He’s regarded by peers as one of the best bowhunters of all time, but for Chuck Adams, it started on a hunt with his dad and granddad like it did for so many of us.
Adams, who’s killed more than 1,500 big game animals with his bow during his lifetime, says his first deer was a small 3-by-3 in his native northern California when he was 12-years old.
"It was hard hunting in California, to this day California still has one of the lowest success rates for deer," said Adams during a recent visit on West Virginia Outdoors. "It was toward the end of the six-week season when I finally did shoot the little 3-by-3 buck with my .270 Winchester. I was thrilled."
Adams continues his story noting the area where he killed his first deer was fewer than five miles from where Ishi, the last wild Indian in the nation, spent is last years before coming out to live among the white men. Adams says he learned to hunt in the "cradle of bow hunting." Adams says it was Ishi who taught Pope and Young how to use a bow to hunt.
It wasn’t long that Adams picked up the bow, out of a desire to extend his season and has never found a desire to put it down.
"I seriously started hunting with a bow when I was 13," said Adams. "I’d look forward to filling that gun tag all season, and it was over in one-day and I’d have to wait another year."
Adams says his first deer with a bow took three years to kill, but once he had it mastered, there was no looking back.
Adams carries a resume that dwarfs the accomplishments of most hunters anywhere in the world. He’s the first archer in history to achieve the "Super Slam" a feat marked by the harvest of all 27 varieties of North American big game. He’s tagged more than twice as many official Pope and Young record book trophies as any other hunter in history. He has 122 to his credit and 31 are pending certification. During his lifetime, Adams has held world records for the Sitka Blacktail, Coues Whitetail, Mountain Caribou, American Bison, and American elk. All of those records have since been broken, but he held them for many years. If that weren’t enough, he has 10-animals he’s killed with a bow that are certified in the Boone and Crockett record books–typically dominated by firearms kills. He also has 189 animals that are registered with Safari Club International’s bow hunting record books.
"I’ve had different kinds of challenges with different animals," said Adams. "I’d say the Coues Deer, that little desert dwelling whitetail, all things considered, is the most difficult animal in North America to hunt with a bow and arrow."
Adams says the Coues, which are found mostly in Arizona and New Mexico are elusive, skittish, and almost invisible.
"They live in the very noisy desert. There’s not much food so they move around a lot and they’re not patternable and then mountain lions chase them every day of their life," Adams explained. "Spot and stalking them is very tough."
Adams accolades as a hunter spill over into his professional life. He’s an accomplished outdoor writer with more than 55-hundred magazine articles to his credit. He’s also a regular on a number of the outdoor television shows as an authority on bow hunting. The accomplished speaker also holds the distinction of being in three bow hunting halls of fame. The Safari Club, National Bow hunters, and the Archery Hall of Fame have all added Adams to their list of honorees–a triple honor accomplished by fewer than a dozen archers–including the late Fred Bear.
"I didn’t actively go after the Super Slam, I just realized in the mid 1980’s I was about halfway there," said Adams. "I just always liked variety in hunting and I thought what great variety that would be and what great fodder for writing magazine articles than to go after all of those remaining animals and that’s what I did."
You’ll have the chance to meet Chuck Adams this weekend at the West Virginia Bow hunters Association 30th Anniversary Rendezvous at Flatwoods. Adams will stage a seminar for the public Friday night. He’ll also be the keynote speaker Saturday at the Bow hunters Association Banquet. The banquet is by reservation only. To learn more about the events call Ed McMinn at 304-746-0750 or Bryan Elkins at 304-836-5611.
