer fever but it takes some discipline and practice.

Go hunting and take your weapon but when you see a deer make the decision to not shoot. You don't "have" to shoot a deer when you see one. Expose yourself several times to deer within bow range before actually picking up the bow and taking a shot.

This is a form of "exposure therapy" that is frequently used in psychiatry. Try it sometime.

This is very true! I second this!

that is a good point. I don't get the shakes as much when I let the pressure off. I started passing does during the month of November, and when a decent buck finally walked under me on the 27th, I didn't get the shakes or anything. I had already killed 5 does with a bow and a spike with a rifle, and let several others walk by in range, so the nerves were worked out.

I agree. When I know I am going to pass on a deer that is coming, I do not get nervous at all. When I have my mind made up that I am going to shoot whatever comes by, I get nervous the minute I see one coming.

 

[Outrigger]

Adberry69, when I read your first post and read thru most of the responses, I knew exactly how I was going to address your question. When I came to UTGrad's response, he basically said what I had in mind. I will describe it in different words. --- Bottom line, don't put pressure on yourself to shoot a deer. I discovered the value of this years ago when one morning I missed an easy shot at a doe. As she trotted off, I told myself, "that's OK, that's perfectly OK". The deer was not wounded, and In all of her God made beauty, she was still in the woods, making it a great place. I did not need the meat to survive and I had nobody to impress. I realized how completely unnecessary it was for me to kill the deer to have a good hunt. From that moment forward, I approached the sport differently and became a much better hunter. Ever since, I have handled every deer encounter with the mindset that I don't have to take a shot. Approaching the sport that way took "sooo" much pressure off of me. All within the same season, I became proficient at harvesting deer with a bow. I pride myself on my shots taken to deer harvested ratio. It has almost been one to one for the last twenty or so years. I only take shots that I am completely comfortable with. That means that I don't kill as many deer as some hunters, but that is perfectly OK because I don't have to shoot a deer, and I don't have to impress other hunters.

I will also second the comments about observing deer. Just watching them at close range will do wonders for you. You will know when the time is right to take a shot, and more importantly when not to take a shot.