KENTUCKY’S 2023 ELK: AN OVERVIEW

If you're looking for the opportunity to take an elk from the eastern U.S., then Kentucky might be the place to look. It is home to the largest elk herd east of Kansas City. Restoration of the elk herds was conducted well over 25 years ago and has since flourished. The current population now sits in excess of 10,000 elk. The first elk hunt took place back in 2001, and thanks to good management, it continues today. Each year the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) allocates between 500 and 1,000 elk permits for the state draw. For the 2023 season, a total of 594 elk permits are up for grabs. We will get into the draw specifics down below, but one thing to remember is that it’s all random, and it only takes an application fee to have a chance at 350”+ bulls.

Note: The application deadline for elk in Kentucky is April 30, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET. You can apply online here.

New for 2023

Elk hunt loyalty redraw

New for the 2023 season is the Kentucky Elk Loyalty Redraw program. Typically once the permit drawing is conducted, there are always a few permits that never get claimed or people don’t pay for. Starting this year, those unclaimed permits will be re-drawn at random, and people who have applied for the most consecutive years in a row will have the first shot at those unclaimed permits. So far, there are 74 people who have successfully applied since 2001, and they will be first up to bat for the 2023 unclaimed permits.

State information

Be sure to view important information in regards to Kentucky’s state rules and regs by going here. There you will find details on rules/regulations, the draw system, tag and license fees and an interactive map of the Elk Hunting Units (EHU’s).

IMPORTANT DATES AND INFORMATION

2023 Kentucky License Fees

The only upfront cost is the nonrefundable elk drawing application fee which is only $10 per application. Hunting licenses and elk permits do not need to be purchased beforehand — only if you are successful in the draw. Costs are as follows:

* Hunting and elk permits only need to be purchased if successful.

Harvest reports

All elk hunters must report their hunt either by phone or online and report their harvest by midnight of the day of recovery. All elk hunters must also complete a post-season survey and submit it no later than the end of February.

The Kentucky Elk Draw

Kentucky’s elk draw is a true random draw. Both resident and nonresident applications go into the same bucket and are assigned a random draw number. The state starts with the first applicant and continues the draw until all slots have been filled. They do have an “up-to” 10% nonresident quota, so it’s not guaranteed, but it has been quite a few years since the last time the 10% wasn’t reached. Kentucky has four elk permit types (Bull-Firearm, Cow-Firearm, Either-sex-Archery and Youth-Firearm/Archery), and you are allowed to submit one application for each. Obviously, if you are 16 years of age or older, you can’t apply for the Youth permit type, but it leaves you with three others to apply for. The state will conduct a separate random draw for each permit type. It’s worth noting that you are applying for the permit only at this point in time. The location of where you will be hunting is determined after the permit draw.

Hunt Area Drawing

If you are successful in drawing an elk permit, you then have the option to enter a second drawing for a unit to hunt within the Elk Restoration Zone. There are seven elk hunting units total, and six that are open for hunting in the 2023 season. If you choose to enter the unit drawing, you can select up to five hunt units that you wish to hunt. The state will conduct another random draw and place hunters in their specific units. When your unit application is drawn, they consider all five of your choices before moving on. If all of the units on your application are full, then the state will randomly place you in a unit with open spots. If you choose not to enter the unit drawing, then the state will also randomly place you in an open unit.

Elk draw odds

For the 2022 season, there were a total of 594 elk permits available for the general lottery draw and a total of 94,039 applicants. Out of that massive number of applicants, 41,242 of those were nonresidents, and a total of 58 nonresidents were successful in drawing an elk permit. So although the odds are a bit steep, you have a chance. Here are the odds from the 2022 elk draw.

2022 Harvest Success

Party applications

Youth opportunities

Whether you’re a resident or nonresident, youth applicants can submit an application for all four elk permit types. You need to be 15 years of age or younger in order to apply, but you get at least one more chance than the adults do. This does not mean that you are allowed to draw more than one permit, it just means that you have a slight advantage at drawing a permit period. If a youth draws a youth elk permit, there is a reduced price youth hunting license ($6/resident and $10/nonresident) and a reduced youth elk permit ($30/resident and $200/nonresident). If a youth draws a regular elk permit, then they are charged the regular elk permit prices (listed in the table above).

2023 draw and season

For the 2023 elk permit drawing, there is once again a total of 594 tags available through the state’s random lottery. With the tag quota staying the same, you can probably expect to have odds similar to those of 2022. One thing to remember is that even though the odds don’t seem to be very friendly, there’s always a chance to have your name pulled. So for $10, why not take a shot?

The season dates are broken up a little differently based on the type of elk permit that you draw. Below is the 2023 season date table:

Elk Hunting Units (EHU)

The Regulated Areas within the Elk Restoration Zone are privately owned properties that are in agreement with the state to allow limited public access for hunting.

The Kentucky elk restoration zone is made up of 16 different counties and is divided into seven elk hunting units; six of which are open for elk hunting. Kentucky is approximately 95% privately owned, and much of the public land available for elk hunting receives significant hunting pressure. The elk hunting units were developed in 2019 to reduce the risk of overharvesting elk in any one area. Once a person is successful in drawing an elk permit, they then have the ability to apply for a specific elk hunting unit.

Other elk hunting opportunities

Outside of the elk permit draw, Kentucky has a couple of options open for those who wish to go elk hunting. The first option benefits both resident and nonresident hunters, while the other two options cater to landowners within the state of Kentucky.

Everybody has the opportunity to hunt elk outside of the Elk Restoration Zone and those tags are actually over-the-counter tags. Hunters choosing to do this must follow the deer season regulations and only use the legal elk hunting equipment outlined in the regulations. This might sound like one heck of an opportunity, but in reality, very few elk are taken outside of the zone. However, if you’ve got the access and a little inside scoop, then you might as well give it a shot.

The other opportunities come in the form of landowner-type permits. They offer Landowner-Cooperator permits, Voucher Cooperator permits, and Restoration permits.

For more information regarding these programs, go to the state regulations here.

Kentucky’s Trophy Bulls

* Nontypical

Apply for Kentucky elk online here