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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.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife conducts quota hunts for deer, pheasant and migratory birds (waterfowl and mourning doves).
Some hunts are mentored hunts for youth and accompanying adults. Some hunts are open to mobility-impaired hunters only.
Any resident or nonresident may apply for quota hunts. Only the person(s) successfully drawn for quota hunts may hunt. Substitutions are not allowed.
Applicants drawn for quota hunts must purchase applicable licenses and permits to legally hunt during the quota hunts.
To apply for quota hunts: Go online to https://app.fw.ky.gov/Quota. 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. When the drawing is completed, results will be posted online at My Profile.
Applicants may also call Kentucky Fish and Wildlife weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) at 1-800-858-1549 and provide either their confirmation number or order number to find out if they were selected.
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 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 for any persons inside the blind.
Pheasant quota hunts are held on Yellowbank WMA, Green River Lake WMA and Clay WMA. See the “Public Hunting Areas Quick Reference” charts for dates. All drawn pheasant hunters must buy (regardless of attendance) and carry while hunting a pheasant quota hunt permit, which is $25 and may be purchased online or from license vendors anytime before the hunt. Permits are not transferrable.
Youth hunters and an accompanying adult may participate in mentored dove hunts on a limited number of public fields.
Persons with one of the following physical conditions are eligible to apply for a mobility-impaired quota hunt. At check in, drawn hunters must show a WMA Mobility-Impaired Access Permit, available in advance of the hunt date from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.
Season-long blind drawings are available at Barkley Lake, Barren River Lake, Doug Travis and Green River Lake WMA. Drawings are typically held from August through October. These are separate from general quota hunt drawings held in September. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife announces dates and locations for these waterfowl blind drawings in August.
Waterfowl quota hunts are held on Ballard and Sloughs WMA.
Ballard WMA (Ballard County)
Hunters are not required to hunt from blinds maintained by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Hunters will be drawn for one of 14 hunting units. The party who draws that unit can hunt anywhere within the unit.
Sloughs WMA - Sauerheber Unit (Union and Henderson counties)
Successfully drawn hunters will be assigned one of 12 hunting units. The hunter who draws that unit can hunt anywhere within the unit, except in specified units where you must hunt from a blind.
Sloughs WMA - Jenny Hole Unit (Henderson County)
Unit is a quota hunt-only area.
Minor Clark and Pfeiffer Fish Hatcheries (Rowan and Franklin counties)
Apply here for Mentor/Mobility-Impaired Hatchery Hunts
Doug Travis WMA Mobility-impaired Hunt (Carlisle and Hickman counties)
*Only hunters who are mobility-impaired as described in this section can apply and be drawn for this hunt. Antlered deer taken during quota hunts count against the statewide limit of one antlered deer per hunter, per season.
My Profile contains instructions for those drawn for quota hunts.
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