Catching up with the buck you saw on your trail camera is a thrill

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Jan. 9, 2021.
In a hunter’s perfect world, those big bucks we see on trail cameras in July and September wouldn’t disappear come hunting season. Instead, we’d end up crossing paths with the exact same 12-pointer we’ve been admiring for months.
Unfortunately, that’s not often the way it works. A buck will step in front of our cameras once, never to be seen again, and we end up wondering what in the world is going on.
But sometimes, a plan does come together. Sometimes, we get exactly what we were hoping for. And sometimes, we end up with the hunt of a lifetime.
Russell Arcand of Wisconsin sent us a pair of photos: A trail camera photo of a magnificent buck that was taken on Sept. 10, 2007, and a post-hunt photo of Arcand with the same deer six weeks later.
Arcand said the second shot of the deer he’d nicknamed “Corkscrew” was taken a half mile away from the first.
That’s one example of a plan coming together perfectly. The fact that it took place 13 years ago might indicate how rare incidents like this are.
Still, it provides some hope that someday, one of those majestic mystery bucks from our trail cameras will show up in real life, during a hunting season.
Do you have a trail camera photo or video to share? Send it to [email protected] and tell us “I consent to the BDN using my photo.” In order to prevent neighbors from stopping by to try to tag particularly large bucks, moose or bears, some identities and towns of origin may be omitted.
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