Buck Fever?

S

sjemac

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Foothills, Alberta
Just finished 2 hard days hunting. For the fourth year running I've "guided" a friend from Calgary on deer hunts in the area. For the fourth year running he has left without a deer. Now over those 4 years he has fired at no less than 12 deer and has missed every one -- including two bucks this weekend. He said it was his rifle and he bought a brand new one this year. Same results however.

He can shoot sub 2" groups at 200 yards. Has hunted pheasants and birds for 50 years and has shot moose, deer and elk in the past -- albeit 30 years ago. I can only conclude that he is getting some "buck fever". His last chance for this season is next Sunday, when he will be coming up again for a one day hunt before leaving for vacation. I've been getting him onto deer, including a heartbreakingly huge 5 point, but whether it is 50 yards or 250 yards, the bullet ain't hitting.

Any tips on dealing with buck fever in the OTHER guy?
 
Try convincing him the antlers are so-so, even if they are huge. I know a guy who claims to be the best shot in the world, but on a deer both he and his Wife shot, his bullet hit the rack. I think alot of folks focus on the antlers more than the deer, and aim for them.
 
pharaoh2 said:
Try convincing him the antlers are so-so, even if they are huge. I know a guy who claims to be the best shot in the world, but on a deer both he and his Wife shot, his bullet hit the rack. I think alot of folks focus on the antlers more than the deer, and aim for them.
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Ahhh. That would make sense. He's tends to be shooting OVER just about everything (when I get to see where the bullet hits). Lined up horizontally behind the shoulder but vertically head high would make sense for where his bullets are going.

He never seems flustered or overly excited and in fact many more animals have gotten away because he takes so long to get ready. Thinking the time thing may be compensation for not "wanting" to take the shot though.
 
"There he is. Take him when you're ready" has been repeated in a low calm voice a dozen times. After the miss and the exhaustive search for blood/sign, there are no recriminations but a simple, "Let's check out the next ridge (valley/field - whatever)". A bit more direction may be required on my part.

Getting to be a personal issue with me now. I feel worse when he fails to tag out than I would if I failed to tag out.
 
some of the guys i hunt with are always missing deer. can shoot @ targets all day long. as soon as there's a deer involved " the guns off, it's a piece of sh*t, i'm trading it in for something new!!!" they need to learn to take some deep breaths and relax, don't rush the shot. 99% of the time it's not the gun.
 
I won't speak for your friend, but for myself, this first hunt had some weird physical reactions. From the moment I saw the deer, I noticed my heart rate go up, and felt nervous/excited.

I sort of planned in my head to remember to breathe, have the cross-hairs on the boiler room, give a whistle, and take the shot.

I'm guessing within 2-3 seconds, I had the shot away. I was shaking by the time I sat the gun on my lap. I suppose if I sat and watched a big buck for too long, it would make it harder for me to control the shot.

Then again, him having so many deer in the cross-hairs, maybe getting excited isn't his problem. My .02:)
 
Heh, thats funny cause my experience was exactly the same as yours sask.. Shot my first deer on Monday and I would describe it the same. We sat in total silence for two hours and suddenly the deer came from nowhere. My heart jumped and then stayed up there. I sat for about 20 seconds before I took the shot though because we thought there was a buck behind the doe. My instructor that I had with me told me to "Get used to looking at it through the scope" I think that helped.

I was shaking after I took the shot though =)
 
Sjemac,

Does your friend use a bipod? If not, I would highly recommend one. Also, he can shoot targets fine, but is that off the bench? Or, is he practicing from prone, sitting, etc.?

Sounds to me like he may be lifting his head. I used to be real bad for this while shooting a bow... wanted to see where the arrow went. With a bow it usually results in a low shot, but with a rifle or shotgun it usually goes high. Lifting your head is usually directly related to a lack of confidence that your shot will be good, or in the ability of your weapon of choice to kill said game.

Only one cure, practice, practice, practice. I had buck fever real bad for many years; any deer with antlers caused me to shake like crazy and I had to limit my shots to less than 100 yards. Antlerless deer were no problem though and I could / would take shots out to 300 without a problem. After greatly increasing the amount and type of off season shooting I was doing, as well as taking a number of deer (both bucks and does) at distance, my buck fever mellowed right out.

Good practice is clay pigeons at 200, 300, and 400 yards in field shooting positions. Hitting a 5" clay at 400 yards makes the kill zone on a deer at 200 seem real easy.
 
Fall Guy said:
Seems to me that he may be missing on purpose.

Is there a possiblilty, when the actual moment comes, he has a hang up about killing things?
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He kills plenty of game birds and coyotes so I don't think the killing is bothering him.

Gonna get him to get a Supp and shoot his doe next time out. See how that works out.
 
Shooting sticks, calm language & Tone and lastly tell him to bring the gun to bear form under the animal. I would bet he's starting with the crosshairs over the animals back and is firing too early. I used to shoot over deer until I figured this out. Bring the gun up from underneath slowly and fire when you are on hair. The gun is moving slowly upwards and the bullet is sighted in 2-3 inches high already, works very well for offhand/poor rest shooting.
 
martinbns said:
Shooting sticks, calm language & Tone and lastly tell him to bring the gun to bear form under the animal. I would bet he's starting with the crosshairs over the animals back and is firing too early. I used to shoot over deer until I figured this out. Bring the gun up from underneath slowly and fire when you are on hair. The gun is moving slowly upwards and the bullet is sighted in 2-3 inches high already, works very well for offhand/poor rest shooting.
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Thanks. That will probably help him out.
 
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