Sitka black-tailed deer are less well-known than their inland relatives, mule deer and white-tailed deer, but they are incredibly fun and rewarding to hunt. They are also a primary subsistence resource for many rural residents in Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia.

Interest in hunting Sitka black-tails is growing, in part due to a recent series of shows produced by Randy Newburg, featuring our own founding member Dr. Jim Baichtal, and they provide a nice introduction to hunting this species.

For more information. Visit sitkablacktail.org Very few people are familiar with the Sitka black-tailed deer that occupy the rainy islands of Southeast Alaska. A passionate biologist, Sophie Gilbert, shares her story of learning about these deer through her PhD research and how she finds help from a local hunter, Prince of Wales resident and hunter, Jim Baichtal.

Hunting Alaska Sitka Blacktail Deer with Randy Newberg. Randy joins renowned Sitka Blacktail deer expert, Jim Baichtal, as they climb to the high alpine of Southeast Alaska where Jim takes a big blacktail with his Hawken muzzleloader.

Hunting Alaska Sitka Blacktail with Randy Newberg, is about dreams becoming reality. Randy joins friend and blacktail deer expert, Jim Baichtal, for a dream hunt of Sitka Blacktails in the high alpine of Southeast Alaska.

In episode 1 of this Alaska blacktail hunt, Marcus Hockett is headed up to southeast Alaska with Jim Heffelfinger to meet up with Dr. Jim Baichtal. Baichtal ...

In episode 2 of this southeast Alaska Blacktail Deer hunt, Jim and Jim are back at it trying to fill a deer tag on a bucket list hunt. As two well-studied an...

In episode 3 of this Alaska Blacktail deer hunt Jim and Jim are back at it early in the morning, hiking into an area that Baichtal has been in times past. Th...

On this hunt I was fortunate enough to have Jim Baichtal with me. Neither of us had hunted this mountain before and it wont be the last time either.

Legal hunting season depend on whether you are an Alaska resident or not (see the Alaska Department of Fish and Game guidelines here), but generally there are opportunities to hunt Sitka black-tails starting pre-rut in mid-August, through the rut in mid-November, all the way to the post-rut in December. Another great source of information is the Alaska Blacktail Forum on Facebook.

While habitat and local conditions dictate when and where the best places to hunt occur in any given location, we've put together information for Prince of Wales Island, a popular hunting destination with typical Sitka black-tail habitat that should prove useful for hunting across Southeast Alaska. We’ve also included some guidance on Boone & Crockett scoring and boundaries.

POW Deer Hunting Tips

Boone & Crockett Info

We’ve also compiled some of the best and most interesting hunting experiences that Jim B. has had over the years, which he shares as a blog and will add to through time.

jim's blog posts