After her husband, Jason, missed this buck during the 2023 season, Tara Reese was able to finish the job on the beautiful, mature Kansas whitetail in 2024.
January 30, 2025
By Clifford Neames
Tara Reese and her husband, Jason, were after a giant Kansas whitetail. Jason had taken a shot at it during the 2023 season, narrowly missing a connecting when his arrow skimmed high across the buck’s back. That unfortunate incident fueled an even greater desire to tag him, but the buck avoided them for the rest of that season. The Kansas whitetail was a solid 170s then, but it blew up into a true giant over the summer of 2024 — adding an additional 10-15 inches of antler.
Tara is not a fan of heights, but Jason found the perfect cedar tree for her that was overlooking a travel corridor along a small creek. From there, she could sit concealed and watch a well-used run and scrape line.
“It was actually the only good Cedar on the property,” Jason stated. “And it happened to be in a prime spot!”
The oversized buck was very likely to come through there at some point.
That day came on November 15th. Tara slipped into the lock-on at 2:30 PM, as Jason went to another stand not far away.
Unfortunately, Jason had an arrow skim across the buck’s back last season when he was a 170-class deer. “I was excited because we were getting pics just before daylight,” she remembered. “He had to be about ready to show up.”
An hour into her sit, a small doe eased into view. It hung around for awhile before walking away. The next few hours passed slowly with little action, but then she spotted a young buck across the creek in a pocket of brush.
“I kept scanning, then I saw something dark in the shadows,” she added. “I grabbed my binoculars, but couldn’t find him again.”
Tara texted Jason that something was coming in. Then she could hear it walking and heard two deep grunts.
This year, the buck blossomed to 184 5/8 inches with a weight of 271 pounds as a 6 1/2-year-old. “It was hard to see, but I spotted the tips of his rack, and I knew it was big," she said!
The giant buck was headed to the creek, and she had to make a quick shot as it passed. The bolt covered the 25 yards and sliced directly into the buck’s chest.
“I watched him tear out of there and then I heard a crash, and everything got quiet again,” she smileed. “And Jason heard all of it!”
There was little doubt that the buck was down, and the recovery was a piece of cake. The oversized whitetail weighed 271 pounds at an estimated 6 1/2 years of age. Its perfectly-colored rack scored 184 5/8 inches.