Nice Sitka Blacktail buck harvested during the rut
Buck and Doe enlarged from the
picture on the left
Sitka Blacktail Deer Hunting
Hunting at Thorne Bay Lodge on Prince of Wales Island
Nonresident:
Hunting License $85
over the counter Deer Tag $150
You must pay with cash or
check if you purchase your
license and tags on the island.
Sitka Blacktail Deer offer a unique hunting experience and Prince of Wales Island is the best place to get your
trophy.  The island has a very healthy population of deer and the state of Alaska allows for a long season which starts
mid August and goes through the end of the year, but the best time to hunt is in late October and early November.  
Deer hunting is tough early in the season because the deer are all up on the "alpine" meadows above timberline.  The
harvest limit is 4 deer per person, one deer per tag.  The most common way to hunt deer on the island is the "spot
and stalk" method.  Sitka Blacktail deer also respond well to fawn distress or predator calls.  Hunting for Sitka
Blacktail deer is a unique experience and there isn't a milder tasting deer on earth.  Hunting on Prince of Wales is a
lot different than hunting in other parts of the US.  The forest is thick on the island and the clear cuts aren't clear at all.  
You may see a deer in a clear cut but it would be tough stalking them because you would be walking through a maze
of logs and debris.  The best areas to stalk deer are in the muskeg meadows where the terrain opens up a little and the
foliage isn't quite as thick.  As you can see in the picture below the deer are difficult to see in the thick forest.  The
rack on the buck makes him a little easier to locate.  Patience and good optics will help you locate deer in the thick
forest.
Click here to check out the website for Alaska Fish and Game.  Regulations are
available online.

Check out this website for good satellite images of the island.
http://mapper.acme.com/
Search for Thorne Bay, AK and select the Satellit option in the top right.
Copyright © Thorne Bay Lodge 2007. All rights reserved.
Thorne Bay Lodge is an equal opportunity provider on the Tongass National Forest, USDA.