Two years ago I began my journey to becoming a bow hunter. This love affair with archery began by purchasing a used compound bow off of Craigslist from a guy who was hard up for cash. Upon returning home with my new-to-me Bear Whitetail II I began researching how to properly sight it in (having a neighbor who is himself a longtime, avid bow hunter didn't hurt anything). From the moment I released that first arrow I was hooked on the sport and haven't looked back.
That first deer season I just knew I would get a deer. Unlike most people, I didn't care about getting an enormous buck, I just wanted to kill my first deer. With every chance I had to escape the hustle and bustle of every day life I faithfully hit the woods. Time and again I sat without so much as seeing a deer. I would take my children along with me which only makes deer hunting more difficult (especially for a beginner), but I didn't mind, I was outdoors where I belonged.
One evening my daughter and I were headed back to the truck when three bucks about sixty yards ahead of us darted out of a cornfield across our path and into the woods. I didn't even have time to begin thinking about shooting before they were out of sight. Again I made many trips to my chosen hunting spot to no avail. About a week before Christmas my brother and I headed out together and found a spot where we could sit fairly close to each other hoping that four eyes would be better than two. About an hour before sunset my brother decided he would move to a different spot to try his luck. Within fifteen minutes my first opportunity arose, but even with many hours of practice I was ill prepared for what would happen next. At first I thought I must be dreaming. I saw one deer, then two, then four and then I lost count. I picked a doe out of the bunch, proceeded to take aim and that's when it hit me. My heart was about to jump out of my chest, It was freezing cold outside but I was beginning to sweat, I couldn't stop shaking.....The excitement was too much! I pulled the trigger on my release sending the projectile sailing off through the air. Somewhere in the distance I heard the clank of my arrow as it struck a tree and faster than it began, the whole scenario was over. I had made my first shot at a deer and cleanly missed it. That was the last deer I happened to see that year but I learned a valuable lesson from the encounter. Preparing for archery deer season is a year round commitment.
It is not uncommon for a hunter to get the jitters upon spotting a deer; however, being able to control your emotions when the time comes is an important discipline to learn and there's no time like the present to develop the necessary self control.
One method of taming your nerves is to spend every practice session shooting at realistic targets. When taking aim at a 3D target imagine that it is a real animal. This can help to stir those emotions up and teach you to contain your excitement when the big moment arrives. Always strive to make every outing as realistic as possible. Shoot from varied distances mimicking real hunting scenarios. By shooting from the tree stand that will be used in the fall you will gain more confidence in your shooting skills. This will also ensure that you are comfortable being in that particular stand and ensure accuracy when shooting at the angles which are necessary while hunting from a stand. Using these methods of practice is a sure way to improve your hunting skills while reigning in those out of control emotions that are all too common among deer hunters.
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