Buck Fever
By Stephen Graham

Why do we hunt? It is not because hunting is boring and does not make our heart
race. Most of us spend weeks and months doing things that usually do not interest us. We
punch in on a time clock and have to listen to the rants and ravings of the bosses. We drive
to work usually accompanied by bad actors in traffic. Our lives are harried and we operate
that way by means of a schedule which usually adds insult to injury. We have
responsibilities to our wives, children and mortgages. We tolerate unhappiness most of the
year. How many times during a brutal work day have you dreamed of the solitude and
the freedom of an outdoor experience far from the maddening crowds? Some of us tolerate
bad behavior by bosses, wives, children and acquaintances most of the year in order to pay
for a week or so of peace in the deer woods. We work our tail off to make everyone happy all
year long in order to finance a few days of peace and happiness for ourselves.

Some of us are not hunters. The outdoor experience is available to everyone who has a
hobby or past time relating to the outdoors. Bird watching is nice. Camping is better. The
water sports offer real excitement. Fishing is fun. Hunting can involve all of the above. Many
hunters bring fishing gear along with them to use on that special area of water near their
camping space. Many hunters make use of boats and water craft to get them to their
special place.

Much preparation and expense are required to put the hunter in just the right spot for the shot
of a life time. Hunting leases are expensive. Guns, scopes, camping gear and travel
expenses make deer hunting even more dollar intensive. We practice and fire many rounds
of ammunition to prepare ourselves for just that moment. For some of us that moment
arrives and everything that we have worked for has fallen completely apart. We see the
biggest buck of our lives and our nervous system goes into overdrive. We get the shakes
and sweats. We cannot accomplish anything which we have spent months preparing
ourselves for. The blood pressure goes up and our chances of hitting the buck with a good
shot goes down. The barrels of our guns shake so badly that we could not hit a barn at fifty
yards.

In situations like these practice controlled breathing and good trigger squeezes. Get your
breathing under control along with your nervous system. Do not look at the animal's horns
Concentrate on shot placement. Your mind does not need any extra distractions. Keep it
simple. Most people who have conquered buck fever wait until the animal is down before the
shakes arrive. One reason for hunting is that most people can get in touch with feelings
that have lain dormant since the last hunting season. Boring jobs with boring people do not
usually elicit huge happy variations in our emotions. Hunting can bring emotions to the
surface that we have not experienced in months. That is part of the reason to go deer
hunting. We need to feel those emotions. The trick is to keep those emotions in check until
after you know that the animal is down. One problem solving tactic is to practice firing at life
size targets of your quarry. Visualize in your mind actual hunting situations. Prepare in
advance for that buck of a life time.

Stephen Graham: Avid hunter and fisherman, writes from life experiences and his own opinions.

http://goodstuffintexas.blogspot.com

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