After reading through a local hunting forum I visit frequently I ran across a discussion where a member had posted a topic asking “How do you deal with Buck Fever”. There was a link provided in the post and from there folks started telling their experiences of how they deal with the excitement of a huge buck in their presence. The responses were very wide ranged and for some, the feeling that I get appears to be no longer a part of their hunting experiences.

Personally, I get DEER FEVER no matter the time or place. I get a feeling that runs through me like no other when I’m in the woods and a deer is spotted. That feeling is what makes me a hunter, not a golfer. (No harm in golf, it just doesn’t do anything for me). The adrenaline rush I get whether the deer is 300yards out across a bean field or just 40 yards behind me in a thicket is what deer hunting is all about to me. I can be 15 feet up in a climber with my bow in hand and get the shakes like you’ve never seen as a lone doe makes her way towards my stand.

Knowing how to control the overall excitement and rush is where experience comes into play. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve had to back out from shooting an animal because the shakes got the best of me. With time this all changed. I still get that initial burst of adrenaline and I still get excited, but, I’ve learned to concentrate on the task at hand which means placing my shot in the best possible area to take the animal out quickly. After the shot, I tend to make life easy on the squirrels because I usually shake all the remaining acorns out the tree before being able to climb down. Knowing that it’s my duty as a hunter to make sure I don’t wound this animal probably helps me more than anything else.

The day I lose these feelings will be the day that my hunting career will be over. I’ll gladly place my guns back in the safe, probably sale my bow, and move on to something else. Maybe I’ll try golf again?