Where do I buy a Alaska hunting license?

Alaska hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.

When is Alaska hunting season?

Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Alaska season dates change every year. Our Alaska deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) regulations before you plan a hunt.

What can you hunt in Alaska?

Besides sitka black-tailed deer, our species guides single out Alaska for moose, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.

Where is public hunting land in Alaska?

Good starting points include Tongass National Forest — Admiralty Island, Tongass National Forest — Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest — Chichagof/Baranof Islands. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.

Hunting · State by State

Alaska Hunting Guide

What to hunt in Alaska, what it costs, the laws that matter and where the public land is — with the official Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) links.

Rainforest islands, over-the-counter tags, and up to four bucks a season make Southeast Alaska a wilderness deer hunter's dream.

Sitka black-tailed deer hunting in Southeast Alaska means temperate rainforest — steep, timbered islands covered in old-growth Sitka spruce and western hemlock, opening into alpine muskeg meadows above timberline where deer feed heavily in late summer and early fall.

Agency: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)
Region: Alaska
Deer rank: #48 of 50
Species guides: 5

Alaska hunting license and tag costs

Deer license and tag prices as last reviewed. Other species' permits are listed in the agency fee schedule.

License / tag	Price
Resident annual hunting license	approx. $45
Nonresident annual hunting license	approx. $160
Nonresident deer harvest tag (locking tag, covers multiple deer)	approx. $150 per tag

Alaska hunting laws to know

Rules that catch hunters out most often. Not a substitute for the regulations book.

Topic	Rule
Blaze orange	Not required by state law for deer hunters in most of Alaska, though hunters should check local regulations near shared-use areas and always wear it for visibility on boats and in dense brush.
Baiting	Baiting deer is not a common or broadly legal practice in Alaska; check current unit regulations, as bear-baiting rules are separate and more developed than any deer-specific baiting allowance.
Crossbows	Legal for any hunter during any open deer season using a legal weapon, no special permit required.
Sunday hunting	No statewide Sunday hunting closure in Alaska.
Legal firearms	Centerfire rifles of legal caliber, shotguns with slugs, muzzleloaders, and bows/crossbows are legal for deer depending on the specific season; minimum caliber/energy rules apply in some units.
Same-day-airborne restriction	Alaska prohibits hunting the same day you've been airborne in most cases, a key rule for float-plane-access hunters — typically requiring you to wait until the day after flying before hunting.
Tagging/reporting	Deer must be tagged immediately upon kill using a locking harvest tag, and harvest must be reported to ADF&G, often through an online or mail-in harvest report.
Hunter education	Not universally mandatory for adult residents, but nonresidents and younger hunters should verify current requirements; hunter education is required for some specific hunts and is strongly recommended for all.

Alaska deer season structure (2025-26)

Alaska's deer seasons and bag limits are set unit-by-unit (Game Management Units 1-5 in Southeast, plus 6 and 8) and shift based on the current winter-severity outlook. Always confirm exact dates, bag limits, and any-sex windows for your specific GMU on ADF&G's hunting regulations page before you hunt.

Season	Weapon	Typical window
General archery/any-legal-weapon buck season	Bow, rifle, muzzleloader (unit-dependent)	Aug. 1 – late Sept./Oct. start varies by GMU
General rifle buck season	Rifle	Roughly Oct.–Dec. in most Southeast units
Late/either-sex season	Rifle	Late Nov. – Dec. or into Jan., unit-dependent

What you can hunt in Alaska

Deer — Sitka black-tailed deer
Limited · ranked #48 of 50 for deer.
Moose
Highest densities and the biggest bulls; huge public land
Access: Nonresidents buy a locking tag; brown bear/sheep/goat need a guide but moose often does not
Black Bear
Highest densities on earth, plus coastal blue and glacier phases
Access: Nonresidents in BC require a guide-outfitter; Alaska allows DIY for black bear
Bighorn Sheep
The realistic 'buyable' wild sheep hunt
Access: Nonresidents must hunt with a registered guide or a second-degree-of-kindred Alaska resident
Mountain Goat
Largest goat population and the most accessible nonresident hunting
Access: Nonresidents must hunt with a registered guide; tags available most years

Public hunting land in Alaska

Nearly all of Alaska's best deer hunting sits within the Tongass National Forest, an almost 17-million-acre expanse of islands and mainland fjords across Southeast Alaska, supplemented by transplanted herds on Kodiak Island and in Prince William Sound.

Tongass National Forest — Admiralty Island
National forest / national monument · Southeast Alaska (GMU 4)
High deer densities and extensive shoreline access make Admiralty a favorite for boat-based DIY hunters, alongside its famous brown bear population.
Official page
Tongass National Forest — Prince of Wales Island
National forest · Southeast Alaska (GMU 2)
Alaska's third-largest island, with a limited but real road system that makes it one of the more accessible Southeast deer destinations for nonresidents driving in via ferry.
Official page
Tongass National Forest — Chichagof/Baranof Islands
National forest · Southeast Alaska (GMUs 4)
Rugged, heavily timbered islands near Sitka and Hoonah with strong deer numbers and good alpine access in late summer.
Official page
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge / Kodiak Island
National wildlife refuge · Kodiak Archipelago (GMU 8)
Transplanted Sitka blacktail population coexisting with the island's famous brown bears; boat and floatplane access into refuge and adjacent lands.
Official page
Prince William Sound coastline
National forest (Chugach) · South-central Alaska (GMU 6)
Introduced deer herd along the sound's forested shoreline, reachable by boat out of Cordova or Valdez.
Official page
Yakutat forelands
National forest · Northern Southeast Alaska (GMU 5)
Remote, lightly hunted coastal forest and muskeg country near Yakutat, requiring floatplane or boat access.

Official Alaska links

Last reviewed 2026-09.

Nearby state hunting guides

Questions

Frequently asked

Where do I buy a Alaska hunting license?: Alaska hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.
When is Alaska hunting season?: Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Alaska season dates change every year. Our Alaska deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) regulations before you plan a hunt.
What can you hunt in Alaska?: Besides sitka black-tailed deer, our species guides single out Alaska for moose, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.
Where is public hunting land in Alaska?: Good starting points include Tongass National Forest — Admiralty Island, Tongass National Forest — Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest — Chichagof/Baranof Islands. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.