Ridgeline RavenAll states › Kentucky
Kentucky County Finder
Answer six questions and get Kentucky counties ranked by habitat fit, 2026–27 season dates, public land and KDFWR telecheck harvest.
How the Kentucky finder works
Kentucky hunters telecheck every deer, turkey, bear and elk, and KDFWR publishes the results by county. This tool scores all 120 counties for the species you pick using deer harvest from 2021–2025, spring and fall turkey from 2021–2026, bear and elk from 2021–2025, USGS land-cover and elevation data, and the share of public land such as WMAs and the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Season fit uses KDFWR's 2026–27 dates: archery and crossbow, youth, early and late muzzleloader and modern gun deer, the CWD surveillance zone antlerless hunt, fall and spring turkey, bear seasons in the three bear zones, and elk seasons in the 16-county elk zone.
Species covered
- White-tailed deer
- Elk
- Black bear
- Wild turkey
Upland birds (ranked by county)
- Forest grouse
- Quail
Waterfowl and migratory birds (ranked by county)
- Ducks
- Canada and dark geese
- Snow and Ross's geese
- Mourning dove
- Sandhill crane
- American woodcock
About every species on the species page →
Data sources
- KDFWR Harvest Data by county (app.fw.ky.gov/harvestdata)
- KDFWR GIS: current deer zones, county bear, grouse and quail zones, elk management zone
- https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/ky-hunting-fishing-seasons-planner.aspx
- https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Documents/huntingguideentire.pdf
- USGS PAD-US 3.0 (Fee); NPS parks and monuments excluded
- USGS NLCD 2021 Land Cover (250 m resample)
- USGS 3DEP elevation service
Kentucky hunting FAQ
When is Kentucky's 2026 modern gun deer season?
Nov. 14–29, 2026. Archery runs Sept. 5–Jan. 18, crossbow Sept. 19–Jan. 18, early muzzleloader Oct. 17–18 and late muzzleloader Dec. 12–20.
Which Kentucky counties have the most deer?
Hardin, Christian, Breckinridge, Shelby and Hart counties lead the 2021–2025 telecheck averages. Pick white-tailed deer in the tool to rank every county with habitat and access.
Where can I hunt elk in Kentucky?
Elk permits are drawn for the 16-county elk zone in eastern Kentucky, where Pike, Leslie, Bell and Knott counties report the most elk. Pick elk in the tool to rank the zone's counties.
Kentucky harvest leaders
The counties with the highest average reported harvest for each species. High totals often reflect large areas and many hunters; the tool above also weighs harvest per square mile, hunter success, habitat and access.
White-tailed deer (2021–2025 average)
- Hardin County: 3,358 per year
- Christian County: 3,108 per year
- Breckinridge County: 2,928 per year
- Shelby County: 2,765 per year
- Hart County: 2,633 per year
Elk (2021–2025 average)
- Pike County: 38 per year
- Leslie County: 33 per year
- Bell County: 32 per year
- Knott County: 28 per year
- Martin County: 25 per year
Black bear (2021–2025 average)
- Harlan County: 29 per year
- Pike County: 26 per year
- Leslie County: 24 per year
- Letcher County: 21 per year
- Bell County: 15 per year
Wild turkey (2022–2026 average)
- Graves County: 677 per year
- Pulaski County: 617 per year
- Muhlenberg County: 611 per year
- Ohio County: 605 per year
- Logan County: 579 per year
Ducks (USFWS 10-year average)
- Ballard County: 27,742 per year
- Henderson County: 13,264 per year
- Hopkins County: 10,386 per year
- Lyon County: 9,795 per year
- Carlisle County: 7,856 per year
Canada and dark geese (USFWS 10-year average)
- Henderson County: 2,598 per year
- Ballard County: 2,594 per year
- Shelby County: 2,572 per year
- Boone County: 2,268 per year
- Carroll County: 1,769 per year