Big Buck Redemption: Carolina Man Downs Massive Mountain Monarch

Rutherford County, North Carolina, is known for its beautiful scenery and rugged mountains. One thing you won't find there are many mature whitetail bucks. Western North Carolina is a very hard area to hunt, and rarely do you get pictures or sightings of mature deer. But with the rough terrain in some areas there, you can find a few mature deer.

Adam Yelton found himself in this exact position in the summer and fall of 2019. Yelton had gained permission to hunt a new piece of property. He threw a few trail cameras out to see what deer were in the area. Luckily for him, one of the first pictures he got was of a great 8-point with a flyer off his right G2. He believes the buck was around 3 1/2 years old that year.

Adam started hunting the property but had no encounters with the deer. He was still getting pictures, so he knew the buck had made it through the gauntlet of North Carolina’s 6-week gun season. He began making plans to go all-in on this buck the next year, so he made multiple mineral sites and had a few areas picked out to hunt.

Adam hunted the deer hard that fall, but season ended with no encounters. Over the next couple of years the buck had nearly vanished, and Adam received few pictures of him. Going into the 2022 season, Adam was almost certain the buck had made it; because if a deer like that had been killed, word would have spread like wildfire. As it turned out the buck had made it, and he had grown into a gnarly North Carolina buck.

Unlike years before, the buck was like clockwork this year. As the season got closer, the buck had become even more predictable. The stand Adam had chosen to hunt required a north wind, and the opening weekend of archery season in early September was showing he was going to get it.

Adam got in his stand a few hours before dark, since the buck had been moving during the last hour of shooting light. As he sat there with high anticipation, he had a bachelor group of bucks working their way in about 30 minutes before legal shooting light ended. Then Adam saw the giant coming at the back of the bachelor group. He came into range and Adam ranged him at 33 yards. He slowly drew his bow back and settled his pin before squeezing on his trigger, but Adam was shattered as he watched his arrow fly just under the buck and stick in the ground!

Adam had several encounters with the buck over the next month, but he was never presented with another shot. He had a trip planned for Ohio in early October, so he pulled all his cameras to take them to a new Ohio farm he had permission to hunt. After doing this, he was unsure if the buck was sticking to his normal routine or if he even was on the property. Since he had doubts and the state’s gun season was about to open, Adam decided to get aggressive.

Adam pushed into where he thought the buck was bedding on the opening day of rifle season, and he had does come by early. With daylight fading fast, he caught a glimpse of a deer moving towards him. He saw it was just a small buck with a doe. The small buck kept bumping the doe, so Adam was on high alert. As he scanned the timber, he saw the giant buck he’d been hunting coming through the timber.

He traded his binoculars for his rifle, and he tried to calm himself for what was about to be the shot of his lifetime. As the buck trailed the other two deer, he stepped into a shooting lane and Adam bleated to stop the buck. As the shot rang out and echoed through the mountains of Rutherford County, the massive buck dropped!

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Adam knew a special event in his life had just occurred. All the hard work and hours on-stand had paid off. He says it's something he'll never forget, and he is blessed to be the one who could close the chapter on a special Western North Carolina buck. The Adam Yelton buck has 16 scoreable points and scores right at 170 inches gross.