It stops, rubs a tree with its antlers, then stands back to admire his handiwork, and then hits another lick on the bark, checks it out, and then continues toward you. He stops, and can't smell you or any nearby danger, but he is in no hurry.
The anxiety level builds after the third or fourth stop for the deer to putter around doing big-buck things, and then he moves forward again. He’s now 50 yards away, and will soon have a date with destiny. Your breath is labored and ragged, and you are feeling a bit light headed.
Preparing for a bow shot.
His antlers are big, possibly the largest whitetail buck you've ever seen in the wild. He stands, just out of bow range, and surveys the area. He doesn't smell or see any danger, but he didn't grow a rack with 10 good long points and a 20-inch inside spread by being stupid.
He stands, motionless for a few minutes, head up and looking around. He's not spooky, but is just being careful.
Satisfied, he moves to within 40 yards. The rack seems to grow even larger the closer he comes. The hunter is sucking air by now, and begging silently for a 20-yard broadside or quartering-away shot. The thought of shooting this big buck makes you dizzy with excitement, and your heart is racing and you feel weak.
A full load of adrenaline is streaming through your system, and the buck moves slowly to within 35 yards and then to 30, where he stands behind a thin screen of brush. Jolt after jolt of adrenaline has you as wired as scoffing down 10 cans of a high-energy drink.
Don’t try to rush things. Be patient.
He offers a brief 25-yard shot but your eyes riveted riveted on the rack, and you don't want to make a mistake. He's coming, just let him move into the 20-yard range and then wait for a good shot at this huge buck.
Finally, he steps within your ideal range, turns to offer a quartering-away shot at 20 yards. The buck stares off toward other deer 100 yards away in the field, and you raise your bow, stare at the antlers again, come to full draw, aim and turn loose what you feel is a well-aimed arrow.
There is a loud twhack, and the buck races off while the arrow and broadhead sail off into the brush. Excited, feeling you made a killing shot, you climb down and follow the Game Tracker string to the arrow. There isn't a drop of blood on the arrow. What happened?
Tunnel vision had set in and when the hunter aimed and shot, he aimed at the major focal point of interest on that buck -- the antlers. He forgot to force himself to pick a spot low behind the front shoulder. His continuous focus on the buck and his majestic rack was his undoing. He got caught up in the moment, and forgot what he was supposed to do.
Concentrate on where to shoot. Forget about the antlers.
Total concentration is paramount during the aiming process. Once I know a buck has antlers, and decide to shoot him, I never look at the headgear again. I focus hard on the heart-lung area, pick a spot, shoot and the deer dies.
A buddy went on a Tennessee wild boar hunting with me many years ago, and I warned him against staring at the length of the boar's tushes. These big curved teeth are fascinating and very sharp, and my friend looked at the teeth, aimed and hit the boar in the top of the head. It wasn't an immediate killing shot, and I hollered to "shoot for the heart-lung area." He quickly recovered, shot again and the boar died a quick death.
Tunnel vision doesn't just happen to police officers in a fire-fight with the bad guys. It happens to hunters all the time, and most often to sportsmen with very little hunting experience but high expectations.
It can ruin a hunt, but there is no need for that to happen. The trick is to determine whether it has antlers, and if it is what you want. Once that has been determined, forget about it, and intently focus on the vital area. Don’t even look at the antlers again. Forget about them. Pick a spot behind the front shoulder and concentrate on it.
Once you draw back an arrow, and aim, never look at the buck’s head again. Pick a tiny spot behind the front shoulder, concentrate on that spot, make a smooth release, and do not drop your bow hand until the arrow makes contact with the deer.
Big bucks come often to those television hunters, but for most people like you and me, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The timing is too important to waste by missing an easy shot. Deep concentration, and not tunnel vision, is the key to bow-hunting success.
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