Nervous before shooting?

[okrattler]

Adrenaline starts pumping when I'm ready to shoot a lot of stuff. It just doesn't really affect me anymore. I just focus on killin whatever it is and that's it. Shooting a lot of anything will minimize that or at least teach you how to deal with it. My hands don't get shaky or anything my heart might beat a little faster than normal but that's about it.

[150class]

Every single time. The shakes get uncontrollable and it’s awesome! They always go away and soon as I draw back though.

[Tx.Fisher]

Hell yes I still get nervous! I killed a 132” 8pt with my bow last year and shook like a leaf when he came in to range. Once I draw back, the nerves seem to go away and instinct of shot placement takes over. Now after the shot I still shake like crazy, but that’s why we hunt, right?

[AntlerCollector]

I get a little excited, but I’ve learned to suppress it until after the arrow hits its target. I stay calm. When I was a kid I missed one and wounded one because of “buck fever.” Wounding a deer because I made a bad shot was a horrible feeling. I learned to control my adrenaline, and stay calm until I’ve made the shot. Then I allow myself to get all amped up

[ThisLadyHunts]

I know exactly what you mean. It has less to do with being “nervous” and more to do with an adrenaline rush. This rush of adrenaline hyper-stimulates your nervous system and makes logic and focus almost impossible for those whose excitatory neurotransmitters are their dominant ones.

If you haven’t tried this already, ask your doctor for a prescription for a beta-blocker, a class drugs that slows your heart rate and lowers your blood pressure by blocking the uptake of....well, never mind. It’s something many people take to overcome the paralysis of stage fright and other performance-related anxieties.

[Coup de Grace]

Hell yes I still get nervous! I killed a 132” 8pt with my bow last year and shook like a leaf when he came in to range. Once I draw back, the nerves seem to go away and instinct of shot placement takes over. Now after the shot I still shake like crazy, but that’s why we hunt, right?

Heck yea

[asu-indian]

Nope. Stone Cold Killer here..........LOL

[Aggiebush]

The day I stop getting is the day they’ll lay me in the ground, that is what drives me. Sure, I can control it pretty well, but the excitement is still there. Opening weekend, my son had it so bad that he couldn’t get a shot off on a doe at 12 yards. He finally spooked her with his heavy breathing, and I was one proud daddy. When I was his age, I probably would have made a bad shot, but he held off trying to calm down.
Killed my first archery deer in 85, and it still gets my blood pumping!

[Sleepy]

I can get a little nervous if I have to watch the deer for a while. I prefer it to happen fast so there is nothing to think about other than picking a shooting lane and sending it.. I rarely hunt over bait, so most of my encounters and the shot tend to happen in seconds. Typically, my shakes start after the shot.

[jerp]

I try to imagine the deer is just the 3D target in my backyard. It helps me relax and do something I’ve done a thousand times.

[MtnMike]

My focus on Shot Placement keeps my nerves in check. I do get a little shaky after the shot though!

[Bort]

When it comes to shooting animals with a rifle I’m pretty relaxed, but I still get a little excited before and during the shot. A trophy buck gets my heart a little elevated and hogs make me anxious since they don’t ever seem to stop moving.

On the other hand, when it comes to shooting animals with a bow, I stay pretty calm during the shot, but my heart really starts pumping and I get real shaky after the shot. After all of my archery elk shots, I thought something was medically wrong with me. My heart was at 140 beats per minute for about 5 minutes and I was shaking uncontrollably.

The day I loose that feeling, I’m not sure if I’ll keep hunting like I do now.

[texan16]

I’m as cool as a cucumber...... until the arrow is in flight, then I LOOSE IT, even a doe. After the shot I get an adrenaline DUMP! But up till the shot I’m just focused on not blowing it

Gun..... pass the ammo

I am the same. Once I touch the release the heart starts pumping. Just keep giving me ammo with a rifle and I will keep flingin lead. No issues

[Olmandan]

If it quits being exciting, I will take up golf. And I hate golf. I have learned control before the shot, but go to pieces after. Even a pig rates some excitement.

[Mtltx]

I get excited at first then I calm down thinking of the animal getting into position. I feel like I’m pretty calm drawing back but, I’ve been rushing my shots on the last 3 deer I’ve shot. They all died but, they were not good shots at all. After I shoot I get a serious adrinallin rush! I start shaking like a leaf. That’s a good feeling.