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The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will conduct a secondary drawing of Elk Quota Hunt Permits each year to award unclaimed permits as a loyalty reward to long-time applicants.
Each year, some permits awarded in the drawing go unpurchased. The Loyalty Redraw will randomly award these leftover permits to Kentucky residents who have applied to the elk hunt drawing the most years without ever being drawn. Long-time applicants will be entered automatically into the Loyalty Redraw.
From August 1 to April 30, anyone can apply for a shot at one of the elk permits available through the Kentucky Elk Hunt Drawing. Individuals may apply for the three permit types: bull firearm, cow firearm, and either-sex archery or crossbow. Applicants aged 15 and under may also apply for special youth either-sex permits.
Hunters selected in the initial random drawing have until June 15 to purchase their permits. Any elk permit not purchased by this deadline will be re-added to the Loyalty Redraw pool.
In 2024, there were 46 applicants that had applied every year since 2001 without being drawn. The Elk Hunt Loyalty Redraw Drawing was established to give these applicants higher odds of obtaining a permit if they reapply to the drawing again.
Any applicants who are eligible for the Loyalty Redraw that isn't drawn in the current hunting season will get the first dibs in this secondary drawing for leftover permits the following year.
The Kentucky Elk Hunt Drawing is performed each year through a randomized electronic selection from among all applicants that year. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife takes several steps to ensure the drawing is fair and impartial and to maintain public confidence.
Only Kentucky resident applicants are eligible for this secondary bonus drawing, but no reapplication is necessary. Instead, resident hunters with a history of the most years applying for an elk permit, including the current year without previously drawing a permit, will be automatically included. A small proportion of hunters have applied yearly for the elk hunt without being drawn.
Applicants selected for permits through the Loyalty Redraw will be promptly notified and have until June 30 to purchase their elk hunt permit. Loyalty Redraw winners who don't purchase permits will be reentered into the general applicant pool. They will not, however, lose their opportunity to be drawn in the primary elk hunt permit drawing in the following years.
To determine how many years you have applied to the Kentucky elk hunt drawing, visit My Profile and click "View All" next to "License History."
As before, all permit holders will have until June 30 to apply for their preference of elk hunting units. Those who don't apply will again be automatically assigned to units. Elk hunting units help ensure that hunting pressure is spread out over the entire 16-county, 4.1-million-acre elk zone, providing high-quality hunting opportunities regardless of zone.
For more information, review the Elk Quota Hunt Loyalty Redraw Regulations.