We’ve all heard of buck fever… you’ve been sat in your stand for hours with no sightings.
Then suddenly you hear the tell-tale sounds of rustling leaves and twigs snapping. Too heavy for squirrels… you wander what it could be. Your heart beats a little faster, your palms sweat a little.
Would you be calm and composed with this in your sights?
Would you be calm and composed with this in your sights?
Then suddenly a great big whitetail buck wanders into view!
You slowly start to take aim, even as your heart is pounding and your hands and knees are trembling. What a feeling!
Unfortunately this same rush can cause us to tremble when taking aim making it hard to line up the sights. A slight jerk when pulling the trigger could cause you to miss the shot completely.
How do you stay calm in this situation? Well, the simple answer is practice. However the majority of hunters don’t have the benefit of experience at taking aim at tens of bucks, but there is another way.
This simple technique has been used for thousands of years by people determined to achieve their goals in any number of sports.
It certainly helped me to get to the kind of level where I can outwardly remain calm and composed when that monster buck trots into view.
The key is visualization – a means of getting the benefit of practice from your own home. Go ahead and find a quiet spot in your home where you won’t be disturbed for a short while, and start to imagine the complete hunting scene in your mind. Hear the bird calls around you, see the leaves brushing in the breeze, feel the sun on your face.
Then imagine a great, trophy buck wandering into view. Look at its antlers, its broad chest and white tail. Now imagine how calm you
Crystal clear visualization will help you stay calm when a buck wanders into your crosshairs.
feel as you take aim and judge your shot placement.
For visualization to be effective the scene needs to be as clear as possible in your mind. Let your mind go and try to really get into it.
It may make you feel a little uncomfortable and silly at first, but don’t be discouraged. It really is the key to staying calm and in control when that buck comes into view. I personally practice once a day for 15 minutes in the week or two coming up to my hunting season, and it works time and time again!
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And just for fun, check out this video! A guy gets buck fever and makes three fairly poor shots while hunting bull moose. The quality is not fantastic – but you can see the size of the bull!
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