Pope and Young measurer Ron Niziolek (right) putting a tape to Chuck Adams’ potential world record velvet Sitka blacktail.
This shouldn’t come as surprising news to anyone who has followed the incredible bowhunting career of Chuck Adams through the decades: It looks like he’s arrowed a new world record. Chuck wrote the following on his Chuck Adams Archery Facebook page:
“The big Sitka buck I harvested in August on a DIY hunt was just scored by Pope and Young Club measurer Ron Niziolek (above right). With a gross score of 112 6/8 and a net score of 109 7/8, this rack came in at 1 6/8 above the current typical velvet world record set by fellow bowhunter Allen Bolen.
“A special P&Y measuring panel is set to finalize the score in the near future. As reported on my post in August, this is my best Sitka buck after nearly four decades of hunting these awesome animals!
“Records are meant to be broken, and all my previous five P&Y world records have been bested, including another Sitka buck from 1986. To once again shoot a potential No. 1 animal is just as exciting now as it ever has been!"
Adams spent more than two weeks solo backpacking several miles of steep terrain of Alaska’s Kodiak Island in pursuit of Sitka blacktails.
“I managed to bag three of the best four bucks I saw on the trip,” Adams said after returning home. “I have arrowed over three dozen Sitkas, but never three bucks on one hunt as large as all of these. Each green-scores above 100 inches net, and one over 111 net. Two remain in the velvet. As always, the thrill was searching for large racks and passing up smaller ones. More hunting in the long run, less killing short-term. It's not about trophies so much as it is the challenge of locating them and getting really close.”
Adams is excited that his potential world record velvet Sitka buck will be considered by a special panel of Pope and Young. “I feel humbled and honored to have an animal worthy of a special panel,” he said. “I have always respected Pope and Young for being so precise in evaluating trophies.”
Congrats, Chuck, on a magnificent Sitka blacktail!
Editor’s note: Chuck Adams will write four features for Bowhunting World print magazine in 2022. In addition to his tremendous trip for Sitka blacktails, Adams also had fantastic bowhunts in 2021 for elk, mule deer and pronghorn. Stay tuned!
