How many shots have you missed because you had buck fever??

[tatumsdad08]

No matter how many bucks I have taken, I still get excited and have missed plenty of bucks and even bull elk! How many shots have you missed caused by buck fever??

[AZ RANGER]

I've missed a lot more than I care to think about. But I've been on a role lately hope to keep it going.

[Millhouse]

Well...thanks for bring up the great memories

 

Archery Elk -- 2

Archery Antelope -- 1

Rifle Deer -- 1

Archery Deer -- 0

[couesdeerhntr]

Missed four shots at deer before I finally shot my august velvet buck. Check out my video on you tube tittle is az archery clues deer hunt. video is two minutes and thirty seconds long.

[tjhunt2]

This sure brings back a few memories. On my first archery elk hunt I shook so bad my Dad had to grab and shake me after I shot an arrow 90deg. from where the bull was standing at 20yrds. The arrow landed in the middle of the water tank and I asked if I had hit it. I can't remember how many blown pig shots I've missed under 10yrds after watching pigs charging to my rabbit call. I even managed to shoot the call out of my mouth several times with my bow string. OUCH!

I won't mention any names but I once watched a friend, cwt member, lounch an arrow half way down Preacher Canyon thinking the elk was much closer than it really was. It was pretty funny to watch as the excitement unfolded.

I'll leave the rest of my stories for around the campfire.

 

TJ

[deserthntr]

i missed one spike coues in velvet, but he was dumb so i got another arrow off and in him at 40yds. that was my first and only archery deer so far

[matthewp45]

My god I have missed a ton of times with my bow. Almost every time was because I think oh crap that thing is going to run if I range him. He has to be about 50 yards. 40 yards it is, after I range where he was standing and I just watched the arrow sail right over his back. I always shoot over them if I miss. I always think they are farther than they really are. My new rule is even if they run off and I don't get a shot I am going to range them. Most all of my archery hunting is spot and stalk and I don't usually have time to range everything around me. I have missed 2 coues deer that were very big, an antelope and 1 mule deer that I knew the exact yardage and just flat missed from being excited and not making a good executed shot. The mule deer was 24 yards and I used the wrong pin. How stupid is that.

[joeeden]

All of them.

[couesdiehard]

I couldn't begin to remember all the shots I missed due to "buck fever" but the subject does bring to mind my very first coues hunt in southern az. I grew up hunting desert mulies and had even tagged a nice coues buck in central Az when a buddy told me if I put in for a early hunt in the area where his group regularly hunted in November, he would go along and show me the ropes. Well this desert mulie hunter had never seen so many deer in his life! Every time we spotted some more bucks I flung lead all over my buddies favorite hills. I know went through 20 plus rounds in 4 days of hunting and never touched a hair on a deer, but I was hooked. Lucky for me my buddy invited me to hunt with his group in the same unit next year and my coues education began in earnest. I was surprised he invited me after the dismal shooting I displayed, but maybe he figured the rest of the group would do well just shooting the deer I missed. The next November I killed the biggest buck taken by our camp and my biggest to date with one shot. The group didn't take it too badly though and I made hunting buddies for life out of the experience. Thanks to those guys I became a "couesdiehard" and I haven't rifle hunted a mule deer since.

 

Lee

[308Nut]

I have missed a few deer. I cant say any of them were from 'buck fever' but I did miss one due to target panic before I learned how to deal with it. At that point in my life, it would have not mattered if it was a 3D target, a deer, a paper spot target etc.....I could not hit the broadside of a barn even if I was on the inside of the barn. The rest were either string jumpers or a poor judgment on range estimation.

[bmf1321]

too many times.

[jmall]

Missed 3 shots at the same 170-180 class mule deer. It happend years ago when I first started archery hunting. He was occupied with his does and walked twenty yards broadside right infront of me. I was so shook up I probably couldnt have hit an elephant. Still haunts me !!!

[C.Shoemaker]

My first archery hunt about 15 years ago was my worst situation to date. I was in a tree stand in unit 8. A fork mule deer came within 30 yards of the tree. Before I could draw my bow, I started shaking. By the time the bow was drawn, I was shaking uncontrollably. I'm certain the ponderosa was shaking also. I let the arrow fly, missing by more than 30 or 40 feet. The shot was off by such a great distance, the deer barely reacted, just walked off slowly. I was too shook up to draw on him again.

The experience resulted in bow hunting addition. NO CURE KNOWN.

[THOR]

I have missed more than I want to think about, but also connected quite a few times....One of many things my dad taught me about hunting is that if you lose that feeling of Buck Feaver, then its time stop hunting....

[rclouse79]

2 archery misses- one from misjudging distance, one from being rushed.

1 rifle cow elk- had my rifle sighted in for 200 before I had a rangefinder. Put the cross hair right on and paced the shot off at 315 yards. Bought a range finder right when I got home.

As far as actual "buck fever" I have never had anything big enough to qualify. Hopefully I get some buck fever this year.