All turkey hunters (except those noted in the License Exempt section) are required to purchase and carry a signed and completed Kentucky hunting license and a spring turkey season permit while hunting wild turkey during the spring season.

The spring turkey permit allows the hunter to take up to two male turkeys, or turkeys with visible beards during the spring season. A spring turkey permit is not valid for fall seasons.

Squirrel hunters, unless license exempt, are required to carry the appropriate, signed and completed Kentucky hunting license, or a valid Kentucky hunting license authorization number.

Persons who purchase licenses and permits by phone or over the internet:

1. Must use Mastercard or Visa; (Discover is also accepted by phone)
2. Will be charged a 6% credit card processing fee;
3. Must provide a social security or Operator’s License number;
4. Will be issued an authorization number which serves as a license/permit; and
5. Must have the authorization number in addition to picture ID while hunting

Persons who purchase licenses or permits by phone or via the internet do not receive a paper license, just a license authorization number.

The $5 Resident Senior / Disabled Combination Hunting & Fishing License is a discounted license which includes the privilege to hunt and fish for all species without buying any additional state-required hunting and fishing permits.

Those eligible to purchase this license include:

Kentucky Residents who are:

1. 65 years of age and older;
2. Certified totally and permanently disabled by the Federal Social Security Administration;
3. Certified totally and permanently disabled by a state Workers Compensation Board;
4. Certified totally and permanently disabled by the United States Railroad Retirement Board;
5. Certified totally and permanently disabled by the Kentucky Teacher’s Retirement System;
6. Certified totally and permanently disabled by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; or
7. Veterans who have a permanent 50 percent disability as the result of military-related injuries.

All others (2-7 above) eligible to purchase the Senior/Disabled Combination License must first obtain a license authorization card from the KDFWR in order to buy the Senior / Disabled Combination License. The authorization card must be presented at the time of purchase, and then retained with the license in the hunter’s possession while hunting.

Holders of a Senior/Disability Combination License are required to follow all laws, bag limits, season dates and regulations the same as any other hunter. Harvested turkeys must be recorded, checked-in, and tagged as described in this guide.

Unless exempt, hunters under 16 must carry a hunting license to hunt squirrels or turkeys. Any resident or nonresident hunter under 16 years old is eligible to purchase a discounted junior hunting license instead of a regular-priced license. Hunters who are under age 16 and required to have a hunting license are also required to purchase and carry a spring turkey permit when turkey hunting. There is no discounted turkey permit for junior hunters.

All nonresident turkey hunters are required to purchase and carry an annual nonresident hunting license and spring turkey permit while turkey hunting. Nonresident squirrel hunters may purchase either an annual nonresident, or five-day nonresident license, as applicable.

Nonresident hunters under age 16 are eligible to purchase a youth hunting license. For turkey hunting, nonresidents under age 16 must also have the spring turkey permit.

Residents are those who have established permanent domicile and legal residence in Kentucky and have lived in Kentucky for at least 30 days prior to purchasing a license. Full time students enrolled for at least six months in an educational institution and military personnel of the United States who are under permanent assignment are classified as residents while enrolled or assigned in this state.

Hunters who own land in Kentucky but do not meet the residency requirements noted above are classified as nonresidents. A five-day, short term nonresident hunting license is not valid for turkey hunting. (301 KAR 3:028; KRS 150.170; KRS 150.175; KRS 5:030)

Available to Kentucky residents only, the Sportsman’s License authorizes the buyer to fish statewide, hunt small game and big game, and includes the spring & fall turkey permits, statewide deer permit, state waterfowl permit and a trout fishing permit.

The only time hunters are not required to purchase a hunting license or turkey permit is if they are:

1. Kentucky residents, their spouses and dependent children hunting upon their own property;
2. tenants, their spouses and their dependent children hunting on farmlands where they reside and work; and
3. Kentucky residents on military furlough of more than three days who carry identification and papers showing their furlough status.

Persons exempt from buying a license, including landowners, must abide by all other statewide turkey season regulations as outlined in this guide. Landowners and tenants are required to buy hunting licenses and permits whenever they hunt somewhere other than their own property or their landowner’s property.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is primarily funded through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, boat registration fees and some federal excise taxes on hunting & fishing equipment and boat motor fuel. The agency does not receive General Fund monies from state tax dollars to administer wildlife or fisheries management programs.

those hunters not required to buy a hunting license, must complete a state-approved hunter education course and must have a valid course completion card in their possession while hunting in Kentucky.

2. It is not necessary to have the card when purchasing a license or permit, but the card must be obtained before hunting.
3. Hunters under age 10 must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age at all times while hunting.
4. An adult must accompany those under age 16 who hunt turkeys with a firearm.
5. Adults accompanying youth must remain in a position to take immediate control of the youth’s hunting equipment at all times while hunting.
6. One adult may not accompany more than two (2) children at one time.
7. Valid hunter education course completion cards issued by states other than Kentucky are accepted in Kentucky.

Group hunter education courses are free and are usually offered locally two or three times a year in each Kentucky county. Most classroom-style courses are spread over a three-day period and to complete the course, a participant must attend the full 10 hours of instruction and successfully pass a written test. In addition, the KDFWR offers individual hunters an opportunity to receive a portion of this instruction (6 hours) by watching a video or using an interactive CD-ROM program. Hunter education instructional videos are available from most public libraries throughout the state. Hunter education instructional CDs may be obtained, along with the training manual by calling the KDFWR Information Center at 1-(800) 858-1549.  Click here to view the hunter education course schedule.

Hunters who take the course using a video or CD are required, however, to complete the final 4 hours of range training and successfully past the written test before a hunter education course completion card will be issued. Hunters may obtain information about when range days and the test are being offered across the state by going on-line at fw.ky.gov, or calling the agency’s toll-free information number during regular business hours.

Hunters who wait until the last second to call about a course may find that they just missed the closest one, that the next scheduled course won’t be offered by the time it’s needed, and that the next possible chance of getting into a course means driving an hour to attend. The KDFWR strongly urges hunters to contact the agency, or check its website well in advance of when a course, or range work and the test is needed and make arrangements to attend somewhere convenient. (301 KAR 2:185)

Hunters are not required to wear hunter orange clothing during the spring turkey or squirrel seasons. However, displaying hunter orange when changing locations in the field or carrying a harvested turkey out of the field is strongly recommended for safety. Using hunter orange to identify you as a hunter when up moving is a simple and effective way to help minimize accidents.

Persons whose physical disabilities make it impossible for them to hunt or fish by conventional methods may request an exemption that permits hunting from a vehicle or using a crossbow when these methods are normally not permitted. A hunter must request an application from the department and have it completed as stated below.

A completed application shall include:

1. Name of the applicant,
2. Address and phone number of the applicant,
3. Verification of the applicant’s disability by a licensed physician,
4. Duration of the disability,
5. Name and business address of the physician who verifies the hunter’s disability; and
6. Signature of the physician.

A completed hunting method exemption application shall serve as the hunter’s method exemption permit. DO NOT return the application to the KDFWR. The completed permit must be kept in the hunter’s possession while hunting.

To request an application write Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, #1 Game Farm Road, Frankfort, KY 40601, or call (800) 858-1549 during business hours. Hunting methods exemptions do not grant the holder an exemption from buying a license or permit. (301 KAR 3:027)

A person hunting wild turkey SHALL NOT:

1. Use a dog
2. Hunt from any type of vehicle or boat

3. Take a roosting turkey. (A roost is the place a turkey spends the night.)

4. Use recorded or other electronically produced calls

5. Use live turkeys as decoys

1. Take a turkey by the aid of baiting, hunt on a baited area while bait is present, or hunt on a baited area for 30 days after all bait has been removed. A baited area is any place where feed, grains or other substances capable of luring wild turkeys have been placed. Turkeys can’t be hunted over any area baited for deer. An area where grains or other feeds exist as the result of legitimate agricultural practices, or as the result of growing or manipulating a crop for wildlife management is legal for hunting; or
2. Call or attempt to call wild turkeys by mimicking the sounds made by a wild turkey from March 1 until the opening day of spring turkey season in any area open to turkey hunting if turkeys are reasonably expected to occur. Locator calls such as crow or owl calls are permitted. (301 KAR 2:140)

Because of potential disease problems and genetic pollution, it is illegal to possess live wild turkeys. For the same reasons, domestic or pen-raised turkeys should not be released into the wild. Due to the potential for spread of disease, it is recommended that turkeys not be artificially fed. Providing standing corn, wheat or clover patches is a much better alternative.

After taking a turkey, ALL TURKEY HUNTERS, including those who aren’t required to buy a license or permit, are required to write down and retain their harvest information and telecheck confirmation (check-in) number for each turkey they take, as explained below in the items numbered 1-3. Complete harvest information, in the form of a hunter log for each turkey taken, must be kept in the hunter’s possession at all times while turkey hunting. You will need to take a pen with you in the field.

Must immediately write down the species, date of kill, county where killed and sex of the animal (M or F) on a piece of paper or index card, and keep that information in possession during the turkey season. (Hunters may request a free blank log sheet at any license dealer, make their own log that indicates this information, or use the example that appears in this guide or on the KDFWR website.

2. ALL HUNTERS are required to check in their turkey by phone by midnight on the same day the bird is taken. The telecheck confirmation number, given as proof of checking the animal at the end of the call, must be written on the back of the permit in the blank provided. Hunters without a paper permit or making their own hunter log must write down the telecheck confirmation number on the same paper they used to write down their harvest information.

3. The harvest log information for the turkey must be kept in the hunter’s possession during the entire turkey season while the hunter is in the field.

Turkey harvest information can be written down on the back of any paper license or permit, but the hunter must carry the completed harvest log information for any turkey taken, when in the field turkey hunting. During the spring season, for example, there is a two (2) male bird, or bird with visible beard season bag limit. The completed harvest information (log) for the first gobbler must be carried by the hunter whenever he or she is in the field hunting for a second gobbler. In most situations, the harvest information will be on the back of the license or permit, which must be carried in the field anyway.

Harvest logs should be treated just like licenses, and carried throughout the hunting season while hunting.

ALL hunters must make their own carcass tag and attach that tag to their turkey before the turkey leaves the possession of the hunter who took the bird. If the harvested bird remains in possession of the hunter who took the bird, no carcass tag is necessary.

1. When required, hunter-made carcass tags must clearly indicate:

1. The hunter’s name
2. The hunter’s phone number
3. The hunter’s telecheck confirmation number.

2. The carcass tag must be attached to the carcass so that it remains attached until processing begins.

Harvested birds being carried out of the field by the hunter who shot the bird do not have to be tagged. Harvested birds being transported in the same vehicle as the hunter who shot the bird do not have to be tagged.

Any hunter with a harvested turkey must have a completed hunter harvest log, or record of the kill in his or her possession.

This free call can be made from any touch-tone phone 24 hours a day during the season, and for your further convenience, the telecheck phone number has been pre-printed on the back of your license or permit.

When checking in a turkey, you will need to know your social security number, the county code number where you took the bird, and have a pen and paper ready to write down the telecheck confirmation number. The telecheck confirmation number must be recorded on your hunter harvest log. County code numbers are provided for you on the following page. If you do not receive a confirmation number at the end of the call, your information was not recorded, and you must call again.

This section lists the KDFWR-owned or managed WMAs where special regulations are in effect for the spring turkey seasons. It also lists WMAs that are closed to spring turkey hunting. If you spring turkey hunt any of the open WMAs listed below, you can only do so as outlined under the area listing.

Other KDFWR-owned or -managed WMAs are open for spring turkey hunting following statewide season regulations. All KDFWR-owned or managed WMAs are open for the spring squirrel season under statewide regulations. A complete list of Department-owned WMAs is available from the KDFWR and at fw.ky.gov.

General laws for hunting turkeys, such as equipment requirements, shooting hours, filling out a hunter log, tagging and telecheck procedures, apply to hunters on WMAs just like everyone else. The KDFWR urges hunters to be courteous, sportsmanlike and conduct themselves with safety in mind at all times while using public (or private) lands.

Open for the general and youth-only spring turkey seasons under statewide regulations, except a hunter shall not hunt with modern breech-loading firearms or carry modern firearms with ammunition in the chamber or magazine while hunting on this unit.

The remainder of the Barren River WMA is open under statewide regulations for the youth-only and general turkey seasons.

Open for the general and youth-only spring turkey seasons, except only archery equipment may be possessed or used for turkey hunting.

Open for the general and youth-only spring turkey seasons, except that legal muzzle-loading shotguns are the only firearms that can be possessed or used. Hunters shall not use in-line muzzle-loading firearms, scopes or other optics, or breech-loading modern shotguns. Archery and crossbow equipment must meet the same requirements in effect for the statewide spring turkey seasons.

Both Closed to all turkey hunting.

Open for the general and youth-only spring turkey seasons, except that all hunters must possess a valid MeadWestvaco WMA Hunting Permit (free). For permit information, write Westvaco Forest Resources, 3901 Mayfield Road, Wickliffe, KY 42087; phone (270) 335-3151. Other MeadWestvaco properties are closed to public hunting.

The following public lands are not owned or managed by the KDFWR and have special seasons, regulations and hunter requirements for turkey & squirrel hunting. For complete information on hunting and using these lands, you must contact each directly at the addresses or telephone numbers listed below. Quota hunts require advance registration.

(Graves, Marshall & McCracken cos.) Open under statewide regulations

PO Box 89 for spring squirrel and turkey

Benton, KY 42025 seasons. Must use statewide

(270) 527-5770 turkey permit. No bonus birds. Refuge user permit required.

(Christian & Trigg cos.) Post permit required. Birds taken

Outdoor Recreation Branch are considered bonus birds.

Hunting and Fishing Unit Contact Ft. Campbell for dates.

Fort Campbell, KY 42223-5000 No spring squirrel hunting. All ages

(270) 798-2175 must have Hunter Educ. Card.

(Hardin, Bullitt & Meade cos.) Post permit required. Contact Ft.

Hunt Control Office Knox for turkey dates. No spring

Fort Knox, KY 40121-5000 squirrel hunting. Ages 60 & under

(502) 624-7311 must have Hunter Educ. Card.

100 Van Morgan Drive bonus birds. Must use statewide

Golden Pond, KY 42211 turkey permit. Spring squirrel

(270) 924-2065 season open June 5-18, 2004.

(Fulton Co.)

4343 Highway 157 Quota Hunts April 11-13, 2003

Union City, TN 38261 Must apply in advance. No spring

(731) 538-2481 (no collect calls please) squirrel hunting.

Safe Turkey Hunting

1. Don’t stalk a turkey. The chances of getting close enough for a shot are slim, but the chances of becoming involved in an accident are even greater.

2. Eliminate the colors red, white and blue from your turkey hunting outfit. Red is the color most hunters count on to differentiate a gobbler’s head from the hen’s blue-colored head. White can look like the snowball-colored top of a gobbler’s head. Leave those white tee-shirts and socks at home. Not only will these colors put you in danger, but they can be seen by turkeys as well.

3. Don’t move, wave or make turkey sounds to alert another hunter of your presence. A quick movement may draw fire. Yell in a loud voice and remain hidden.

4. Do not attempt to approach closer than 100 yards to a roosting turkey. The wild turkey’s eyesight and hearing are much too sharp to let you get much closer.

5. Be particularly careful when using the gobbler call. The sound and motion may attract other hunters.

6. When selecting your calling position, don’t try to hide so well that you cannot see what’s happening. Remember, eliminating motion is your key to success, not total concealment.

7. Select a calling position that provides a background as wide as your shoulders, and one that will completely protect you from the top of your head down. Small trees won’t hide slight movements of your hands or shoulders which might look like a turkey to another hunter who might be stalking your calls. Position yourself so you can see 180 degrees in front of you.

8. Camouflage conceals you. It does not make you invisible. When turkey hunting, think and act defensively. Avoid all unnecessary movement. Remember, you are visible to both turkeys and hunters when you move even slightly. Sitting perfectly still will help you more than all the camo you can wear.

9. Never shoot at a sound or movement. Be 100 percent certain of your target before you pull the trigger.

10. When turkey hunting, assume that every sound you hear is made by another hunter. Once you pull the trigger, you can never call that shot back.

Non-profit wildlife conservation organizations and sportsman’s clubs have a unique opportunity to help the KDFWR manage and conserve the wildlife resources in Kentucky, and improve the recreational opportunities associated with those resources.

Any conservation organization or club with a 501 (c) (3) certificate can apply in writing before May 1 annually to be awarded a Commission Conservation Permit to use in raising funds for various conservation-related projects. The Commission may award up to two quota elk hunting permits, two deer permits and two turkey hunting permits each year, to any conservation group or club who successfully petitions the Commission for one of these permits.

Permit application letters must contact and identify five major items:

1. The organization’s potential to raise funds using the permit,
2. How much money the organization expects to raise and why,
3. Method to be used in selling the permit,
4. Description of the project those funds might be applied to; and
5. Names of members of the organization submitting the proposal and why the organization believes it is best-suited to receive the permit it identifies in its proposal.

All proceeds raised from the sale of Commission Conservation Permits must be utilized on a project that is approved by the KDFWR Commission. Persons who purchase an elk permit from the organization awarded the permit will participate in the upcoming year’s quota elk hunt. Persons who purchase a deer permit from an awarded organization may hunt on any wildlife management area during the normal season, and take one antlered or antlerless deer in addition to the statewide limit. Persons who purchase a turkey permit (either sex) from an awarded organization may hunt on any WMA normally open for turkey hunting and take one (1) turkey in addition to the statewide limit. Deer and turkey Commission Conservation Permits may also be used on private lands during their respective seasons.

Individuals are ineligible to apply for Commission Conservation Permits. Organizations that apply must provide verification to the KDFWR of tax-exempt, non-profit status, along with their application.

For more details, refer to KAR 301 3:100, or contact the KDFWR at (800) 858-1549 weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.