Kentucky

The Bluegrass State is an elite trophy whitetail destination, consistently ranking among the top Boone & Crockett states in America. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) enforces a strict one-antlered-buck limit and offers affordable over-the-counter tags for residents and nonresidents alike.

Kentucky is uniquely famous for its early-September archery opener, making it one of the few places in the country where hunters can harvest a trophy buck still in full velvet. Premier zones include the Western Coalfields, Christian and Todd counties, and the agricultural bottoms of the Green and Ohio rivers. The mid-November modern gun season coincides with peak rutting behavior.

Kentucky boasts the premier elk hunting destination east of the Rocky Mountains, supporting a thriving herd of over 10,000 wild elk across a 16-county restoration zone in the Cumberland Plateau and eastern coalfields.

KDFWR conducts an annual public draw for archery, rifle bull, and cow elk permits. Bulls in Kentucky thrive on reclaimed coal mine grasslands, reclaimed timber flats, and dense mountain hollows, growing enormous frames that routinely score 350 to 380+ inches. Hunts require extensive scouting and long-distance glassing across rugged reclaimed mine benches.

Kentucky's diverse landscape of rolling pastures, oak-hickory forests, and river bottoms supports a thriving wild turkey population exceeding 250,000 birds.

The three-week spring season in mid-April offers exceptional gobbling action across public lands like Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, and state WMAs.

Following natural expansion from neighboring Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky's black bear population has grown rapidly in the eastern mountain counties (Bell, Harlan, Letcher, and McCreary).

KDFWR offers quota-regulated chase-with-dogs and spot-and-stalk seasons in December. Hunters pursue heavy-coated bears along steep rhododendron hollows and sandstone cliff lines in the Cumberland Mountains.