Thread: 'buck fever'

Hi guys.
Thought I'd share a quick story for the newbies to hunting and how easy it is to get over excited at the sight of the prey .
Out with my boy we found a nice spot on a raised knob overlooking what could be best described as a bowl.
Had been sat a wee while and finally noticed when it moved , what we thought was a branch sticking up on a felled tree was actually the head of a fallow bedded up behind said log at around 130 mtrs distance.
Now we were out specifically for my lad to get his first deer. He has taken many goats, possums etc over the years so was not new to the game. I have always taught him not to pull the trigger unless hundy percent confidant he can make a clean kill. Bearing in mind this teaching he didn't want to take a headshot , so I was happy he had taken on board what I had told him. I offered to take the shot but no, this one was his.
So we got him laying behind the 7mm08 we had at the time and I parked next to him with my rifle and we both watched and waited for it to stand for the broadside shot. And we waited...and waited... and waited.
Finally after over an hour it casually stood up, not a care in the world , perfect broadside.
I thought after sitting for over an hour any excitement or adrenaline would have burnt off through sheer boredom if nothing else. He was perfectly relaxed moments before and we had been whispering and joking away the whole time we had been parked there. We even had breakfast.
But no. He panicked and pulled the trigger. Boom , no tell- tale thud of impact. Deer wanders into the bush at a slow trot so couldn't have even been close. I could have taken it but decided not to and the lesson learned about the one that got away was more valuable.
He was adamant he hit it so went searching for signs of a hit I already knew hadn't happened and of course there was none.
Then it was all the rifle's fault so I made him shoot at a fist sized rock on the way out at same range to prove the gun was good , which of course he hit no problem.
So two weeks later back there again. Same situation, slightly different spot. Fallow broadside feeding at same range. set up above on another rise. Take your time Bud....relax and concentrate on your breathing...all the time in the world... you can do this...youve done it before on plenty of goats... aim at a specific point on the shoulder , not just at the deer...you can do this...Boom goes the 7.08 . No thud. Once again no idea where the round went. The deer runs off up the hill. Not going to let this one get away so as it slows and steps into a small clear patch just before disappearing over the top I drop it with a quartering shot through the engine room with my 338 at around 250 odd mtrs. Which just upset the lad even more....
So the following weekend rolls around. Exact same spot as last weekend. No deer but 3 good sized pigs wandering up the same hillside weaving in and out of the scrub.
Quickly set him up with the 338 this time as he's still blaming the 7 for the misses.
Come on bud...you can do this...dont dick around they're getting away... Right , I will bloody do it. So I bring the pressure on him...raise the 7 and pull the trigger on an empty chamber knowing full well it's unloaded...but he doesn't. Shit bud... I forgot the safety... it's up to you...take em! Boom goes 338.....
Perfect shot!! Lead his moving target at 130 plus metres absolutely perfectly! Could not have done better.
We collect his downed prize at the bottom of the slope where it finally rolled to a stop , half of what was left of its lungs dragged out the exit hole by the passing of the bullet.
To this day he still brags about how he got the pig when Dad cocked it up and panicked and forgot the safety was on and how he saved the day. I still haven't told him I hadn't loaded it...
So now he's full of confidence and although we still haven't had a chance for him to shoot his deer I don't think we'll have any problems.
I have since sold the 7 as he refused to use it after that....lol .... still blames the rifle and will only use the 338 now unless it's a goat which he has his own 30/30 he uses.
Bless him...

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I still get buck fever
Runs thru me like an anxious panic when I'm real excited or surprised with my heart rate bolting with it
Just gotta learn to shoot thru it and enjoy the rush, I hope mine never goes away
Gets real bad for me on the stalk in with subsonic shots
If it makes any new hunters feel better Iv been hunting for 30 years

As long as there's no bad feelings over missing (we have someone running sweep in case of a miss)

What case is behind the 338?
It's cool to hear dads taking their kids hunting and that they miss a few shots along the way, brings back good times
Nothing's better than a story of a hunter that has a journey

I don't reload and just run factory ammo. Use the federal American eagle 250gr 338 lap mag out of a Hardy built carbon rifle. It's the cheapest ammo I can find and regarded as ' plinking ' rounds... expensive bloody plinking I tell you. That said it seems to be accurate enough. On my first long range shooting attempt on a farm both me and my boy were banging a 600mm square plate at a km with every shot once we sorted out wind drift/ spin drift.
Nothing to complain about there.

first solo big pig...dogs bailed it a couple of times and it kept breaking...I got to bulldozed track infront of it and out it came...I hit it in spine with first round out of the old 303 ,completely missed with next 5 RAPIDLY POINTED shots then connected solidly with 7th....the old man said it sounded like a semi the shots were so close together...didnt learn in hurry first stag with 30/30 this time...roared him up to about 75 yards away,completely missed it 4 times then AIMED and took him down... have never done it since...other than trying to shoot wallaby from hip with poohseventy....geeze I wasted some amunition as a young fella.
still get a real buzz moving in on animals but have the buck fever under control now.

I think we all get the buzz stalking like that... I know that I do. That's part of why we do it isn't it ? Life is so hum drum and same old nowadays... very few real 'thrills' any more. That's what I used to love about my fast sports m/cycles.... the thrill of knowing one false move and I'm toast...and the adrenaline of 'living on the edge' as it were. Large part of the reason I stopped riding while the kids grow up . One day I would have run out of luck and ridden right off the edge. So now I live for the thrill of the chase I guess instead. And being in the scenery rather than looking out of the window at it.

I’ve had reverse buck fever. -leg shaking, breathing hard etc AFTER I e dropped a deer, more so if it has been an unexpected snap-shot out of the blue.
Stalking an already seen animal and shooting it? No sweat, calm as.

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I think we all get the buzz stalking like that... I know that I do. That's part of why we do it isn't it ? Life is so hum drum and same old nowadays... very few real 'thrills' any more. That's what I used to love about my fast sports m/cycles.... the thrill of knowing one false move and I'm toast...and the adrenaline of 'living on the edge' as it were. Large part of the reason I stopped riding while the kids grow up . One day I would have run out of luck and ridden right off the edge. So now I live for the thrill of the chase I guess instead. And being in the scenery rather than looking out of the window at it.

Dunna. I've owned and ridden bikes for 55 years and still do. Luck was never a a prerequisite to head off to ride for me, probably more of a lifestyle. My first car I bought only because eventually, I was a father at age 35 and married. I still own an old Ironhead for my sins and can barely kick the bastard into life. Still still buy bikes to keep me in the real world. Don't give up, keep loving the buggers. If only for the therapy.

It helps to overcome buck fever to understand that "you" will (or may) get buck fever - pays to explain this to kids or new hunters - and remind yourself when in tight going . . .

Originally Posted by outlander

Dunna. I've owned and ridden bikes for 55 years and still do. Luck was never a a prerequisite to head off to ride for me, probably more of a lifestyle. My first car I bought only because eventually, I was a father at age 35 and married. I still own an old Ironhead for my sins and can barely kick the bastard into life. Still still buy bikes to keep me in the real world. Don't give up, keep loving the buggers. If only for the therapy.

I loved my bikes too , still do. Always had at least two in the shed since I was 15. You are right that under normal circumstances luck was not necessary, but I always had bikes for the corners , and as such the posted safe cornering speed was at least doubled and then considered to be the minimum cornering speed. I rode like an idiot on speed. My last bike I sold a few years back was 190+ hp and I saw 290 kph on the speedo more than once....like I said... IDIOT. loved that machine.

Originally Posted by Finnwolf

I’ve had reverse buck fever. -leg shaking, breathing hard etc AFTER I e dropped a deer, more so if it has been an unexpected snap-shot out of the blue.
Stalking an already seen animal and shooting it? No sweat, calm as.

Yep, thats me too.....shaking like a shitting dog after the shot....cant open velcro pockets or my water bottle, had to sit down and BREATH.......great rush though....

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I loved my bikes too , still do. Always had at least two in the shed since I was 15. You are right that under normal circumstances luck was not necessary, but I always had bikes for the corners , and as such the posted safe cornering speed was at least doubled and then considered to be the minimum cornering speed. I rode like an idiot on speed. My last bike I sold a few years back was 190+ hp and I saw 290 kph on the speedo more than once....like I said... IDIOT. loved that machine.


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those cross plane R1 engines are bloody great, Im on a 1198 now but would go back to an R1 in a heart beat

Originally Posted by Scouser

Yep, thats me too.....shaking like a shitting dog after the shot....cant open velcro pockets or my water bottle, had to sit down and BREATH.......great rush though....

yep.. thats the one. All okay if it's after the shot. when you're trying to make the shot not so good when the sight picture is just a wobbly blur through the scope. I almost always have to sit and have smoke to calm the nerves and wait for the adrenelin to subside before starting on the cutting up, I'd end up chopping my own finger off otherwise. Ever tried rolling a smoke with the shakes? end up wearing half of the tobacco on my shoes usually.....but the rush is all part of the experience and lets me know I'm still alive. Like I said - thrill of the chase.It's one of the reasons I keep on running around the hills. Well , when I say running , I actually mean wheezing , coughing , cursing , complaining about so many bloody hills and why are they all so f-ing steep... and so on.... yet still I go out again and again and again.
Addictive hobby and I am an Addict.
Or maybe I am just a certifiable idiot after all.

I never thought I would be guilty of buck fever, and it wasn't until someone told me what I had done was attributed to buck fever, that it even occurred to me.

Whilst my 6.5 Grendel was still a virgin to deer, I had it on an unhopeful hunt. Spotted a Red Hind at 300m, got given the choice, take the shot, or close the gap. Went with close the gap.
Got down to 200m and had lost sight of the Hind, so I dialed for 200m (not wanting to take any chances) we sat and waited for a possible re-appearance. Same thing, chatting away, not too much effort made being overly quite.

Next thing, I spot 4 Fellow at 50m watching us. In a split second the decision was made on which one looked the tastiest, I shifted the rifle, and as the deer picked up on the danger I squeezed the trigger with the crosshairs on a high shoulder shot. I was convinced I had hit it.

To make matters worse, a Red Spiker then walks out to see what the commotion was, I had him dead to rights, but chose not to take the shot, as I had already dropped my meal.

Well it turns out, forgetting to wind back to zero-stop, and aiming high shoulder equals a shot that brushed mm over the deer's back, in other word a miss, no hair, no blood, nothing. Apparently this slight oversight (no pun intended) is considered buck fever.