Had a shot at a nice doe and I rushed the shot. An easy 25 yard shot passed underneath and what should have been my first deer not only with a flintlock but first deer period ran away. Do you guys get extremely nervous when a doe is in your sights or is it just me?
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I think it would be a very rare individual who's heart rate didn't pick up when a large living breathing animal is standing only 25 yards away and you're getting ready to kill it. And usually the level of excitement is driven even higher by other things in the equation such as it being a 1st Flintlock deer, etc. The heart rate eases off a little over the years after some number of deer have been taken but it never goes completely away, or at least for me it doesn't.
A couple of the best things I think you can try is to discipline yourself to "remember to breathe"...and "not make eye contact with the deer". I try to keep myself detached and visualize where inside that deer the heart is sitting down on the sternum...and based on the angle the deer is standing, determine the exact spot on the deer that I need the ball to enter at that angle to travel through that heart.
I supposed when the adrenalin stops kicking in, deer hunting won't be all that enjoyable anymore so enjoy the rush !
:thumbsup:
A couple of the best things I think you can try is to discipline yourself to "remember to breathe"...and "not make eye contact with the deer". I try to keep myself detached and visualize where inside that deer the heart is sitting down on the sternum...and based on the angle the deer is standing, determine the exact spot on the deer that I need the ball to enter at that angle to travel through that heart.
I supposed when the adrenalin stops kicking in, deer hunting won't be all that enjoyable anymore so enjoy the rush !
:thumbsup:
Buck fever can happen with does too. :wink:ian45662 said:
That'll do it every time. Don't kick yerself too hard. Just try again. You'll get one next time. :thumbsup:
I used to get all nervous just having deer close. Kinda got over that, but, when I decide to shoot one my heart rate gets going.
But right AFTER I shoot one is when I sometimes still get shaky.
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ian45662 said:
Nope, I'm cool as a cucumber until after the shot, then the adrenalin starts to flow.
When I was 14 hunting Vermont, I had 5 Does walk in and lay down directly under the tree I was in and I was barely 12' high. Well I want to tell ya I shook so bad the muzzle of my 30-30 was doing circles and there was no way I could have shot one if I wanted to. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and thought if this was deer hunting, I'll never be able to do it. After about 15 minutes of watching them chewing their cud, I suddenly noticed I wasn't shaking anymore. I sat there for another half hour or so watching them before it got dark and they moved on. I've never experienced "The Fever" since and believe that day cured me of it. Man I can still remember how bad it was too. :haha:
well I did learn some things and the most important of those is to take my time. Just bringing up the rifle and pulling the trigger no matter how close will not insure a kill. The animal didnt know I was there but she kept moving in and out of my line of sight. Instead of trying to get her to stop I just shot when she came back into view out of the thickets. Next time I will know better
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ian45662 said:
Did you check the area good? You may have made a good shot, just hit something that you did not see. I've had more than one big bull briar or small branch jump out at the wrong time causing a miss.
No I know where my sights were when the gun went off and they were low. I cant figure out why I pulled the trigger when I knew better. My mind said no but my finger said yes. I thought it was now or never but if tunnel vision would not have kicked in I would have seen the opening she was heading for and which was where she stood there and looked at me as I frantically looked for my powder measure 
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Well don't kick youself to hard. You learned something today, your not the first guy/gal to do so and your not the last to do so. It sucks, we all know as most of us have been there, done that. We all just strive to do better next time out. :thumbsup:
If my pulse didn't race that first shot opportunity of the season I'd retire from hunting.
I get "the rush" but usually it's after picking the spot and pulling the trigger. Not always. My hunting log shows 37 whitetail harvested and one fallow deer and I still get the occasional jitters.
So far this year I've killed one tree. I thought I had a window between two saplings in a hemlock thicket and a nice buck passed by at about 60 yards. I had the hammer back and figured I'd shoot as he stepped into the window. "BOOM!" Going to the spot after he continued on his way, neither faster or slower, I found my "window" was a white pine bracketed by the two saplings and the light was just so that I thought I was seeing an opening. RATS! The buck passed behind the tree and I dead centered the trunk.
Any other time of day it looks like a tree. Believe me, I've been staring at it now for days. Finally got so disgusted with myself I moved to a different spot. :shake:
I get "the rush" but usually it's after picking the spot and pulling the trigger. Not always. My hunting log shows 37 whitetail harvested and one fallow deer and I still get the occasional jitters.
So far this year I've killed one tree. I thought I had a window between two saplings in a hemlock thicket and a nice buck passed by at about 60 yards. I had the hammer back and figured I'd shoot as he stepped into the window. "BOOM!" Going to the spot after he continued on his way, neither faster or slower, I found my "window" was a white pine bracketed by the two saplings and the light was just so that I thought I was seeing an opening. RATS! The buck passed behind the tree and I dead centered the trunk.
Any other time of day it looks like a tree. Believe me, I've been staring at it now for days. Finally got so disgusted with myself I moved to a different spot. :shake:
I still get excited, heck that's half the fun!
paulvallandigham
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I hope you will think about using a rest no matter how close the shot. Either a nearby tree, branch, or rock, or carry your own "walking stick" with you and use it to brace the forend of your rifle.
As others have said, the day you stop getting excited about a deer being within an easy shot, you need to hang it up. Don't feel badly about this miss. You have learned a lot from the experience. One of the reasons taking deer with a MLer is such a reward IS because there are many things that can go wrong- and most of us have Murphy riding in our back pocket when we go hunting! :rotf: :grin:
There will be other deer, and other shots. Just hang in there. You have more " mistakes" to make yet. :blah: :shocked2:
:surrender: :thumbsup:
As others have said, the day you stop getting excited about a deer being within an easy shot, you need to hang it up. Don't feel badly about this miss. You have learned a lot from the experience. One of the reasons taking deer with a MLer is such a reward IS because there are many things that can go wrong- and most of us have Murphy riding in our back pocket when we go hunting! :rotf: :grin:
There will be other deer, and other shots. Just hang in there. You have more " mistakes" to make yet. :blah: :shocked2:
:surrender: :thumbsup:The first deer ever gets your heart pounding. After that, you kinda go in to an automatic pilot, but your heart rate still goes up. You shouldn't have as much "pucker" factor on the next one.
I had two does coming up a deer trail in some thickets at me a couple of years ago and I remember being totally relaxed through the whole situation. That surprised me afterword. I didn't get excited until they sniffed me out at about 25 yards and then turned around and left.
I had two does coming up a deer trail in some thickets at me a couple of years ago and I remember being totally relaxed through the whole situation. That surprised me afterword. I didn't get excited until they sniffed me out at about 25 yards and then turned around and left.
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Ya know I see this said a lot and just don't understand it. Isn't it about being out in the woods and enjoying nature? I don't have to kill a deer every time I go out, hell I don't have to see one to consider it a good day. Not my fault I was cured so long ago. I see a deer, I go into a mode much like a computer. In a matter of seconds I decide if I'm going to shoot, when and where the best spot to shoot. I let more walk than I shoot, hell "Handsome" in my avatar I let walk, never lifted my gun. Now, once I've shot, I've been known to have a hard time reloading once in a while due to the adrenaline rush that hits me right after the shot.
Give up deer hunting because I don't get excited watching one coming my way, hell no, never.
Yep. That's how I figger it too. Getting all shook up before the shot is like counting chickens before they're hatched. Right after the shot is when it hits me too. There's been a few times I had to either sit down or fall down 'cause my knees were all a-quiver. :haha:
larry wv said:
Not near as tough as the half-mile drag to the house. :rotf:
Some good observations in this thread. On opening day this year I had three does within 30 yards of me. Two side-by-side the whole time so I had no clear shot and the third popped her head around a tree and made me as I aligned up. Normally I will not take a doe on opening day as, statistically, that's the best opportunity to see a buck. Before I could make the decision she was in afterburner, anyway. I could have taken a head shot, but years ago I did a close headshot on a large doe and she didn't die for what seemed an awfully long time. It was truly Reanimator/H.P.Lovecraft horror story stuff for a while and I have not since taken a head shot.
One of the reasons I'm not too concerned with the round balls ballistic limitations (as compared to conicals) is that I now wait for a good shot. Not because I am using a round ball, but because I feel that is the fair way I want to take the deer. In my early days I often resorted to taking them on the fly like a grouse, but now I've "toned it down" and want a shot that feels right. Guess I'm mellowing with age. :wink:
That, or having got used to only one shot that must be placed well has become ingrained in my noggin.
paulvallandigham
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Its common for one's heart to race when you see game approaching, no matter how many years you have spent hunting. I expect to get excited when the first Pheasant rises in front of me.
I hunt with some friends who have an agreement that we let the first bird go, just to enjoy being there, and being able to hunt again. There have been many days where we have flushed NO birds, or only hens. In reality, our performance on hitting those first flushed birds is only about 25%!!! :rotf: :rotf: That's the real reason, but we all enjoy the thrill of that flush. The fact that none of even tries to take a shot just adds more satisfaction to hunting together, and being together.
The " Shakes" we all get after shooting is absolutely due to the adrenalin rush or DUMP into the bloodstream. You don't have any control over it.
Years ago, When I was a life guard in HS swim classes, when I had to go in after someone who was in trouble, I was focused, but cool as a cucumber. I don't recall my heart racing at all. I had a job to do. But, after I got the kid hauled out safely, and down to the showers to soak under hot water to prevent him from going into shock- THEN-- I got the shakes!
Certainly, we can all train ourselves not to get the shakes before we take the shot. I have done it repeatedly. It takes me doing controlled, regular deep breathes, and slow exhales, but I have been steady as a rock. I wasn't in that control when I shot my first deer, however.
I hunt not to kill deer, but to enjoy being out there and having the possibility to see deer and kill one.
I track animals both before season, and during it, and during the rest of the year when I am out. Its a form of hunting, in that I learn more about the habits of the animals, and occasionally get close enough to see them. Because I am tracking all the time, I see all kinds of things that most hunters never notice, and what I take home is not the deciding factor on whether I have had a good time.
Good luck to you Illinois hunters this weekend. With the weather turning bad, you will need to find where the deer are holding up out of the wind, and, possibly, snow.
Don't expect them to be moving before dawn, or even after first light. Its not unusual to see them stay in their beds until what sun we do have is up and the earth warms. Second season deer are often moving after 9 A.M., and even at Noon.
Look for beds on the West or North slopes of ravines, and in the woods, where they can get out of the NW winds. I have found beds in the middle of thin woods, in the smallest of swales, where the wind is roaring overhead, but the deer stays warm in the leaves and snow. :thumbsup:
Don't pass up grassy ditches and swales that are so shallow you can't believe any deer would be lying down in them. That is typically where the deer will be, especially if its in the sun, and down out of the wind.
I hunt with some friends who have an agreement that we let the first bird go, just to enjoy being there, and being able to hunt again. There have been many days where we have flushed NO birds, or only hens. In reality, our performance on hitting those first flushed birds is only about 25%!!! :rotf: :rotf: That's the real reason, but we all enjoy the thrill of that flush. The fact that none of even tries to take a shot just adds more satisfaction to hunting together, and being together.
The " Shakes" we all get after shooting is absolutely due to the adrenalin rush or DUMP into the bloodstream. You don't have any control over it.
Years ago, When I was a life guard in HS swim classes, when I had to go in after someone who was in trouble, I was focused, but cool as a cucumber. I don't recall my heart racing at all. I had a job to do. But, after I got the kid hauled out safely, and down to the showers to soak under hot water to prevent him from going into shock- THEN-- I got the shakes!
Certainly, we can all train ourselves not to get the shakes before we take the shot. I have done it repeatedly. It takes me doing controlled, regular deep breathes, and slow exhales, but I have been steady as a rock. I wasn't in that control when I shot my first deer, however.
I hunt not to kill deer, but to enjoy being out there and having the possibility to see deer and kill one.
I track animals both before season, and during it, and during the rest of the year when I am out. Its a form of hunting, in that I learn more about the habits of the animals, and occasionally get close enough to see them. Because I am tracking all the time, I see all kinds of things that most hunters never notice, and what I take home is not the deciding factor on whether I have had a good time.
Good luck to you Illinois hunters this weekend. With the weather turning bad, you will need to find where the deer are holding up out of the wind, and, possibly, snow.
Don't expect them to be moving before dawn, or even after first light. Its not unusual to see them stay in their beds until what sun we do have is up and the earth warms. Second season deer are often moving after 9 A.M., and even at Noon.
Look for beds on the West or North slopes of ravines, and in the woods, where they can get out of the NW winds. I have found beds in the middle of thin woods, in the smallest of swales, where the wind is roaring overhead, but the deer stays warm in the leaves and snow. :thumbsup:
Don't pass up grassy ditches and swales that are so shallow you can't believe any deer would be lying down in them. That is typically where the deer will be, especially if its in the sun, and down out of the wind.
wvbuckbuster
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Don't let that miss get you down. Its called hunting not shooting anyway. As long as you keep learning from your mistakes that along with more hunting,time afield will make you a better hunter. I was told long ago that when you get that first shot into a deer it will help you handle the fever. As others have said it just takes time. So keep going and enjoy every minute of it. It will all come around for you! :v
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