Well, the search for my ghost buck continues……
As this saga enters its forth year I find myself no further ahead in locating a deer we have appropriately called ‘Ghost buck’.
Most of you know I am an avid trail camera aficionado. I find them to be perhaps the most useful scouting tool ever invented. On the other side of the coin, they can also frustrate the hell out of you!
Every hunter should know it is somewhat unrealistic to think you’ll harvest every big buck that appears on your camera, and that locating a particular wily beast will be an easy task.
Although I have seen several bucks over the years during the hunting season and matched them up to photos on my camera, such has never been the case with my old pal the ghost buck.
The first year I captured an image of old ghosty was back in 2009 – 3 days prior to the Quebec rifle season. Although my camera had been in place since Sep that year, ghosty appeared on only one particular evening around 11:00 PM and was never seen again that season.
Until the fall of 2010, of course, when he returned for a visit. You guessed it, he was there again exactly 3 days before the opening of rifle season! This year he was bigger again; sporting a handsome looking 10-point rack with a distinctive forked tine. Well, we never saw ghosty that year and did not capture any more images of him.
The 2011 deer rifle season arrived this past weekend with great anticipation. I couldn’t wait to get into camp and check the camera for my old ghost friend.
After scrolling through several hundred photos of does, fawns and a smaller buck, WHAM! There he was in all his glory and man he was looking better than ever!
This year he mixed up his visit a little and arrived 4 days prior to the season instead of 3.
And as with previous years, we hunted his suspected hang-out spots for 5 days to no avail. The ghost buck was nowhere to be seen and I was starting to develop mixed feelings about the elusive bad boy.
I was certainly pleased that he had made it through at least 4 hunting seasons, but miffed that I still never got a chance to see him in the flesh.
I am beginning to think this old boy may eventually die of old age and I suppose, in a way, he will have earned that right.
(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2009)
(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2009)
(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2010)
(Ghost buck as he appeared in 2010)
(Ghost buck as he appeared last week (2011)
(Ghost buck as he appeared last week (2011)
(Ghost buck as he appeared last week (2011)