Estimate your Columbia or Sitka blacktail deer buck's Boone & Crockett gross and net score. Select your subspecies, then enter main beam lengths, tine lengths, circumferences, and inside spread below.
Enter all measurements in inches (decimals OK, e.g. 17.5). Leave a tine at 0 if the point does not exist or is under 1 inch.
G1 = brow tine · G2 = second point · G3 = third point · G4 = fourth point (if present)
H1 = between burr and G1 · H2 = between G1 and G2 · H3 = between G2 and G3 · H4 = between G3 and G4
| Measurement | Right | Left | Difference |
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Blacktail deer hold a unique position in North American big game hunting — they are a subspecies of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) but are classified as completely separate trophies by Boone and Crockett. There are two distinct blacktail subspecies that each have their own B&C category with separate minimums: the Columbia blacktail (O. h. columbianus), found along the coast from Northern California to British Columbia, and the Sitka blacktail (O. h. sitkensis), found in Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia. Both use the same B&C measurement system as whitetail — main beams, G1–G4 tines, H1–H4 circumferences, and inside spread — but the minimums are dramatically lower because both subspecies are much smaller animals than their inland mule deer relatives.
The inside spread credit follows the same rule as all B&C species: spread credit equals the inside spread measurement or the length of the longer main beam, whichever is less. Blacktail with wide racks relative to their small beams will see spread credit capped at beam length.
Columbia blacktail range from the coastal mountains of northern California through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. These deer live in some of the densest, foggiest, steepest timber in North America — old-growth Douglas fir, second-growth clear-cuts, and fog-shrouded coastal hills where visibility rarely exceeds 50 yards. A mature Columbia blacktail buck typically scores 80–110 inches, and a genuine trophy buck pushes 120–130. The all-time world record Columbia blacktail scored 172 4/8 net — an exceptional outlier that dwarfs most blacktail ever taken. The B&C typical minimum is 90 net, and Pope and Young minimum is also 90 net, reflecting how challenging it is to harvest even a book-class blacktail. A 100-inch Columbia blacktail is a buck that most serious hunters would be proud to hang on the wall, and a 120-inch buck is exceptional by any measure.
Sitka blacktail are the smallest of the three closely related deer species (whitetail, mule deer, blacktail). They live on the islands and steep coastal terrain of Southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia — areas characterized by dense Sitka spruce and hemlock rainforest, heavy precipitation, and dramatic elevation changes from sea level to alpine meadows. Mature Sitka blacktail bucks typically score 60–80 inches. The B&C minimum for Sitka blacktail is just 75 net typical, reflecting the smaller body and antler size of the subspecies. A 90-inch Sitka blacktail is genuinely exceptional. Pope and Young minimum is 65 net. Despite low score minimums by whitetail standards, Sitka blacktail are considered among the most challenging deer to hunt in North America due to the remote, rugged, wet terrain they inhabit.
Both blacktail subspecies live in terrain that makes them disproportionately difficult to hunt compared to their modest score minimums. Columbia blacktail haunt dense Pacific Coast timber and second-growth clear-cuts with almost no visibility. Fog, rain, and heavy brush are the norm for most of the season. Bucks are rarely seen in the open and require still-hunting skills, patience, and intimate knowledge of terrain. Sitka blacktail require travel to remote Alaska islands or coastal BC by floatplane, boat, or pack rafting — plus the physical ability to hunt extremely steep, wet, slippery terrain. The combination of accessibility challenges, weather, and terrain makes a mature Sitka blacktail as prized by Pacific Northwest and Alaska hunters as a 150-inch whitetail is to a Midwest hunter. Score numbers alone do not capture what these animals demand from the hunter.
Both Columbia and Sitka blacktail are subspecies of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the same species as Rocky Mountain mule deer. They share the forked antler architecture of mule deer — G2 forks into G3 and G4 — though the forks are less pronounced and the overall antler mass is much smaller. Despite being the same species, B&C correctly classifies them separately because interbreeding occurs primarily at range boundaries, the populations occupy distinct geographic areas with distinct hunting traditions, and the trophy standards meaningful to hunters of each subspecies differ enormously. A hunter pursuing Columbia blacktail in the Oregon Coast Range has an entirely different experience from a hunter chasing Rocky Mountain mule deer in Colorado, and the record books reflect that distinction.
Columbia blacktail (O. h. columbianus) range from Northern California through Oregon, Washington, and into British Columbia along the Pacific Coast. They are larger-bodied and typically produce higher antler scores than Sitka blacktail. Sitka blacktail (O. h. sitkensis) are found in Southeast Alaska and coastal British Columbia on the outer islands and coastal rainforest. They are smaller-bodied, live in more extreme terrain, and are generally harder to access. Both are separate B&C categories with different minimum scores — 90 net for Columbia, 75 net for Sitka typical. Sitka are also lighter in color and have shorter faces on average, though the two subspecies intergrade where their ranges overlap in coastal BC.
For Columbia blacktail, a net score of 90–100 inches is a genuine trophy that most hunters would be thrilled with. Anything above 110 is exceptional, and 120+ puts you in an elite category. For Sitka blacktail, a 70–80 inch net score is a real trophy buck. Any Sitka blacktail above 85 inches is exceptional. Context matters — a 95-inch Columbia blacktail taken in the fog-soaked old-growth timber of the Oregon Coast Range represents a significant achievement that deserves as much respect as a 160-inch whitetail from the Midwest.
Taxonomically, yes — both Columbia and Sitka blacktail are subspecies of Odocoileus hemionus, the same species as Rocky Mountain mule deer. They share the forked antler structure of mule deer and interbreed with mule deer where their ranges overlap. However, Boone and Crockett classifies them as separate trophies because they occupy distinct geographic ranges, are pursued by hunters in very different contexts, and the trophy standards meaningful to hunters differ dramatically. In common hunting usage, "mule deer" refers to the inland Rocky Mountain form, while "blacktail" refers specifically to the coastal subspecies.
For Columbia blacktail, the B&C minimum is 90 net typical and 115 net non-typical. Pope and Young minimum for Columbia blacktail is also 90 net typical. For Sitka blacktail, the B&C minimum is 75 net typical and 100 net non-typical. Pope and Young minimum for Sitka is 65 net typical. These minimums are far lower than whitetail or mule deer minimums because both subspecies are smaller animals — a mature Columbia blacktail in prime habitat averages 80–110 inches, comparable to a mature whitetail yearling in the Midwest. The lower minimums appropriately reflect what constitutes an exceptional trophy within each subspecies' context.
For Columbia blacktail, the largest bucks historically come from the coast ranges of southern Oregon and northern California, along with parts of the Cascade foothills in Washington. Private timber land managed for clear-cut age diversity in Oregon and Washington also produces large bucks. For Sitka blacktail, Kodiak Island in Alaska is widely regarded as producing the largest bucks, with outstanding populations also found on Afognak, Raspberry, and other Kodiak Archipelago islands. Kodiak Sitka blacktail benefit from excellent forage, relatively moderate winters for Alaska, and limited hunting pressure relative to the population. The Prince of Wales Island area of Southeast Alaska also produces quality Sitka blacktail.