MISS!!!!!!

[Protrucker]

I don't think you really ever get over the accellerated heart rate when game presents itself. That's not to say that there won't be times that you remain totally calm. I've been hunting for almost 40 years now & harvested a lot of game. I have no idea how many deer, but it's got to be in the hundreds. I took six (5 with flintlock) last year alone. I hunt multiple states. Opening day this year, I had a small buck walk in just before it was good light. I found myself smiling & thinking, "it's still there" (the excitement) because my heart was beating at a good fast rate. Like Swampy says, I won't quit hunting when the excitement isn't there. Sometimes it just happens without the excitement, but either way I very much enjoy the time in the woods.

Oh, the fever......if I feel the excitement when I first see the animal, I can calm down enough to make the shot. It's after the shot or the animal leaves without me having an opportunity that I get a chill & the shakes.

I've also been known to do some really stupid things afterward too. The best muzzleloader buck that I ever shot was out of sight in a single bound. I tried to reload as fast as I could & had trouble ramming the ball home so, even knowing better, rammed the rod against a tree, promptly breaking the rod. Now what......I didn't have a way to take a follow-up shot if needed. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary.

I have lot's of other stories, :yakyak: the same as any experienced hunter, but the point is to learn from your experience & continue hunting.
:2

Good luck on your next hunt. :v

 

[Pork Chop]

Let me preface this by saying that I am not the buckslayer that a lot of folks on here seem to be. I have shot a grand total of 3 deer. I don't recall the buck fever before the first one I shot, but I did on the second two. The difference was the timing of it all I believe. On the first one, the deer was being run by dogs. It popped out on the trail directly across from me. It all happened so quickly that I didn't have time for the rush. Once I shot though, it hit me. The others were this past weekend. I shot them from a stand, and watched them walk in casually and had plenty of time to think things out. The jitters hit me quickly (especially when two walked out together) and stayed until the shot was taken and a little more time passed.

I can understand what folks are saying about the rush though. If you stop ever getting the rush, then the thrill of the kill is gone. The other aspects (being in the woods, observing nature, escaping the horrors of day to day life) are still valid reasons to continue to hunt.

Oh, I can recall getting jazzed while squirrel hunting too...

 

[Turbojet 54]

Hey Ian, it happens. If you are getting deer within 25 yards, you are doing things right. You are 99% there. There will be more. The more time in the woods & the more deer you see will help you get used to them. It is always exciting. Sometimes I get excited hearing a squirrell running up behind me, just knowing a deer is about to run over me. Spend more time with them, even in the off season if possible. We have a lot of deer on our property that we feed just 75' from the house. We put about 15 pounds of corn out every evening after dinner. If the deer show up before we put the corn out, they stand & stare at the garage door waiting. When we carry the bucket of corn out they actually wag their tails like a dog & stomp. I can't shoot these deer, they trust me. I drive 2 hours to hunt deer that I don't know. :rotf: Anyway, I think this keeps me relaxed when I see deer while hunting. I am used to being close to them.