Pope and Young confirms a new velvet Sitka blacktail deer record.
The bowhunting world has a new typical Sitka blacktail deer and the new holder is none other than hunting legend Chuck Adams. Pope and Young Club announced Adam's 109 7/8-inch net velvet buck just barely edged out the previous record of 108 1/8 inches. The previous record was taken by Allen Bolen in 2020, thus marking the second year in a row someone has broken the velvet typical record.
Adams' giant buck was harvested on Kodiak Island, Alaska back on August 12. The island is well known worldwide as the top Sitka blacktail hunting destination on the planet.
"I have been blessed to hunt Kodiak Island for 17 years, it is one of my favorite hunts to do," Adams said in a Pope and Young press release. "Amazingly, as luck would have it this buck was the very first buck I saw on this trip. There was never a doubt that this was a buck of a lifetime."
The big buck's score was confirmed during a special panel scoring in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The deer grossed 112 6/8 inches and is one of the most symmetrical Sitka blacktails ever harvested. Only 2 7/8 inches of deductions factored into the final score of the animal.
"Once again, this amazing animal is a true testament to the success of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and supports all science-based conservation programs across North America," Pope and Young Records Chairman Roy Grace said in a press release.
Amazingly, this is not the first time Adams has held a Sitka blacktail world record. In 1986, he harvested a buck scoring 108 4/8 inches that briefly held the world record for a typical blacktail buck. That record was bested by two larger bucks in 1987. It's slipped a little in the years since. However, his 1986 buck still sits in the number eight position all-time.
We're not too surprised to see Adams drop another world record. He holds more Pope & Young entries than any other hunter ever at more than 200. He also has 10 animals in Boone and Crockett's books. While most hunters will go their whole lives without ever taking a record book animal, this newest buck marks Adams' sixth archery world record. He says this velvet buck is his best-ever in four decades of pursuing the elusive Sitkas.
"Records are meant to be broken and all my previous 5 P&Y world records have been bested, including another Sitka buck from 1986," Adams wrote on his Facebook page. "To once again shoot a potential #1 animal is just as exciting now as it has ever been!"
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