Buck Fever is when the hunter sees wild game, such as deer, and has intent to harvest/kill, your body releases adrenaline which readies us for what is immediately about to unfold as a fight or to get away… flight.

Adrenaline comes from our ancestral protection mechanism biologists and anthropologists call “fight-or-flight”. 

Adrenaline provides a heightened-state -of-being and is an essential element veteran hunters seek. The moment of truth is exhilarating for many, me included.

Buck Fever can often come with nervousness, heavy breathing, elevated blood pressure, and the shakes known as “buck-fever.” Hunter’s have even fallen from their tree-stand from uncontrolled shakes. 

Some of this heightened state is good, however, too often, new hunters and some older hunters lose the ability to control it during the shot sequence.

I was reminded of the story of the hunter who aimed and working the bolt emptied the cartridges, where, nary a shot was fired, yet later swore he or she shot the rifle 5 times.

Recently a guide recalls a bear hunter who shot a bear, and the guide said; “Shoot him again” and the hunter did not completely eject the round. Some guides call it short-stroking the bolt”.

Even veteran hunters who do not practice multiple shots experience this if not practiced. 

Adrenaline is an essential part of hunting, but, to be successful, the hunter must control the adrenaline.

I find that hunting where there is abundant game like bird hunting for example, allow us to experience it.

Accordingly, after repeated exposure to, say a bird flushing or ducks coming to your decoys, yes, you missed, but another chance and you are successful.

Your brain learns adrenaline control over time.

Deer hunting here in New Hampshire you may not see game that often, thus adrenaline can be less controlled as say hunting deer in a state that has many deer and many hits of adrenaline. 

My hunt in Africa was a prime example of my guide/professional hunter (PH), got me to harvest lesser game animals while observing my buck fever.

Where game is aplenty, hunter learn to control the so-called “Buck Fever. ” 

Make the first shot count!

Aim small miss small!

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2023 

I am a hunter, and try to keep my shots within my skill level. I have never taken a shot at game beyond 300 yards. However, I will, this fall, be exposed to shots at bull moose out to 400 to 600 yards.  Thus, I must, to seriously train to see where my limitations are.

That includes my rifle tuning as well. As my readers know, I will be hunting with my new Browning X-Bolt 26 inch/9.5 twist barrel with Nosler 168g AccuBonds Long Range.

Perhaps one of the most important “unknown” variables for long range hunting is wind speed and direction. At 90º to your shot direction, wind will blow your bullet off the center of your target at its worst. But wind blowing at you or toward your animal, the sideways force of the wind on your bullet is at its minimum, thus it should be true. The big question is, what is the wind speed? And what is the drift at 90º?

Drift Table 90º for 7mm Rem Mag 168g Nosler ABLR wit muzzle vel. 2960fps

Distance         10mph     15mph    20mph    Angle

200                  2in            3in         4in          90

300                  4in            6in         8in          90

400                  8in            11in       15in        90

500                  12in          18 in      24in        90

600                   18in         27in       36in        90

At 400 yards at 10mph the bullet will drift 8 inches across a 12 inch circle on a moose chest, thus you will have to aim right or left of your point-of-aim by 8 inches. This is doable if your wind speed is accurate. At 500 yards you need to move 12 inches on a 90º drift. The big question is how do you determine wind direction and speed at long range? You not only need a laser rangefinder, you also need a wind meter for an accurate shot. 

I have a cheap one but maybe get a better one. There are dozens on the market. Best meters are made by Kestrel. My son has the ballistics model Kestrel 5700 and he loves it. Retails around $449.00.  On a $7000 dollar hunt for my Newfoundland Bog moose where distances are easily at the edge of rifle and hunter capabilities. This is an item to strongly consider. See this article below for options.

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-kestrel-shooting-hunting/

Good Hunting!