For two years, Maine bowhunter CJ McMahon played cat-and-mouse with an unusually elusive buck he nicknamed “Wide Load.” Unlike most mature deer that rotate between two or three bedding areas, this one drifted unpredictably among six, outsmarting 20 cameras and countless hours of scouting.

The breakthrough came three days ago when a trail camera tipped McMahon off that the deer was close. Knowing the buck was already in the area, he avoided his treestand, slipped into a ghillie suit and crawled into a thick bush to wait.

For nearly an hour, McMahon sat still, listening and watching. As daylight faded, he finally saw the buck stand up in the thicket just 20 yards away. He watched it feed and creep closer, every step angling toward the bush he had hidden in.

“At 4 feet, he froze and locked

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