Deer Hunt Checklist

man in green coat and hat holding a rifle standing in the forest

ALASKAN SUBSISTENCE HUNTER NELS EVANGELISTA PROVIDED US WITH THE DEER HUNTING CHECKLIST HE USES IN THE WILDERNESS WHEN IN SEARCH OF SITKA BLACK-TAILED DEER. THIS DAY HUNT CHECKLIST CAN ENSURE YOU’RE PREPARED FOR WHATEVER YOUR OWN HUNT THROWS YOUR WAY.

As a subsistence hunter my goal for every hunt is to be successful. Over the last 2 years I have worked on providing all sources of meat and fish for my household and reaching the goal of buying zero ounces of meat from grocery stores. For me, successful black tailed deer hunting begins with being prepared, scouting and familiarity or good knowledge of the area you have chosen to hunt. In the area surrounding my home in Alaska the Sitka black-tailed deer is the most frequently pursued species of big game. The Sitka black-tailed deer are related to the mule deer, and are smaller than the Columbian black-tailed deer found in the Pacific Northwest. The largest portion of their harvest happens in November during the rut, when both sexes respond to a call resembling the bleat of a fawn and heavy snow move deer to lower elevations.

A deer with two velvety antlers stands in a forest

In the Pacific Northwest, the Columbian black-tailed deer’s range extends from the shores of the Pacific Ocean From British Columbia to California and easterly towards the Cascade Mountains and as far south to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Columbian black-tailed bucks become less guarded and more focused on reproduction in October through December and respond well to rattling antlers and doe and/or fawn bleat calls. They can be found and successfully hunted in clear cut areas as well as in the thick woods and brushy areas. For both of these types of black-tailed deer I have found success by finding terrain that might serve to funnel the movements of deer, playing the wind, glassing and calling, wearing clothes that are quiet in the woods and brush, hunting all day, and most importantly being alert and patient.

I have found success by finding terrain that might serve to funnel the movements
of deer, playing the wind, glassing and calling, wearing clothes that are quiet in the woods and brush, hunting all day, and most importantly being alert and patient.

Deer Hunt Gear List
(Day Hunt)

  • Hunting License

  • Harvest Tickets or Tags (consent from the land owner)

  • Map, GPS, Compass

  • Lighter/Matches

  • Water

  • Food

  • Flashlight

  • Flares

  • Rifle and Scope ( 30-06, .270, or .308)

  • Box of Ammunition

  • Binoculars

  • Frame Pack or Internal Frame Pack

  • Hunting and or Skinning Knife

  • Parachute cord for hanging or tying up meat

  • Bone Saw

  • Game bags

  • One small tarp

  • First aid kit

  • Hunter’s Blaze Orange

  • Durable Layered Hunting clothes and clothes for bad weather

  • Hunting boots

  • Wool socks

  • Let a loved one know where you will be hunting and when they should  expect you to return or check back in.

person holding a rifle over their shoulder with etching on the metal bolt housing
one man holding a canoe over his head next to a man holding a rifle standing over a downed deer

Shop collection

hunting gear layout from above on a wooden floor shop filson hunting