Quota Hunts

​​​​​​​Follow the rules!

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. 


OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

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.

HOW TO APPLY

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.

QUOTA DEER HUNTS

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

Pheasant quota hunts are held on Yellowbank WMAGreen 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.

DOVE MENTORED HUNTS

Youth hunters and an accompanying adult may participate in mentored dove hunts on a limited number of public fields.

Locations of mentor hunts are published in the Kentucky Hunting Guide for Dove and Early Migratory Bird guide. 
 

MOBILITY-IMPAIRED QUOTA HUNTS

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.

  • Has permanent paralysis of at least one (1) leg;
  • Has at least one (1) foot amputated;
  • Is permanently confined to a wheelchair or must use crutches, or a walker as a means of support to pursue daily activities;
  • Is restricted by a lung disease to such an extent that the person’s forced respiratory expiratory volume for one (1) second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one (1) liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty (60) mm/hg on room air at rest;
  • Requires portable oxygen;
  • Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class 3 or Class 4 according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
  • Has a diagnosed disease which creates a severe mobility impairment.

WATERFOWL QUOTA HUNTS


WATERFOWL/MIGRATORY BIRD QUOTA HUNTS

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

Waterfowl quota hunts are held on Ballard and Sloughs WMA.

PUBLIC LAND HUNTING

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.

  • Hunts available through quota draw for individual dates only.
  • Apply for quota hunts Sept. 1-30 at https://fw.ky.gov/Quota.

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.

  • Hunts available through quota draw for individual dates only.
  • Apply for quota hunts Sept. 1-30 at https://app.fw.ky.gov/QuotaHunt/.
  • Hunters must check in the Sunday before their assigned hunt. 
  • Sloughs WMA Waterfowl FAQ Click Here
  • Sauerheber Hunt Unit Waterfowl Map Click Here

Sloughs WMA - Jenny Hole Unit (Henderson County)

Unit is a quota hunt-only area.

  • Hunting spots (10) assigned by weekly drawings held Monday evenings at Sloughs WMA office. Only one member of a hunting party needs to be present at the drawing.
  • Two spots available through quota draw for individual dates only.
  • Apply for quota hunts Sept. 1-30 at https://app.fw.ky.gov/QuotaHunt/.
  • Access is limited to drawn hunters only, and only on quota hunt days, with no access after 2 p.m. (local time).
  • Sloughs WMA Waterfowl FAQ Click Here
  • Jenny Hole Hunt Unit Waterfowl Map Click Here

MENTOR/MOBILITY-IMPAIRED HATCHERY HUNTS

Minor Clark and Pfeiffer Fish Hatcheries (Rowan and Franklin counties)

  • Open to mobility-impaired hunters with access permit, and youths under the age of 16 accompanied by an adult mentor. A mentor may hunt.
  • Hunters must apply online between Nov. 1-15.
  • Hunt dates available Jan. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29 (2023)​.
  • Mentor/youth hunt groups limited to four hunters, with no more than two hunting adults.

Apply here for Mentor/Mobility-Impaired Hatchery Hunts

Doug Travis WMA Mobility-impaired Hunt (Carlisle and Hickman counties)

  • Two blinds available.
  • Applications accepted by mail, Sept. 1-30.

Apply here for Mentor/Mobility-Impaired Hatchery Hunts

SANDHILL CRANES

2022-23 DEER QUOTA HUNT CHOICES

WMA - Outdoor Recreation Area choicesDates# of Slots2021 Pref. Point Min. 
(All)
2021 Pref. Point
Min.
(Non- Res.)​
Hunt Remarks (Quota Hunts are for either sex deer unless otherwise noted)
1Ballard WMA
Nov. 5-6
1002
3
Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four. Scouting permitted through Oct. 14.
2Beaver Creek WMA
Nov. 5-6
33000Antlered deer only.
3Big Rivers WMA & State Forest #1Oct. 17-Nov. 301300.67
3
Archery and crossbow only. Closed during the two-day quota hunt that starts the first Saturday in November. Department issued hang tags required. Must telecheck harvested deer.
4Big Rivers WMA & State Forest #2Nov. 5-6
1000.5
2
5Clay WMA
Nov. 5-6
2251
1
Limit four, only one of which may be antlered, during quota hunt. Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
6Dewey Lake WMA
Nov. 5-6
15000Limit one during quota hunt.
7Fishtrap Lake WMA
Nov. 19-20
20000Limit one during quota hunt.
8Green River Lake & Dennis-Gray WMAs
Nov. 5-6
40000
9Green River Lake & Dennis Gray WMAs Mobility-Impaired*Nov. 5-6
150NAOpen only to mobility-impaired persons.
10 Higginson - Henry WMA #1 Oct. 17-Nov. 30 60 1 3 Archery and crossbow only. Closed during the two-day quota hunt that starts the first Saturday in November. Department issued hang tags required. Must telecheck harvested deer.
11 Higginson - Henry WMA #2 Nov. 5-6 45 0.75 2
12Kentucky River WMA
Nov. 5-6
65
0.5
1
13Kleber and Rich  WMAs #1
Nov. 5-6
20000
14Kleber and Rich WMAs #2Dec. 3-4
20000
15Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation AreaDec. 10-11
300NAUser permit required.
16Paintsville Lake WMA
Nov. 5-6
20000
17Pennyrile State Forest/Tradewater WMANov. 5-6
30000.67
18Taylorsville Lake WMA #1Nov. 5-6
2680.8
0.8
Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
19Taylorsville Lake WMA Mobility-Impaired* #1Nov. 5-6
70NAOpen only to mobility-impaired persons. Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
20Taylorsville Lake WMA #2
Dec. 3-4
26800 Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
21Taylorsville Lake WMA Mobility-Impaired* #2Dec. 3-4​
70NAOpen only to mobility-impaired persons. Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
22Veterans Memorial WMA #1Nov. 5-6
50
0.8
1
23Veterans Memorial WMA #2Dec. 3-4
50
00.2Antlerless deer only. Hunters awarded one preference point for each female deer harvested, up to four.
24West Kentucky WMA
Nov. 19-22
60
00Tracts 1 and 6 only. Shotgun and muzzleloader only.
25West Kentucky WMA youth mentorNov. 19-22
4
00Shotgun only, youth mentor hunt only on designated zone in Tract 7A. Only youth hunters apply. No more than two youth hunters may accompany an adult mentor. No more than one adult can mentor a youth hunter. An adult mentor may take a deer during the hunt.

State park, other public lands choices

26 Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park #1 Nov. 7-11​​ 60 0 0 Archery and crossbow only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
27Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park #2Dec. 10-11
4000 Youth only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
28Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park #3Jan. 7-8
5001Must telecheck harvested deer.
29 Greenbo Lake State Resort Park #1 Nov. 4-6 40 0 0 Archery and crossbow only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
30 Greenbo Lake State Resort Park #2 Nov. 11-13 40 0 0 Archery and crossbow only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
31Greenbo Lake State Resort Park #3Jan. 3-4
2000Must telecheck harvested deer.
32Green River Lake State Park #1Dec. 8-11
5501Archery and crossbow only. No check in or out. Must telecheck harvested deer.
33Green River Lake State Park #2Dec. 15-18
5500Archery and crossbow only. No check in or out. Must telecheck harvested deer.
34Kenlake State Resort Park #1Nov. 10-13
2000Archery and crossbow only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
35 Kenlake State Resort Park #2 Jan. 7-8 20 0 NA Archery and crossbow only. Must telecheck harvested deer.
36 Kincaid Lake State Park #1 Dec. 1-4 10 1.33 NA Must telecheck harvested deer.
37 Kincaid Lake State Park #2 Dec. 8-11 10 1 NA Must telecheck harvested deer.
38Zilpo Mobility-Impaired*Dec. 10
120​0Open only to mobility-impaired persons.

*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.


See Also
General Hunting Information
Quota Hunt Application
Public Lands Hunting
Entire Hunting and Trapping Guide PDF
Quota Hunts PDF
All Guides
Season Dates Search
Take Someone Hunting!

Buy Licenses/Permits Now!

Other Links
Bluegrass Army Depot Quota Hunt Info
Fort Knox Quota Hunt Info
Sloughs WMA  Waterfowl FAQ