‘Lucky’ bow kill is Trail Cam Finals winner

Jim Smith

Smith with the buck he harvested minutes after the winning Trail Cam photo was made

Jim Smith of Havelock only runs one trail camera, but that was all he needed to capture the 2010-11 NorthCarolinaSportsman.com Trail Cam Finals contest and win a brand new Moultrie Game Spy D-55 Trail Cam and a $25 Sportsman Outdoor Store gift coupon.

As the monthly winner for December, Smith was in the Trail Cam photo titled ‘Lucky’ that was made just moments before he harvested the buck pictured in the foreground.

“Thirty minutes before dark this buck showed up between me and my trail cam, and 15 minutes later he showed up in the back of my truck,” Smith wrote in his entry.

To view the winning Trail Cam photo click here.

“My friends and family thought my photo was pretty incredible,” Smith said. “My daughter and son-in-law were very supportive, and they kept stressing that it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of shot, and that it was amazing to have been captured so well on a trail cam photo.”

Smith’s brother-in-law has two trail cams out in the same area where the buck was harvested, but all season long the cameras did not reveal much except for some does and lots of squirrels. Then Smith moved his camera and got lucky, catching his buck on film within a day or two.

“Obviously, using the trail cam helped me establish a routine for my buck,” Smith said. “I followed his schedule, and most of the pictures came less than an hour after dark. It felt like he was toying with me, and his size let me know that he had played this game before.

“The day I harvested this buck, he showed up just about 30 minutes left before darkness would have kicked me out of the stand.”