Ladies In The Outdoors, Wendy Tharp, New Jersey

Wendy Tharp, New Jersey

Although I grew up tagging along with my father on various hunting trips from pheasant hunting to sitting in a deer stand; my true passion for hunting on my own started about 17 years ago in West Virginia.  That year I took my very first whitetail doe with a rifle on our friend’s property; nearly two years later we bought my first crossbow, and the rest is history! Even though I have a “normal day job”, QA Lab Supervisor for a Dairy Farmers of America plant, my true passion is anything related to the outdoors!   I co-own and operate Twisted Bone HD, a hydro dipping/euro mount business that combines my love of all things outdoors with creating a beautiful, finished product for hunters & huntresses.

The picture I submitted for the “Ladies in the Outdoors” Calendar contest was taken in November of 2017.  The buck pictured is “Tapwrit”, my target buck for that fall season whom I had been watching since late summer.  I am a big fan of the Kentucky Derby & each year I pick a name of a horse in the line up (sometimes the winner) and that is the name of my target buck for that year.  Although “Tapwrit” didn’t win the Derby, he did win the Belmont Stakes and thus the name for my target buck. 

Just as “Tapwrit” was an absolute beautiful horse, “Tapwrit” - my buck was a majestic whitetail with super high brow tines and an almost symmetrical rack.  He evaded me all early season but come the rut in November he finally got on a pattern and gave me an opportunity to harvest him on November 20, 2017.  I put my classic double lung shot on him and he only went about 80 yards!

I will always remember that hunt because my hubby & father had just gotten back from hunting in Missouri, and I harvested my buck the very next day!  That year was also my dad’s last real “good” year, shortly thereafter he had numerous health issues arise in addition to his PTSD (from serving in Vietnam) taking over his life.

Looking forward into 2025, I can’t wait to shed hunt our farms in Ohio and Kentucky.  Curious to see the growth in our bucks this year & learning more about their patterns both in New Jersey & Kentucky.  We are hopefully planning a trip to Alaska in the late spring, early summer and would still love to cross off “Red Stag hunting in New Zealand” from the bucket list.  

Ms. October 2025

Ladies In The Outdoors would like to thank our 2025 sponsor, 365 Coffee Company, for making this possible! We truly appreciate your support. Check them out at www.365coffeecompany.com