Buck Fever

I just got finished with my first ever deer hunt. But due to an ailment that I believed to be just an excuse for men to use, I almost had no deer at all to eat-Just crow. Let me explain.

Buck Fever. This is a term I never understood. I thought it was just an excuse for men on why they missed that "massive" animal. Ladies: when they miss, the animal was always massive, there is no way to prove otherwise. Well I am here to admit to everyone (I owe it to my husband Louie) that I was wrong (No, Louie, I will not say that again). I have hunted elk, filling my tag every time, with no problem. I aim-I shoot- dead Elk. Well, not so with deer.

To this day, I still do not understand why. I remember standing there, staring at a spike that was approximately 100 yards away at the most. Like I said, I was just staring at it and not through my scope either. I had forgotten to raise the rifle. Then I heard Louie say, "shoot him". OK, I raise the rifle, but how do I get the scope to stay still? At that time I am saying to myself, "He is just a spike, I should let him go", but even I do not believe that is the reason I didn’t shoot.

All the sudden I hear Louie say to wait that there is a bigger buck coming up behind him. Saved, for now. I then move my scope to him just as Louie says that he is a nice three point. In the background I can hear words like relax, calm down, breathe though I had been telling myself the same thing and it was apparently not working. It had seemed like an eternity had passed and that buck was still standing there, looking right at me. I aim- I shoot- I miss. WHAT! Shot right over his back. Now this is embarrassing. I immediately chambered another round, aimed and shot. The deer hunched up- stumbled a few yards- but did not drop. So I shot him one more time and he dropped, now why couldn’t I have done that the first time, I have the ability. I also have an extreme need to sit down.

Well, at least it is all over- Not. I am sitting there trying to think of an excuse as to why I missed, you know them, weather- glare- etc… when I hear Louie say "Lets go see him". I stand or at least attempt to, several times. My knees are wobbling as I try to walk. I can tell by the look on Louie’s face that no excuses are going to work. He knows and I will have to admit that I- Annette- got "Buck Fever".

Moral to the story, Buck Fever, its just like the flu, anybody can get it.

Happy Hunting-Annette Urquides