Do you guys get nervous?

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Do you get nervous when shooting a big buck?

Yes. Before the shot.
59
37%
After the shot
90
56%
No. not at all
11
7%
 
Total votes: 160
basspro05
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby basspro05 » Sat Aug 19, 2017 2:51 pm

The whole time a deer is in sight...I'm an amateur though...had a nice buck within 25yds last season I was shaking like crazy...year before had a good one at 6 yds same thing intense shaking and heart palpitations...it's a pretty cool feeling.


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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby JoeFranchise » Sun Aug 20, 2017 3:00 am

I used to get nervous but for the past 5-6 years I've made a very conscious mental effort to entirely control my emotions. I go in to killer mode, really a heightened sense of everything going on around me, before and after the shot. I like to think I am now in complete control of every big buck encounter I have in the woods.

Joe
matt1336
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby matt1336 » Sun Aug 20, 2017 3:53 am

matt1336 wrote:Yeah I do. I think it's one of the area's I need to improve on as a bow hunter. I'm getting better though. To bad it's cost me a couple nice ones. I make awesome shots on does though!



I'm happy to say that I've improved on calming my nerves since 2010. I don't think I get nervous, but there's no better feeling than having an animal that you want to shoot inside your range. Knowing that you fooled him or her is what I take pride in. When I prepare for the shot I'm thinking about how I can kill that animal as humanely and quickly as possible. So now, for me it's not that I'm nervous but it's my predatory senses that make hunting so fun and what drives me to continue to work hard at killing bucks and filling the freezer for my family.
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby Wapiti » Sun Aug 20, 2017 4:19 am

I get nervous before the shot and suffer the emotional dump and shakes afterwards.
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby ERICBROOKS » Mon Aug 21, 2017 1:25 am

Before the the shot I'm in complete kill mode.
Normally pretty chill after the shot as well.
Last years buck with the difficult situation leading up the the moment of the shot,the size of the buck, hunting on my late grandpas farm, I was an emotional mess after I released that arrow. Good stuff!!
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rempse2
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby rempse2 » Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:24 am

Funny but it seems like every time is different. There is always that initial rush of excitement and adrenalin however there are times when it persist and grows worse where you feel yourself getting a little jittery your breathing is heavy and your heart is pounding until the shot.

I guess it most depends on the situation. The number one factor is how confident I am with my ability to move without being picked off. How close the deer is when I initially see it and how it's moving. I've had times when a nice buck would come out close but be moving with a purpose so there is no time to let the emotions of the situation play on me. Like others have said your instincts just take over and you are able to get the shot off effectively.

For me the worse is if the deer comes out close but is not a shot initially and just slowly feeding....lifting its head looking listening...I feel like I can't move, Then the excitement turns to fear...and doubt.. Am i going to get the shot off...don't blow it....That's when i try to just focus on my breathing and pull my self together for the eventual shot.
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby Buckbreath » Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:44 am

Honestly, I get nervous the moment I decide I'm gonna shoot. Doesn't matter if it's a doe or a big buck. For whatever reason, the two biggest I arrowed I was stone cold. Both of them guys came in fast though and I didn't have a lot of time to think about it.
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby tbunao » Mon Aug 21, 2017 8:57 am

The biggest when I was 16 and then again when I began hunting again at 34 it didn't even register what was going on until after the shot.... then I'm glad I had a harness on. Does for some reason I have to tell myself to settle down and think...
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby G.Tubbs » Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:23 am

I don't get nervous with doe's any more. Probably because I see so many and have a chance to harvest a couple every season before I see any big bucks to shoot at. Last season I had a decent buck come in to check a doe that had been feeding below me for quite a while. I watched this buck come clear across the wood lot like he was on a string. That give my mind enough time to get me all worked up. I can remember when he was closing the distance my chest was pounding and my arms and legs were feeling weak. The big bodied eight point was mow at what I thought was thirty yards and slowed his pace... I drew back, put the thirty yard pin on the front shoulder and let the arrow fly. In one swift motion the buck dropped to his knees. Like in slow motion I watched the arrow sail over his back and disappear into the thick grass. The buck continued toward the doe and the wandered off like nothing happened. Later I broke out my range finder to see that the buck was at 24 yards when I let fly the arrow that I never found. :violin:
That was an exciting hunt that I will not forget! I did not a shoot at another buck last season. I got plenty of practice on the two other doe's I harvested after wards.
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby minnesotahunter » Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:26 pm

Its all about how long I have to watch. I watched a doe come in for a half hour last year and was shaking like a leaf. I attempted to clumsily draw back and spooked her. An hour later I shot the biggest buck of my life with no nervousness. It came in on a line in a matter of a minute or 2.... I shot and then had to hang my bow up and get down on my knees because I thought I was going to pass out.
"If you consider an unsuccessful hunt to be a waste of time, then the true meaning of the chase eludes you all together"
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hunter_mike
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby hunter_mike » Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:37 pm

An awesome hunting friend of mine explained to me that when you start to transition from a buck hunter to a buck murderer, you stop getting nervous when its killing time and you start getting extremely confident instead. :mrgreen: Was a great conversation
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
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cougar
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby cougar » Wed Aug 23, 2017 1:48 am

Last arrow I released, I was sitting face into a 35 mph gusty wind, blowing down off this large sloping hay field. Its maybe 30 degrees out... Been in the tree about 90 minutes watching a knoll with 4 massive white oaks when a buck comes in w/ 45 min of light left. Now, I was borderline freezing before hand, and moving around a bit to stay warm, shivering and now i'm trying to remain dead still as this guy feeds in. Head on... behind a tree... feeding ... watched him for close to twenty minutes and he steps into the clear broadside... Pull back let 'er fly... wrong pin, right over his back! Buck jumps back and then trots off, circles downwind, gig up... I was shaking HARDER THAN EVER when i put the bow down. Combo of adrenaline and shivering, just convulsing. Decided to forgo the last 15 minutes and just climb down and do some air squats and jumping jacks to warm up. :lol:
row row row your boat, gently down the stream ...
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bowfreak8
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby bowfreak8 » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:33 am

I used to get all shook up whenever i saw a nice buck. I'd get the shakes so bad i was afraid the deer would see me shaking. Now i go into predator mode and tell myself this is what i'm here to do and what I've prepared for. It helps me remain calm. After the shot all those nerves i bottled up tend to rush out all at once. I think this is just the evolution of a hunter.
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<DK>
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:40 am

cbay wrote:I'm shaking just reading about it! lol Used to get pretty rattled. These days i'd like to think i can turn it off and bear down and kill the animal. Got pretty excited this year when an old stud gave me a show pestering a doe. Had he cooperated i think i could have got it done. That's a long ways from my younger years. :doh:


:lol:

How come both is not an option? :shifty:
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MDSikajunkie
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Re: Do you guys get nervous?

Unread postby MDSikajunkie » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:48 am

I still get butterflies and a little bit amped when ANY deer I decide to shoot is headed into range. But I do get decidedly more "SHAKY" when I have my recurve in my hand. It's almost like pure adrenaline rush.

It's awesome! I think that is why I am gradually moving toward the traditional archery.

Takes more planning and better stand location to get it done.

I hope it never goes away! I love it!


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