Do you guys get nervous?

[Sam Ubl]

Lungbuster couldn't have said it better. . .

[Singing Bridge]

I definitely feel excitement when a nice buck walks into view, but I wouldn't describe it as being nervous. I would defintely get excited and nervous when I was younger, though.

[DevinJD2007]

It depends on how long it takes for them to come into bow range for me. But i usually don't get to bad till after the shot like Chris said then I get the shakes real bad and end up having to sit down before i fall out of the tree...

[Casper]

Just after the shot I get the shakes. My heart beat increases dramatically when they come in slow and I know I should get a shot, but havent had buck fever for a while.

[Indianahunter]

I am usually cool and focused thinking about anchor points, grip, bubble level, and pin placement, but once that arrow sinks I am a basket case, and usually freezing to death, I think that must be from the adrenaline rush.

[lungbuster]

Here's something interested I learned in canada last fall on a bear hunt.......I had my Dad along as cameraman and we swapped when it was his turn to be behind the bow. Well a bear came in and old Dad (running the camera) started shaking like a leaf, now I know it wasn't because he had never seen a bear before, because he had killed two up to this point and seen numerous others in the wild. He was getting the fever because he was afraid he wouldn't get the shot on CAMERA! I found it humorous because I have never seen him shake so much over any animal before, especially one he wasn't even trying to kill! Just goes to show you don't have to be the one to drop the string or pull the trigger to get excited! I let that bear come in 4 more times before I decided to take it and each time he complained about getting cold and got the shakes even worse!

So I guess if you ever loose that pump when hunting, try bringing a video camera along the next time and that pump might just return!

[dan]

Fixed the poll... and bumped this post.

[rack addict]

im usually good before the shot its like i go into the "zone" after the shot im a mess!

[BigHunt]

right when i seem them i go into shock then i calm down and go in to bighunt mode and make the shot after the shot i have to either sit down or turn around and grab the tree before i fall out

[UPbowhunter]

after the shot mostly anymore.

[Josh]

I stay in solid kill mode then get excited after the shot, I just dont get the shakes anymore! Kinda wish i still did though

[NightwishMike]

im usually good before the shot its like i go into the "zone" after the shot im a mess!

X2. Especially with the recurve!!!

[JV NC]

35 or so bow deer in.....Yeah....I get nervous. I told my wife, recently, when I shot my last buck....my 47yr old heart was beating so hard (just before the shot opp.) it scared me (literally). After the shot, I was fine. If I'd seen him go down (either of my '11 bucks), I might have reacted differently.

Here's the thing, though.....it used to get my heart elevated when I knew I was going to shoot (at) a doe. Nowadays, does don't do that to me. I wish they still did. I hope I get that back.

[swamp-assassin]

i havnet ever been able to drop the string on a a big buck so i cant say! ....i will say that for whatever reason, i seem to go into what i call "predator mode" whenever i am about to make a kill...i dont get nervous, i dont get shaky, i just almost go on instinct...when i shot my first buck this year with my rifle i was standing up shooting freehand, which is not one of my strengths and i drilled him in the lungs. ive made quiet a few good shots on does and it just seems like afterwards, i cannot really remember the sequence but i seemed to just go on instinct...when ive had bucks walk by my stand that i passed on, i didnt shake or nothing....but idk,...if a slob walked underneath me i would probably shake...but i think the predator mode would kick in and i would drill him...confidence is key

[Stanley]

I don't get nervous. I don't get buck fever. I do get an adrenalin rush when I kill a nice buck. I get a feeling of satisfaction of having been able to kill another one. I get a buzz when I walk up to a nice buck laying dead on the ground. The biggest part of the hunt is the anticipation of the hunt, much more than the kill for me.