Hunting laws

Hunting in Kentucky generally requires a license, any permit for the species, proof of hunter education and the landowner’s permission. Season dates, zones and bag limits change, so check the current guide from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at fw.ky.gov.

Licenses and hunter education

A person must hold the license or permit that covers the activity (KRS 150.170). Children under 12 do not need a hunting license, and resident farmland owners, their spouses and dependent children may hunt on their own farmland without one. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1975 must carry proof of hunter education while hunting, unless exempt. A hunter under 12 without certification must be accompanied by an adult who can take immediate control of the firearm or bow (301 KAR 2:185).

Permission and trespass

No one may enter another person’s land to shoot, hunt, trap or fish without the oral or written permission of the landowner, tenant or another person with authority to give it (KRS 150.092). That includes retrieving game or a dog. Fines run from $100 to $300 for a first offense and $300 to $1,000 for a second. Later offenses bring a one-year loss of license and a fine of at least $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both (KRS 150.990).

Deer checking and hunter orange

A hunter must log a deer before moving the carcass and report it through the telecheck system, by phone or online, before 11:59 p.m. on the day it is recovered. During the modern gun, muzzleloader and youth gun deer seasons, anyone hunting any species in daylight, and anyone accompanying a hunter, must wear solid hunter orange visible from all sides on the head, back and chest. Waterfowl and dove hunters are excepted (301 KAR 2:172).

Prohibited methods and penalties

• Firing a gun, bow or crossbow on, over or across a public roadway (KRS 150.360).
• Taking wildlife from a vehicle, unless a regulation allows it.
• Taking deer outside daylight hours, or shining a spotlight into fields or woods, with exceptions (KRS 150.395).
• Baiting on wildlife management areas and other listed public lands, or hunting turkeys or bears over bait. Deer may currently be hunted over bait on private land, with limits in disease surveillance zones.

Many violations carry fines of $50 to $500, and some add up to six months in jail. Illegally taking a deer, turkey or bear carries a fine of $100 to $1,000, 30 days to a year in jail, or both, plus loss of hunting privileges for one to three years and the cost of replacing the animal (KRS 150.990). Local ordinances may also restrict firing guns near homes.