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re: Do you really get nervous when you're about to shoot a deer?
Posted on 12/7/25 at 11:59 am to homemadeshine
Posted on 12/7/25 at 11:59 am to homemadeshine
The less I have to think, the better. My best buck popped out between some cedars. 2 more steps and he would have disappeared. I raised up and dropped him where he stood. Probably the best shot I've ever made on a deer. I went bananas after that. 
0
Posted on 12/7/25 at 12:38 pm to TigrrrDad
quote:no I'm not an idiot.
Have you ever picked up a 6 ft. rattler or a coral snake with your bare hands?
Posted on 12/7/25 at 2:15 pm to homemadeshine
Sometimes my pulse is racing so hard the vein in my cheek makes the crosshair bounce left and right. There's breathing work you can do to help all that.
Posted on 12/7/25 at 2:17 pm to Duckhammer_77
Killed a nice doe yesterday evening. When a group came out my heart rate went up but calmed down and picked off the biggest one.
Posted on 12/7/25 at 4:49 pm to Ol boy
quote:Not much of a hunter anymore and not trying to ruffle feathers. I stopped hunting after rock climbing and whitewater. They're all the same. It's being in the moment. And I wouldn't trust a hunter who doesn't have it.
but if I had my bow that doe would make my leg shake and hands sweaty.
I hope I never lose that feeling cus I don’t hunt them anymore for the meat or the horns I’m still just chasing that feeling!!
Maybe it's just me.
Posted on 12/7/25 at 6:41 pm to awestruck
I get more out of the quiet reflection of being disconnected from everyday life more than the potential adrenaline dump these days. Sitting in a stand with a thermos of coffee and no plans to shoot anything unless luck and fate happen to meet is about as free as I get these days
Posted on 12/7/25 at 7:22 pm to Duckhammer_77
quote:
Sometimes my pulse is racing so hard the vein in my cheek makes the crosshair bounce left and right. There's breathing work you can do to help all that.
Yep. It's all about breath. Got to get a lot of oxygen in when your instinct is holding it's breath. Think about that first big breath immediately. Have a series of steps from there to the shot that you do every time. But do get some oxygen to your brain immediately and calm down.
Posted on 12/7/25 at 9:07 pm to homemadeshine
After 45 years of bow hunting, I can say that I no longer get nervous while taking a shot on a deer. After the shot I experience some tremors.
After 40 years of turkey hunting, my heart still feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest when I’m working a gobbling bird
After 40 years of turkey hunting, my heart still feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest when I’m working a gobbling bird
Posted on 12/7/25 at 9:09 pm to Jim Hopper
quote:
no I'm not an idiot.
Not sure I understand what you’re implying.
Posted on 12/7/25 at 10:17 pm to homemadeshine
Dang, you just reminded me of the first couple deer eye shot.
I could barely keep it together, and I started hyperventilating or breath g and sweating.
I’m a lefty , and I shot a regular bolt action, bolted it back, and sliced my right hand up because I kept my right hand on the stock while I bolted it back.
But damn, it was so much fun. And I’ll never forget it.
I could barely keep it together, and I started hyperventilating or breath g and sweating.
I’m a lefty , and I shot a regular bolt action, bolted it back, and sliced my right hand up because I kept my right hand on the stock while I bolted it back.
But damn, it was so much fun. And I’ll never forget it.
This post was edited on 12/7/25 at 10:19 pm
Posted on 12/7/25 at 11:53 pm to homemadeshine
When I was younger would have some nerves. I have more nerves on 3rd down now than I do taking a buck.
Posted on 12/8/25 at 9:02 am to GeauxBurrow312
I think a lot of it comes down to how much you practice. When I was growing up, my dad was the stereotypical shoot 3 rounds before the season to make sure it's still on paper and call it a year type of hunter so as a result I was too. I was shaking nervous for every deer I shot, even when I starting shooting a little more. Then sometime in my mid-late 20's I decided I needed to really learn how to shoot and started spending significant time doing that and the nervousness went away seemingly overnight. Now I will still get butterflies when I first spot something exciting but they immediately go away when I get behind the rifle as my brain shifts from "hunting" to "shooting."
I started archery last year with lots of practice and found the same thing. Lots of excitement before the shot and after the hit, but from the decision to get ready to draw to the release my brain went to "shooting" mode.
I started archery last year with lots of practice and found the same thing. Lots of excitement before the shot and after the hit, but from the decision to get ready to draw to the release my brain went to "shooting" mode.
Posted on 12/8/25 at 11:02 am to ccard257
quote:
Now I will still get butterflies when I first spot something exciting but they immediately go away when I get behind the rifle as my brain shifts from "hunting" to "shooting."
This for me as well. The more rounds you put downrange where it becomes second nature the less nervous I have become. I get excited when I decide that I am going to take a shot but then it is start my fundamentals. If you don't get some excitement it is probably time to reevaluate some things. I first get control of my breathing and pick out something small to focus on with my target. I follow the aim small miss small philosophy when I shoot. I completely rule out anything else with my target. After a successful shot, then I get excited to the degree that I just pulled the trigger on a live target but I guess at some point killing a deer with a rifle is kinda anti-climatic if it is within an easy kill distance. Obviously longer shots will mean more just because you have to start taking other factors into the equation but it is still following a process that if you practice for in the same type conditions you hunt, you will be ready for when it is go time. Probably the reason why I got into bow hunting.
Posted on 12/8/25 at 11:02 am to ccard257
quote:
Lots of excitement before the shot and after the hit, but from the decision to get ready to draw to the release my brain went to "shooting" mode.
That’s exactly how I am with a bow or a gun. When I see a deer that I’m planning on shooting, no matter how big, I start shaking. But once it comes time to shoot, I’m calm and steady. After the shot, I go back to shaking.
Posted on 12/8/25 at 11:07 am to Ol boy
nice buck =
quote:
my heart rate will increase
quote:
a doe probably not
Posted on 12/8/25 at 11:20 am to homemadeshine
Bow hunting, I get nervous when one walks within range.
Rifle hunting, it depends on the overall situation. And by that I mean is it a doe or a buck? If it’s a buck how big is the buck? How is the deer acting? Lots of other things may play into it as well. Point is, yes I still get nervous at times.
I don’t think I’ve been nervous about shooting a doe for a very long time.
Rifle hunting, it depends on the overall situation. And by that I mean is it a doe or a buck? If it’s a buck how big is the buck? How is the deer acting? Lots of other things may play into it as well. Point is, yes I still get nervous at times.
I don’t think I’ve been nervous about shooting a doe for a very long time.
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