The application period for Kentucky’s 2023 elk hunt runs until April 30. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources supplied 594 permits for the 2023 random drawing.
The permit allotment is as follows:
Bull Firearm – 150
Cow Firearm – 244
Archery/ Crossbow (Cow or Bull) – 175
Youth-Only – 25
Go here to apply.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has a long conservation history in Kentucky, including supplying critical funding to help restore elk to the state in 1997. Today, the herd numbers more than 11,000, the largest elk population east of the Mississippi River.
Since 1995, RMEF and its partners completed 196 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Kentucky with a combined value of more than $9.9 million. These projects conserved and enhanced 7,349 acres of habitat and opened or improved public access to 745 acres.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)