Tim Phillips had been on the buck’s trail for five years.
Trail cameras had captured images of the elusive deer since 2012. Supposedly a woman had shot it two years ago, but it ran off. Phillips’ father hit it 10 days earlier with an arrow, but again it ran off.
Phillips decided to wait for it in a tree stand Saturday afternoon.
"I knew he was out there but had to wait for the right time," Phillips told KDSK. "My heart was racing when I realized it was him."
Just before dark the buck appeared.
Phillips steadied his 30/30 -- a gun his grandfather had given him when he died -- and pulled the trigger.
He bagged the 39-point buck that he estimated was 8 years old. He donated the meat to a state program that helps feed the needy.
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