ST. PAUL, Mo. — 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.
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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.