Friday, November 20, 2009
Dealing with buck fever
When a hunter's mind plays tricks on physical instincts, the predator often goes home without its prey.
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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Turning to look over his shoulder, J.R. Mitchell saw what he'd been waiting for. A nice buck was approaching his stand.
"I was facing the opposite direction, but all I had to do was draw then turn," reported Mitchell, a 29-year-old who killed his first deer last season.
Instead, Mitchell did something else.
"I was shaking so bad I just stood there," he said. "I watched him turn, then look up and head right back where he came from."
Buck fever strikes again.
While H1N1 flu is grabbing headlines this fall, plenty of hunters have been feeling the effects of the annual autumn malady that can strike when a buck -- or even a doe, or a turkey -- comes into view.
The adrenaline rush and pounding heart that comes when game comes into view is a big part of the allure of hunting.
Plenty of hunters say that when that rush goes away, they will quit.
Yet the mind and body's physical response can sometimes get in the way, sending the predator home without its prey.
Dr. Gary Bennett, a sports psychologist in the athletics department at Virginia Tech, says hunting has many parallels to sports.
Hunters, like athletes, have often put lots of time into practice and training.
Yet when the big moment arrives, their performance sometimes falls far short of potential.
"Any kind of skilled performance is susceptible to choking," said Bennett, using the common sports term. "Basically, they start paying too much attention. They think too much instead of relying on their body to do what it knows how to do.
"It's not a far jump from there to doubting."
Another term? Analysis paralysis.
Dr. Randall Eaton, who has advanced degrees in neurobiology and animal science and who has written extensively on the psychology of hunting, goes even deeper.
The manifestation of buck fever, he believes, are rooted in an internal emotional battle between the ego and the heart, which are sending different messages to the body.
"The ego wants to get the animal, but the heart might be sending a different message," said Eaton, whose books include The Sacred Hunt and From Boys to Men of Heart. "On the one hand you've got instincts and ego producing that adrenaline rush. On the other hand you have moral doubts about killing that animal."
It affects individuals differently.
"Some people just seem to be better equipped to handle pressure situations," Bennett said. "It just doesn't bother them."
These are the golfers who seem to always drain the birdie putt on the 18th hole, the baseball players who bat .397 with runners in scoring position and the hunters who can't remember the last time they missed a deer.
While performance under pressure may be natural for some, many athletes and hunters have to work on it.
An important step is to practice enough to be proficient at the activity.
For hunters, this usually means shooting.
With a modest amount of practice, most hunters can become able to make accurate shots -- be with a bow or gun -- on game that's within the normal expected range.
Most shooting coaches recommend shooting in practice at distant targets, which will make shorter shots seem easy. Being able to consistently hit a target at ranges well beyond what will be needed will create confidence, a performance key.
But shooting at a static target, even one that looks like a deer or turkey, is not the same thing as shooting at an actual animal.
Bennett said one technique is exertion to raise the heart rate before taking a practice shot.
A hunter can also try to increase pre-shot pressure by setting high stakes for misses. For example, a bowhunter might set a target against a solid background that is safe but will break any arrows that miss.
Visualization is another technique for dealing with pressure.
"We do a lot with imagery and visualization," said Bennett, adding that a hunter can "imagine that big buck coming at you."
Some hunters make an effort to get out in the field and around deer even when not hunting, thinking that seeing deer as often as possible can help them remain calmer in hunting situations.
Repeating a phrase can also serve to calm nerves and focus concentration.
"It's a performance cue to remind you, 'This is what my job is right now,'" Bennett said.
Eaton is also an advocate of visualization.
"They can visualize the animal coming to them," said Eaton, who said that meditation and prayer can also help a hunter achieve calming inner peace.
The key to solid performance is to do the thinking and contemplating well before the moment of truth.
Then, whether that moment of truth requires a good shot at a deer or a good shot to win a basketball game, the individual will be ready.
"Once you have learned the skill," Bennett said, "it's just a matter of trusting your body to do it."
Mitchell didn't let his close call get to him. A day later he was back in his stand. He even saw a buck, though it didn't come close enough for a shot.
"Eventually it's going to come together," he said, displaying the confidence that ensures that eventually it will.
