Captcurt
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A friend who had just killed a bear gave me the best advice ever when I asked him what it was like. His reply was, "Just like shooting a rabbit. It is no different. Just a bigger and easier target."
I want to avoid an adrenaline rush
- Thread starter MidwestMatthew
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ZeroJunk
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The rush is part of it. If you hunt long enough it will go away and hunting will never be quite the same again. Embrace it.
Bullseye
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Think about field dressing the deer and dragging it wherever you have to after it's shot once you get it in your sights. That will calm you down.
The shooting is the easy part.
I usually think about the least destructive and most effective shot and where it might go afterwards before it gives up the spirit.
Now this comes from a guy who never got a trophy rack. A 12 point buck would get anyone excited just seeing one. That will get my adrenaline pumping just like the next guy.
Just visualize different scenarios and think ahead how you will deal with them while you have nothing else to do in your stand waiting on your deer.
Remember, safety first too. Getting all excited may cloud out what is beyond your target.
Good luck.
The shooting is the easy part.
I usually think about the least destructive and most effective shot and where it might go afterwards before it gives up the spirit.
Now this comes from a guy who never got a trophy rack. A 12 point buck would get anyone excited just seeing one. That will get my adrenaline pumping just like the next guy.
Just visualize different scenarios and think ahead how you will deal with them while you have nothing else to do in your stand waiting on your deer.
Remember, safety first too. Getting all excited may cloud out what is beyond your target.
Good luck.
While "buck fever" doesnt hit with near the force it did when I was a child, it does still happen to a degree. Personally, I don't WANT my hunting experience to be an emotionless affair. I'd be a liar if I said excitement wasn't part of my motivation to hunt, and would also be less than honest if I said there wasn't a moment of two of sadness....with respect for the animal I've killed at its source....every time I take a deer's life. For me, on a personal level, if those things were lacking, hunting wouldn't be the affair it is for me. If killing one of God's creatures arouses no more emotion in me than tying my shoes, I've lost the respect for the animal I feel is a necessary part of hunting. Taking life is an emotional thing. I'm not sure being to do so without any emotional response is a normal, good or endearing quality to possess. For most hunters, the idea isn't to eliminate the excitmement, but rather to control it to the extent of making a good shot, whch for many people takes experience and discipline. To be excited after ths hot, celebrating one's success, is a perfectly normal emotion or response. My nephew killed a 22 in. wide whitetail buck. He was calm enough to execute the shot at beyond 400 yards, but when the deer went down, his knees were shaking to the point he could barely walk!!!!!
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jmorris
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Do it enough times and it won't be a big deal. Might try just watching some through the scope for awhile. I always take a good book with me, gives me something to do between "glassing sessions".
Nothing is going to get rid of the excitement your first time though, hunting or other activities even.
Nothing is going to get rid of the excitement your first time though, hunting or other activities even.
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Not trying to be TOO funny...
Do this the morning before opening day:
More seriously, if you get your adrenaline pump a good workout in other ways, more stimulating than seeing a game animal, you probably will find that you can control that rush quite a bit better. If it is critical that you remain calm during the "extreme" psychic impulse of taking a shot, it would probably mean that you need to reduce how extreme your brain and system feels that moment to be.
If seeing a deer and shooting at it is the most exhilarating thing that you ever get to experience, then it's probably going to get you hyper excited and shaky. If it is merely a pleasant experience somewhere in the upper middle of your spectrum, not such a big deal and so you'll be calmer. If you can get it down to the level of excitement produced by watching TV sitting in your recliner, you should be a rock-steady shot!
Do this the morning before opening day:
More seriously, if you get your adrenaline pump a good workout in other ways, more stimulating than seeing a game animal, you probably will find that you can control that rush quite a bit better. If it is critical that you remain calm during the "extreme" psychic impulse of taking a shot, it would probably mean that you need to reduce how extreme your brain and system feels that moment to be.
If seeing a deer and shooting at it is the most exhilarating thing that you ever get to experience, then it's probably going to get you hyper excited and shaky. If it is merely a pleasant experience somewhere in the upper middle of your spectrum, not such a big deal and so you'll be calmer. If you can get it down to the level of excitement produced by watching TV sitting in your recliner, you should be a rock-steady shot!
MidwestMatthew
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Well, I went on my first hunt today and was successful - harvested a small buck! While some may not consider this a good thing, I'm happy to report I was as calm as I'd hoped to be. Not nonchalance, but just a very clear sense of what I was there to do. It went great and I'm looking forward to getting out again!
Nobodies opinion matters but yours on that topic. I don't define the quality of a hunt by the size of some antlers...and I know many others who don't either.
It's always fun to shoot a big buck...but for me that's not why I go.
If you're happy with that deer, then it was a good hunt. Congrats.
MidwestMatthew
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Thanks - I was told he should be good eating. 
What I meant might not be a good thing to some hunters is that I was able to do it all so calmly. But for me, that was part of the enjoyment of the experience. Hopefully yesterday's deer is the first of many!
What I meant might not be a good thing to some hunters is that I was able to do it all so calmly. But for me, that was part of the enjoyment of the experience. Hopefully yesterday's deer is the first of many!
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