With countless hours of practice with her bow during the summer, Bob Clark, Tiffany's husband, felt confident that she was ready to take on the responsibility of taking a deer in the wild. The start of bow season rolled around with the anticipation of taking on a new sport. Bob had arrangements with his new-found friend Jeff Stevens of Kansas Big Boys to take Tiffany to one of the hotspots in South-Central Kansas. That first evening of hunting brought excitement of an eventful hunt. But, what sometimes happens, the darkness fell without any deer making an appearance. Tiffany took it in stride, getting in a few jabs at her husband and her guide, wondering where all the action is.

Two days later, as a storm rolled in, Tiffany sat in her stand near her home and made a perfect shot on a mature doe as it entered a wheat field. She kept her nerves in tact as she harvested a deer in her first attempt to draw on a live animal. Bob was able to share the experience with Tiffany while videotaping the event.

The first Saturday of season found Tiffany back on stand in the "hotspot". With the pressure off by already taking a doe, Tiffany was prepared to sit and wait until the next opportunity presented itself. That wait turned out to be about ten minutes after daylight when a fat doe presented a shot. Tiffany took her time and made another successful shot in her second attempt. Tiffany called out by walkie-talkie to let Bob know that she was successful. He had hardly had time to settle in his own stand when word of her success had reached him.

That Saturday afternoon found Tiffany exhausted from the early morning hunt, napping on the couch. She entertained thoughts of passing on the evening hunt, but soon was up and enthusiastic about the upcoming hunt. Jeff joined Bob and Tiffany on the hunt. Talk of holding out for her first buck filled the truck as they drove back to the woods. Many bucks has been spotted during the scouting trips, with one in particular sticking out in their minds. Tiffany has expressed interest in non-typical bucks and one fitting the discription had been seen a couple of times in the area. After lots of expert advise on holding out for a buck meeting her standards, Tiffany was heading for the stand again with Jeff setting up a few hundred yards away to assist if needed.

The evening got interesting quickly. Does and small bucks poured into the small field from several directions to feed as darkness approached. The number of deer quickly approached twenty, with several small bucks feeding around her. The non-typical buck was a no-show with only a large doe somewhat grabbing her attention of maybe being a "shooter". Entering into her last twenty minutes of shooting time, Tiffany was covered up with deer feeding all around her. Thoughts of satifaction of just being witness of so many deer around her at one time filled her head. Then, from out of nowhere, a very large bodied deer came into view from behind her. Time froze as the deer came in from downwind, practically walking under her stand. She held her breath as she noticed the massive antlers on the buck for the first time. Time stood still as Tiffany waited for the buck to walk away in order to persent a shot. With over twenty sets of eyes within view, Tiffany got her bow drawn and set up for the shot. Something usually goes wrong during moments like this, and this time was no exception, the peep site was twisted and not aligned with the bow string. With the practice paying off, Tiffany adjusted the peep with her nose and prepared for the shot. With the buck standing slightly quartering away at 22 yards, Tiffany made the shot count. The field erupted with whitetails going in every direction; Tiffany maintained her focus on her target, marking the spot where the massive buck exited the field. With a quick call to Jeff, the job of recovering the trophy was underway in the dwindling daylight.

Jeff was skeptical of exactly just how big her "big buck" was. His guiding experiences has taught him to be cautious of the dredded "ground shrinkage". After a short trail, the moment of truth was at hand. The buck had more that exceeded the expectations of Jeff and Tiffany. Talk about making the first one count, the 9-pointer, 20 inches plus inside spread, sported four tines reaching more than a foot into the air. The 26 inch mainbeams turned up at the end, adding to the symetrical character of the rack. The live weight of the Dakota strain buck tipped the scales at 270 pounds. Even though this was her first buck, Tiffany was well aware of what she had just accomplished. Her next impulse was to share it with her husband Bob.

They left the buck in the edge of the field and went to pick him up. With only a few facts concerning that Tiffany had shot a buck that would qualify as a "good first buck", Bob didn't know what to expect. Words were hard to find to describe the emotion felt by Bob. His wife has just accomplished something that had eluded him for years.

The days that followed were filled with friends and family and lots of pictures. Several local newspapers carried the story about the young lady and the buck of a lifetime. Tiffany has held up like a seasoned veteran who shoots trophy bucks year after year. When asked how she's going to top this one next year, she responds that she's still after that big non-typical. There's a big buck out there somewhere with her name on it, I'm sure not going to bet against her to find it.

For more information about hunting in Kansas with Kansas Big Boys, contact Jeff Stevens at (316) 207-8282 or on the web at www.kansashunting.com.