Measurers present at the recent P&Y special panel were (L to R) Dallas Smith of Utah, Justin Spring of Montana, Dallas Leo of Utah, and Roger Atwood of Idaho. Also present to oversee the special panel was P&Y Record’s Chairman Roy Grace of Arizona.
On Oct. 28, 2020, the Pope and Young Club convened a special panel of judges at the Cabela’s Store in Lehi, Utah, to consider a potential archery world-record velvet non-typical mule deer (top photo), as well as a potential archery world-record velvet typical Sitka blacktail.
Velvet Non-Typical Mule Deer Record
Justin Gordon’s velvet mule deer scored 324 3/8 inches and is now the largest bow-harvested velvet non-typical mule deer in North America. This massive muley was shot in Colorado, on Sept. 2, 2018.
This mule deer surpasses the previous largest velvet non-typical mule deer in the records program taken by Jeff Cisneros with a score of 272 6/8 inches. The Pope and Young Club recently changed a policy that now allows velvet antlered species to be eligible for world records status within their own velvet categories.
"To find an animal this rare in such a remote and beautiful setting can only be described as once in a lifetime." said Gordon. "Five days into the 2018 archery season the buck was first spotted by a friend with whom I shared basecamp. The buck was a spooky deer, constantly on the move and rarely hanging around past predawn light. Several days after we initially spotted the buck, the deer actually presented an opportunity for a stalk. After a couple of hours on the stalk, I found myself inside 27 yards of the bedded buck. When he stood, he presented a steep quartering away shot. The arrow was true and the buck died after a very short run downhill."
Velvet Typical Sitka Blacktail Record
Allen Bollen’s velvet Sitka blacktail scored 108 1/8 inches and is now the largest bow-harvested velvet typical Sitka blacktail in North America. This record-breaking blacktail was shot in southeast Alaska.
This buck surpasses the previous largest velvet typical blacktail deer in the records program by 2 5/8 inches.
“This was a self-guided DIY backpacking hunt,” Bollen said. “Over 3 years I’ve put in 36 days living out of a backpack looking for giant Sitka deer.”
World Records On Display
You can see both of these incredible animals on display at the Pope and Young’s Biennial Awards Convention and Pope and Young’s 60th Anniversary, in Reno, NV, April 14-17, 2021. One of the largest displays of North American, bow-harvested, big-game animals (velvet and hard antlered) will be assembled for viewing. For convention information, click here.
