Tunnel Vision Can Ruin A Deer Hunt

Tunnel vision occurs when a person is in a high-stress situation. It can happen often while deer hunting.

A big buck is seen approaching, and ever so slowly it moves closer, and after watching it for moments, the hunter decides he want to shoot that deer. There is a very strong desire to take that animal, and tie his license tag on its antlers. It's the great American deer hunting dream.

The deer  stops, rubs a tree briefly, stands back to admire his handiwork, hits another lick on the bark, checks it out again, and then continues toward you. He stops, and can't smell the sportsman downwind of him or any danger, but he is in no hurry. He is being very cautious.

Anxiety can be your downfall. Fight it.

The anxiety level builds in the hunter after the third or fourth stop for the deer to putter around doing big-buck things, and then he moves forward again. He is now 50 yards away and will soon have his date with destiny if he stays the course. Your breath is labored and ragged, and you feel a bit light headed from anticipation, adrenalin shock and stress.

His antlers are big, possibly the largest whitetail buck the sportsman has ever seen in the wild. He stands, out of bow range, and surveys the area ahead. 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, head up and looking around. He's not overly spooky, just being very careful.

Satisfied, he moves to within 40 yards. The rack seems to grow even larger the closer he gets. The hunter is sucking air, and begging silently for a 20-yard shot. The thought of shooting this buck makes him dizzy with excitement, and his heart is racing, beating like a trip-hammer.

Adrenalin rushes cause problems.

A full load of adrenalin is streaming through his system, and as the buck closes to 35 yards and then to 30, he stands behind a thin screen of brush. Jolt after jolt of adrenalin has the hunter as wired as a person drinking 10 cans of Ya-Hoo.

He offers a brief 25-yard shot but your eyes are riveted on that rack, and you don't want to make a mistake. He's coming, just let him move into the 20-yard range and wait for a broadside or quartering-away shot at this huge buck.

Finally, he steps into 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 slowly raise your bow, stare at the antlers again, come to full draw, aim carefully and turn loose an arrow.

The moment of truth.

There is a tremendous "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.

Tunnel vision had set in and when the hunter aimed and shot, he aimed at the major focal point on that buck -- the antlers. He forgot to force himself to pick a spot behind the front shoulder. His continuous focus on the buck and his majestic rack was his undoing, and that is where he aimed, nullifying any chance of killing that deer.

Total concentration is paramount during the aiming process. Once I know a buck has antlers, and decide to shoot, I never look at the antlers again. I focus on the heart-lung area, shoot and the deer dies.

A buddy of mine went on a wild boar hunt to Tennessee with me many years ago, and I warned him against studying the length of the boar's tushes.

These big curved teeth are fascinating, 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 him to "shoot for the heart-lung area." He did, 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. Believe it or not, it can happen with firearm hunters during the upcoming Nov. 15-30 season.

It can ruin a bow or firearm hunt, but there is no reason for that to happen. The trick is to determine whether it has antlers, and if so, is it what you want? Once that has been confirmed, forget about the head gear, and intently focus on the vital area.

Don't let tunnel vision ruin your shot.

Once you draw back an arrow and aim, or look through a firearm's scope or iron signts, do not look at the antlers again. Pick a tiny spot behind the front shoulder, concentrate on that spot, make a smooth release or trigger squeeze, and do not drop your bow or rifle hand until the arrow or bullet makes contact with the deer.

Big bucks come often to the television hunters, who never seem to miss, but for most bow or firearm hunters like you and me, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime situation. The timing is too important to waste by missing an easy shot. Deep concentration, and not tunnel vision, is the key to hunting success.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors