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2nd chance!

Old Florida Guy

New Member
Im a new member after 5 years and 750 dollars, I drew an Iowa bow tag for zone 9. Im 68 yo and live in Florida. I have never shot a buck! I am interested in any comments to help me achieve my goal. I’ve started my workouts and I’d shoot my bow regularly. I’m planning time for my hunt is last week of October thru 1st 2 weeks of Nov.
 
Welcome to the site!
Practice emotional regulation. Buck fever happens to many of us and we rush a shot, with poor results. Practice controlling your emotions. Repeat to yourself a phrase like 'aim small' when practicing, and hold an extra 2 seconds before releasing the arrow. That's all i got. Good luck!
 
Congrats on the tag and good luck on your upcoming hunt. I think when you get an Iowa anysex tag as a NR that you also get an antlerless tag with it, no? If so, maybe focus on tagging a doe first to get the jitters out of the way?? But one practical, physical thing to do to help with "buck fever" is to practice flexing your knees. Yep, flexing your knees. :)

You see, when on stand and a target approaches it is natural to get a little excited, almost everyone does this to some degree, although many work through it to where it isn't an issue. But, at first, most people will struggle with some form of this. One thing that most do when in this situation is to sort of "freeze up" and lock their knees, which reduces blood flow and begins to starve the muscles of oxygen and that can lead to shaking, etc.

If you concentrate on gently flexing and bending your knees though you can defeat this tendency and remain calm, or at least calmer, and better prepared physiologically for the shot.

As far as locating a buck...look at aerial maps of your intended hunting area now. In the timeframe that you are going to hunt the bucks will begin to move about during the day to find does...but a great percentage of the does will not be "ready" until say, the 6th through the 10th'ish. So identify "highways" that connect likely doe bedding areas, as the bucks, although losing their cool a little bit in anticipation of the active breeding phase, will still mostly use fencelines, ditches, ridges, etc, to conceal their daylight travels. For instance, a brushy fenceline that "connects" two blocks of timber can be exactly what you want in this time period.
 
That sounds like a fun trip for you. Good luck. I’d put your chances of shooting a buck pretty high.
Please keep us posted!
 
With that much time to hunt you should undoubtedly have chances to shoot a buck. Try to find a funnel that the deer work through, play the wind, and sit still. Practice, practice, practice shooting your bow.
 
Welcome to the site and congratulations on the tag! Sounds like you’re on the right track to start.


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Good luck. If you're looking at public you should try to get up and do some walking/scouting. Knock on some doors, you may get lucky. If not maybe even look into paying a "trespass fee" for a couple weeks?

Your time frame is spot on, good luck again.
 
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