Description
Sitka Blacktail Deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis)
Inhabiting the temperate rainforests and rugged islands of Alaska’s southeast coast, the Sitka Blacktail Deer is a small, hardy subspecies of blacktail. With a dense, dark coat, compact build, and distinctive black-tipped tail, it’s well adapted to wet climates, steep slopes, and heavy vegetation. Elusive and resilient, it embodies the wild, rain-soaked coastal wilderness of the North Pacific.
Aliases
Sitka Blacktail
Sitka Deer
Alaska Blacktail
Northern Blacktail
Associates
Vancouver Island Blacktail Deer
Engagement Strategies
Blind Hunting
Call / Decoy Hunting
Spot & Stalk Hunting
Still Hunting
Effective Weapons
Centerfire Rifle
Compound Bow
Muzzle Loader
Recurve / Long Bow
Opportunity Assessment
Rating: Moderate
Population
-Generally healthy and stable, with densities varying widely by island, winter severity, and predator pressure.
-Populations are highly localized and strongly influenced by habitat quality, snowfall, and access.
Distribution
-Found primarily in Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia, especially on islands and narrow mainland coastal strips.
-Concentrated in low-elevation rainforest, muskeg edges, alpine transition zones, and managed timberlands.
Regulation
-Seasons are typically more liberal than mainland blacktails, with long general seasons and generous bag limits in some areas.
-Regulations vary by unit and island, with access and weather often being the limiting factors rather than tags.
Demand
-High demand among blacktail specialists, Alaska hunters, and GSCO-style collectors.
-Valued for the challenge of dense rainforest hunting, harsh weather, and true coastal wilderness conditions.
Quick Threat
Rating: Moderate
Terrain
-Extreme brush density, steep coastal sidehills, slick moss, blowdowns, and logging slash.
-Movement is slow, noisy, and physically taxing with very limited sightlines.
Weather
-Nearly constant rain, fog, wind, and saturation throughout the season.
-Sudden storms can collapse visibility and quickly lead to cold stress.
Grit
-Days of slow still-hunting with minimal visual confirmation of deer.
-Success demands patience, discipline, and comfort hunting in isolation.
Conflict
-Regular overlap with black bears and cougars in the same timber and drainages.
-Hunting pressure rapidly shifts deer to weather-only or near-nocturnal movement.
Mission Critical Gear
Apparel
-Breathable rain gear
-Brush Resistant Pants
-Solid Base Layer
-Gloves
Accessories
-Compass
-Wind checker
Bait / Scent
Calls / Decoys
Dog / Falconry Gear
Electronics / Lights
-GPS
-Headlamp
Footwear
-Waterproof Boots
-Stalking slippers
Game Care Gear
-Medium Game Bags
Kitchen / Hydration Gear
Knives / Tools
-Lightweight pruning saw
Nutrition
Optics
-Quality binoculars
-Rangefinder
Packs / Bags
Shelter / Sleep System
Stands / Blinds
Survival / Aid Gear
-First-aid Kit
Watercraft
Skill Set Demands
-Wind Reading
-Tracking
-Glassing
-Shot Placement
-Navigation
-Weather Reading
-Trophy Care
-Bear Aware
-Deer Behavior
-Mental Endurance
Physical Characteristics
Jet-Black Tail with Minimal White
-A solid black tail with very limited white underside, darker and more defined than mule deer or whitetails.
Dark, Moisture-Adaptive Coat
-Coat ranges from dark gray-brown to deep chocolate and often appears nearly black when wet, blending perfectly into coastal timber.
Compact, Stocky Body Structure
-Shorter legs, dense muscle, and a low center of gravity built for steep, brushy, rain-soaked coastal terrain rather than open country.
Narrow, Forward-Forking Antlers
-Tight, compact antlers with forward forks and limited spread, shaped by dense understory and thick forest travel corridors.
Characteristics of a Trophy
Narrow heavy antlers
-Mature bucks carry narrow but heavily massed antlers, often with deep bases, tight forks, and short tines shaped by heavy cover.
Short thick Face
-Faces on mature bucks appear shorter and thicker, with a broader muzzle and heavier jawline than younger deer.
Darker in Color
-Capes are typically darker, sometimes nearly charcoal on the back and face during late fall and winter.
Slow Deliberate Actions
-Prime bucks move with a slow, deliberate, cautious walk—often pausing to scan and scent-check before every step.
Diet
Grasses
-Spring grasses
-Sedges
-Reed canary grass
-Young forbs
-Vetch
-Clover
-Fireweed shoots
-Early-season annuals
Forbs
-Salmonberry
-Thimbleberry
-Blackberry
-Elderberry
-Huckleberry
-Trailing blackberry vines
-Sword fern tips
-Woodland forbs
Browse
-Vine maple
-Red alder sprouts
-Ceanothus
-Willow tips
-Salal
-Evergreen huckleberry
-Oregon grape
-Young conifer growth
Mast & Seasonal Foods
-Acorns, apples
-Late-season berries
-Maple seeds
-Fallen fruit from rural homesteads or orchards.
Field Behavioral Patterns
General Social Dynamics
-Columbian black-tailed deer live in small, loosely connected family groups shaped by dense coastal forests, fern bottoms, and patchy clearcuts.
-Does and fawns form the core social units, while mature bucks remain solitary most of the year, appearing around doe groups only during the rut.
-Deer concentrate around edge habitat such as logging cuts, creek bottoms, brushy benches, and timbered ridges, shifting with forage availability and pressure.
-Social hierarchy is subtle: dominant bucks assert rank through posture, rubbing, lip-curling, and short, intense sparring during the rut.
Reproductive Behavior
-Rut: Late November through early December (peak varies with latitude and elevation).
-Fawning: Late May–June, typically in thick brush, salal beds, or grassy pockets with overhead canopy for concealment.
-Does seek secluded, shaded cover where predators like coyotes, bobcats, or bears are easier to detect.
-Bucks compete through stiff-legged walking, antler hooking, rubbing, sparring, and high-intensity chasing, especially during peak rut windows.
Movement Patterns
-Blacktails are most active at dawn, dusk, and during storm breaks, moving between timber beds, food edges, and rut travel routes.
-They commonly travel just inside the timber line—where they can feed on edges while remaining one step from cover.
-In hot or dry weather, they shift deeper into north-facing slopes, creek bottoms, and fern-choked timber where shade and moisture hold.
-Winter movement tightens around lower elevations, mast-producing stands (acorns, maple, elderberry), and evergreen browse zones depending on snow depth.
Human & Hunting Pressure
-Pressured blacktails become almost entirely nocturnal, moving only during heavy weather, fog, or rain when visibility and scenting conditions favor them.
-Repeated hunting pressure pushes mature bucks deeper into steep, brushy sanctuaries.
-Bucks may abandon typical travel routes once disturbed, switching to sidehill trails, backdoor ridges, or alder-tight drainages.
-Even mild disturbance makes mature bucks tighten their daylight movement window to minutes, making weather timing, stealth, and silent approaches critical.
Reconnaissance
Morning
-Glass clearcut edges, reprod, and timber transitions at first light as deer move from feeding to bedding cover.
-Watch south- and east-facing slopes where early sun hits and deer linger briefly before entering timber.
-Focus on creek crossings, benches, and skid roads used during dawn movement windows.
-Move slowly—blacktails often appear suddenly at close range in low light.
Mid-Day
-Shift to still-hunting shaded north-facing slopes, deep timber, and fern bottoms where deer bed.
-Check thick bedding cover near edges rather than pushing far into the timber.
-Look for fresh tracks, beds, rubbed saplings, and faint sidehill trails.
-Use rain or fog to still-hunt quietly and close distance.
Evening
-Re-glass feeding edges, reprod cuts, and brushy openings as deer stage before dark.
-Focus on travel corridors just inside timber, not open clearcuts.
-Watch benches and finger ridges that funnel deer toward feed.
-Be set early—movement windows are short and subtle.
Tips
-Prioritize wind discipline; swirling coastal air ruins stalks fast.
-Use poor weather—rain, mist, and fog increase daylight movement.
-Pressure pushes bucks deeper, not farther—hunt tight cover near edges.
-Slow, patient glassing consistently outperforms distance hiking.
Theater of Operation
-Alaska, US
-British Columbia, CA
Slams & Awards
Grand Slam Club Ovis
-Super 10
-Super 25
-Super 40
-Super 50
-Super Slam
-Youth 3
Safari Club International
-Alternative Methods 24
-Animals of North America
-Animals of North America (Bow)
-Antlered Game of the Americas
-Antlered Game of the World
-Global Hunting Award
-Hunting Achievement Award
-Multiple Methods
-North American 12
-North American 29
-North American Deer
-Top Ten Award
Records
Safari Club International
Typical - North America - Free Range
Firearms
Bronze - 80"
Silver - 89-7/8”
Gold - 98-1/8”
Bow
Bronze - 72”
Silver - 88-7/8"
Gold - 96"
Non-Typical - North America - Free Range
Firearms
Bronze - 94"
Silver - 94-4/8”
Gold - 105”
Bow
Bronze - 80”
Silver - N/A
Gold - 107-6/8"
Boone & Crockett Club
Typical
Awards - 100"
All-Time - 108"
Non-Typical
Awards - 118"
All-Time - 118"
Pope & Young
Typical
Records - 75"
Non-Typical
Records - 85" (5")
Sources
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