Tiffiny Shines

Late Season success, never giving up!

Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I met my girl Tiffiny almost 3 years ago and quickly found that she shared my love for the outdoors. She said she always had an interest in hunting but never had anyone to “ Show her the ropes “. After accompanying me to the stand one time last year, she was hooked. Being a Hunter Safety Instructor I booked her in a class I was instructing and I was proud to present her with her Hunter’s Safety Card after she scored a 98% on the written test.

She spent the rest of the year practicing with her bow as well as a rifle to ensure she was ready when the moment of truth came. After an uneventful season, and two misses (one with the bow and one with the gun), she was ready to pack it in for the season. I convinced her to give it one more try this hunting season so we headed out on January 8^th, the last day of the two day late rifle season in Dorchester County.

We were relaxing comfortably in a ground blind on the edge of a pine thicket where I found several deer had been bedding on a regular basis. The afternoon was rather quiet with the exception of two very vocal foxes that just wouldn’t leave the area.

About 4:45 the foxes left the area and immediately things became quiet and out came the squirrels. With shooting light rapidly fading, I looked at Tiff and apologized for not making it happen this year for her. Just as I started moving forward in the seat to stand up, Tiff grabbed my arm and said, “ Don’t move, I see one!” I looked up just in time to see one staring right at us in the blind, giving us the ole head bob. I froze in my tracks and eventually the deer lowered his head and continued browsing when a few more wandered into the area. I could see her excitement was building by the second.

With about a minute left of last shooting light he stepped into a narrow shooting lane and she said, “ I’m going to shoot “. Before I could respond, the .308 barked out and down went her trophy without taking another step. I must say the feeling that I felt at that moment could never be duplicated. He was no Boone Crockett buck. In fact he was a button buck, but it didn’t matter to either of us. In her eyes and mine, he was the deer of a lifetime and if I never shoot another deer the rest of my life it was worth it.