Buck fever is a physiological response that occurs when a hunter experiences intense and sudden excitement at seeing a buck. It’s a form of anxiety that creates an immediate rush of adrenaline, and the symptoms are shaking hands, sweaty palms, rapid pulse, shortness of breath, and, often, missed shots.
Now, Buck Fever has no lasting effect other than embarrassment; it usually clears up within a few minutes. Embarrassing? Oh yeah, once the fever’s set in, it can make sane and competent men act like they have no brains in their heads. I have caught many a buck fever over my forty-plus years of whitetail hunting, but recently, I witnessed a buck fever that set the ridiculousness bar mighty high.
A friend and sometimes client, let’s call him “Bob,” had recently joined me for a hunt. “Bob” is a six-foot tall, three-hundred-and-fifty pounder who is as calm, collected and sober as any man you can meet. But, while preparing for the evening hunt, we looked up as a buck jumped the fence into my side pasture. I told “Bob” to grab his rifle. He did, and the deer closed the distance to 25 yards and stopped. And I could see the sweat and trembling begin as Buck Fever took a firm grip on my friend.
“Bob” fired from his side of the fence; the completely unharmed buck trotted off and hopped the far fence into another paddock. That was when my large, trembling friend jumped the fence, crashing hard on the other side, but quickly righted himself and gave chase, pausing for another shot, hurdling another fence, then two more shots and two more fences…. I’m convinced that the fourth shot only accidentally hit the buck, falling it in my back pasture.
I drove out to retrieve the deer and calm my friend, who was drenched in sweat, showing way too much white around his eyes and appearing on the edge of having a stroke or heart attack…. Or both!
It took nearly an hour for the adrenaline to recede and bring him back down to normal.
My own experiences with Buck Fever have been mild, at best, but when you experience it, I’ve got a few suggestions to handle the rush and remain in control of your faculties.
Breathe: breathe deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Talk it out: whisper to yourself as you go through the mechanics of making the shot.
Pick a spot: pick the spot you want your bullet to fly to and focus on it with intensity.
You can fall apart after the shot and let the adrenaline run its course. But, until you do get that shot off…. Don’t let Buck Fever steal your senses!
If you’d like to reach out to me, please do so at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
