An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
If you don’t have a place to hunt or want to try a different place, Kentucky has over 1.5 Million acres of public hunting lands. Maps are available for these areas. It is vital that you are aware of public lands regulations for the area you will hunt on. Some public lands have quota hunts, which involve an application process for a limited number of hunter slots and hunting periods. Other public lands are open for some or all seasons within the hunting regulations for the prevailing county.
Deer quota hunts are held on 16 WMAs, five state parks (Dale Hollow Lake, Greenbo Lake, Green River Lake, Kenlake, Kincaid Lake), and Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area. Additionally, there are quota deer hunts for mobility-impaired hunters on Green River Lake WMA, Taylorsville Lake WMA and Zilpo-Twin Knobs Campgrounds (on Cave Run Lake).
If applying for a deer quota hunt as a group, each applicant’s preference points will be used to calculate an average point total for the group. A group with a higher preference point average will be randomly selected before a group with a lower preference point average.
A maximum of 10 percent of nonresidents can be drawn in each deer quota hunt pool.
Drawn quota hunters may bring one non-hunting person along on their hunt. The non-hunting person is not required to have applied for the quota hunt but must check in and check out with the drawn quota hunter. Participants must abide by hunter orange requirements.
Ground blinds used during gun quota hunts for deer must have a hat or vest made of solid, unbroken hunter orange material attached to the blind so that it is visible from all sides. Hunter Orange clothing requirements still apply to any person inside the blind.
The non-refundable fee is $3 per hunter to apply. The application period is September 1-30 only. Hunters may apply for multiple quota hunts for different species at the same time. Applicants will receive a confirmation number. Results will be posted online at My Profile when the drawing is completed. Applicants may also call Kentucky Fish and Wildlife on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) at 1-800-858-1549 and provide their confirmation number or order number to determine if they were selected.
PLEASE NOTE: Hunters who do not comply with quota hunt requirements are ineligible to apply for any quota hunt the following year (including deer, pheasant, and waterfowl) and will lose any accumulated preference points. Quota hunters must apply for a hunt or apply for the “do not hunt" option every year to avoid losing preference points. Applicants who were unsuccessful in the quota hunt drawing or applied for the do not hunt option will be automatically awarded 1 preference point. Only 1 point can be acquired per hunt species annually.
For information about Historic Quota Hunts, from 2013 to 2023, please check out our Quota Hunt App. The tables on this page contain statistics from the 2023-2024 deer hunting season.
Consider submitting your deer for CWD sampling at one of our conveniently located collection stations across the state.