An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Unless license exempt, all elk hunters are required to purchase a Kentucky annual hunting license and an elk hunting permit. Elk hunters must also print a vehicle hang tag to display in their vehicle while hunting, and is only available to print once a hunter has purchased their elk permit. Hunters must comply with all season dates, bag limits, hunter orange requirements, and equipment restrictions for their individual permit type. Upon the conclusion of their hunt, hunters are also required to complete the postseason elk hunter survey listed in their MyProfile. Failure to comply with the survey requirement will prohibit a hunter from applying for all KDFWR-administered quota hunts and no-hunt options the following year.
Please see the Annual Fall Kentucky Hunting Guide for a comprehensive list of elk hunting regulations.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources shall conduct a secondary drawing of Elk Quota Hunt Permits each year to award unclaimed permits as a loyalty reward to long-time applicants. For more information, please check the Elk Hunt Loyalty Redraw page.
Elk Hunting Units: The Kentucky elk management zone is divided into 7 Elk Hunting Units (EHU), 6 of which are open for elk hunting. Kentucky is approximately 95 % privately owned, and much of the public land available for elk hunting received significant hunting pressure. The EHU system was developed in 2019 to reduce the risk of overharvesting elk in any one area.
EHU Overview
EHU 1 - Closed to elk hunting
EHU 2
EHU 3
EHU 4
EHU 5
EHU 6
EHU 7
Offline Field Map Instructions
Elk Hunting Browser Map
Regulated Areas: Regulated Areas (RA) are privately owned properties that KDFWR has entered into an agreement with the landowner (via the voucher-cooperator or landowner-cooperator programs) to allow limited public access for elk hunting.
All drawn elk hunters and Commission permit holders have the ability to apply for a specific Elk Hunting Unit and/or Regulated Area in a secondary drawing conducted by the Commonwealth Office of Technology. Prior to the drawing, each hunter can choose up to five unit or area preferences before midnight on June 30th. Once the selections have been made, each applicant, regardless of permit type, will be given an identifying number and drawn at random for the unit or area of their choosing. A computer will randomly draw an individual and look at their choices before moving to the next applicant. If there are no openings in any of that applicant’s choices, or if an applicant fails to make a selection, the computer will randomly place the applicant in a hunt unit with an opening for their permit type. Results will be available by July 16th. Any remaining spots for Regulated Areas will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on August 2nd at 8 AM EST through your “My Profile” page.
Max Number of Hunters per Hunt Unit (2024)
Percent Success by Permit Type and Elk Hunt Unit in 2023
Regulated Area Harvest, 2018 to 2023
The following reports detail the results of the previous elk hunting seasons and also highlight any regulatory changes to the elk hunting structure.
2013-2014 Elk Report
2014-2015 Elk Report
2015-2016 Elk Report
2016-2017 Elk Report
2017-2018 Elk Report
2018-2019 Elk Report
2019-2020 Elk Report
2020-2021 Elk Report
2021-2022 Elk Report
2022-2023 Elk Report
2023-2024 Elk Report
2013 Elk Hunter Survey
2016–2017 Elk Hunter Survey
2017–2018 Elk Hunter Survey
2018–2019 Elk Hunter Survey
2019–2020 Elk Hunter Survey
2020–2021 Elk Hunter Survey
2021–2022 Elk Hunter Survey
2022 Elk Hunter Postseason Survey
2023 Elk Postseason Hunter Survey
Kentucky Elk University Online Tutorial
Elk Hunting in Kentucky
You Won the Draw...Now What?
Elk Quartering
Archery Hunting for Elk
10 Tips for Archery Elk Hunting
Elk Hunting Basics
Elk Hunting 101
Elk Hunting 102