Other Hunting Regulations

LANDOWNER PERMISSION REQUIRED FOR HUNTING, TRAPPING & FISHING

A person SHALL NOT ENTER upon the lands of another to hunt, trap or fish, WITHOUT the oral or written PERMISSION of the landowner, tenant or person who has authority to grant permission. Those who fail to obtain permission are subject to arrest and prosecution. Railroad tracks and rights of way are privately owned property and permission to hunt, trap or fish must be obtained prior to entry.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Can I retrieve game from another person’s land without permission?

A: No. You MUST have permission to enter private property. Landowners are under no obligation to allow hunters to retrieve game from their land. Think about where you hunt - if you take a shot near a property line, you may not be able to retrieve your game.

HUNTER EDUCATION LAW & REQUIREMENTS FOR ADULTS HUNTING WITH KIDS

Kentucky’s Hunter Education Law states that all hunters, if required to purchase a Kentucky hunting license and born on or after January 1, 1975, must carry a valid hunter education course completion card while hunting. However, a one-time temporary hunter education exemption permit is available online at fw.ky.gov. This $5 permit allows hunting without a hunter education card for one year from the date of purchase. After it expires, the hunter is no longer exempt and must successfully complete a hunter education course. (Landowners are only license exempt on their own property. When hunting elsewhere, they must be licensed and comply with the hunter education law.)

A bowhunter not in possession of a firearm while hunting may carry a valid National Bowhunter Education Program course completion card instead of the hunter education card.

The hunter education law applies to all types of hunting. Hunter education cards obtained from other states are valid in Kentucky. Hunter education cards and temporary hunter education exemption permits are not required when buying a license or permits, but must be in the hunter’s possession while hunting. Course schedule information is available at fw.ky.gov or by calling 1-800-858-1549.

Children under 12 years old are exempt from this law, and cannot take the hunter education test until they turn 9 years old. BUT hunters under 12 years old and those who have temporary hunter education exemption permits must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years old, who meets the hunter education requirement. The adult shall be in a position to take immediate control of the child or exempted hunter’s bow or firearm at all times while hunting. One adult shall not accompany more than two children at the same time.

Replacement hunter education cards can be obtained by mailing $5, name, current address, date of birth and phone number to the KDFWR Hunter Education Program at the address on the front of this guide.

Adults must accompany hunters ages 15 and under who deer, elk or turkey hunt with a gun. The adult shall remain in a position to take immediate control of the youth’s firearm.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: I got invited hunting this weekend. I am required to have a hunter education card, but I don’t have one yet. Can I still go?

A: Yes. Go online to fw.ky.gov and get a temporary hunter education exemption permit. This one-time, $5 permit lets you hunt for one year without a hunter education card.

HUNTER ORANGE CLOTHING LAW

Orange is the law!

Kentucky’s Hunter Orange Clothing Law requires ALL HUNTERS and persons accompanying them, hunting for any species during the modern gun, muzzle-loading, and youth firearms deer seasons or a firearms elk season to wear solid, unbroken hunter orange color visible from all sides on the head, back and chest.

Hunter orange garments must be worn as the outer coverings and must be worn at all times while in the field hunting. Garments can be of mesh type material, as long as openings in the mesh weave are no wider than one-quarter inch by any measurement. Garments may display a small portion of another color.

The following are examples of common Hunter Orange Clothing Law violations:

• Wearing camouflage-patterned hunter orange garments without additional solid hunter orange clothing on the head, back and chest. 

• Wearing hunter orange clothing while walking to a stand and taking it off when you get there.

• Hunting squirrel, rabbit or quail when and where a firearms deer or elk season is also open without wearing hunter orange clothing. 

• Hunting during a muzzle-loading deer season without wearing hunter orange.

In other words, if you’re hunting anything in a place where and when a gun of any kind can be used for taking deer or elk, you have to comply with the hunter orange clothing law. The only exceptions are when hunting waterfowl during a gun deer season, or when hunting game that can legally be hunted at night (like opossum or raccoon, for example).

SHOOTING HOURS

Shooting hours for all species listed in this guide, except raccoons, opossums and frogs, are during daylight hours only. Daylight hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. However, hunters may be in the field or stands before and after shooting hours.

Raccoons and opossums may be taken day or night, except during modern gun deer season when raccoon and opossum hunting is permitted only at night.

HUNTING METHOD EXEMPTIONS

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources grants exemptions to hunters with certain physical disabilities to hunt with a crossbow during archery-only periods of deer, elk and turkey seasons, or use a stationary vehicle as a hunting platform.

However, persons with qualifying physical disabilities must first have an exemption form completed and signed by a licensed physician certifying why the exemption is necessary. Forms are available from the department and online at fw.ky.gov. Persons who obtain a hunting method exemption are still required to have the appropriate hunting license and permits. Persons granted a hunting method exemption must also carry the signed exemption form along with their hunting license and permits while in the field.

PROHIBITED HUNTING METHODS

• No person shall discharge any firearm, bow and arrow, crossbow or other similar device, upon, over or across any public roadway.  Hunting is prohibited in highway or interstate medians and rights of way.

• No person shall take or attempt to take wildlife from an automobile, or other vehicle, except as prescribed by regulation. Hunting from boats is permitted for small game.

• A person shall NOT pursue, chase or take a deer, elk, bear, or turkey during the spring turkey season, with the aid of dogs; while on horseback; or when the deer or elk is swimming. Dogs may be used to locate and flush turkeys during the fall turkey seasons only.

• It is illegal to feed bears directly, indirectly or incidentally for any reason.

• No person shall take wildlife with the aid of fire, smoke, explosives or gas.

• Baiting is prohibited on all WMAs,  Daniel Boone National Forest, Jefferson National Forest and state parks  open to hunting.

• Deer and elk hunters shall not use electronic decoys.

• No person shall take a turkey when the turkey is roosting. (A roost is the place where a turkey spends the night.)

•A person hunting wild turkeys SHALL NOT use live or electronic turkeys as decoys or take a turkey by the aid of baiting, hunt on a baited area while bait is present, or hunt on a baited area for 30 days after all bait has been removed. (A baited area is any place where feed, grains or other substances capable of luring wild turkeys have been placed.) Turkeys can’t be hunted over any private land area baited for deer. An area where grains or other feeds exist as the result of legitimate agricultural practices, or as the result of growing or manipulating a crop for wildlife management is legal for hunting.

FEEDING OF WILDLIFE

It is illegal to feed wildlife with grain, seed or manufactured animal feed outside the curtilage of the home (the area immediately surrounding a home or group of homes) from March 1 through July 31. This regulation does not apply to normal agricultural practices or food plots, or municipal areas not open to legal hunting or trapping.

SPOTLIGHTING

No person may deliberately cast the rays of a spotlight or other artificial light into any field, pasture, woodlands or forest, whether public or private, where wildlife or domestic livestock may reasonably be expected to be located. Shining artificial lights into private residences or other structures is also prohibited. This does not apply to: the rays of headlights of vehicles engaged in a normal course of travel; lights being used in legitimate agricultural activities; to anyone involved in activities legitimate to his or her business or occupation; circumstances including lawful hunting activities; or any landowner, his or her immediate family or any paid employee while working on his or her land at that time. No person shall take wildlife, except raccoons, opossums, fishes and frogs, using lights or other means designed to blind wildlife or make wildlife visible at night.

GAME CALLING DEVICES & RESTRICTIONS

• Hand or mouth-operated calls may be used in hunting all species.

• Mechanical and electronic (digitally reproduced or tape-recorded sound) calls or attracting devices may only be used to take groundhogs, coyotes, wild hogs, English sparrows and starlings during daylight hours year-round.

• A hunter may use electronic calls or attracting devices for furbearers during the furbearer season.

• Mechanical and electronic calls may be used to take crows only during crow season.

• Deer and elk hunters shall not use electronic calls.

• Turkey hunters shall not use or possess electronic or digital calling devices.

TREE STANDS

The construction and use of tree stands on private lands is regulated by the landowner, not the KDFWR.

The use of nails, spikes, screws, wire, or tree climbers is prohibited for attaching a tree stand or climbing a tree on: all KDFWR-owned or managed WMAs, state parks open to hunting, Daniel Boone National Forest, Clark’s River National Wildlife Refuge, Jefferson National Forest, Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Land Between the Lakes, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Fort Knox, Fort Campbell, Blue Grass Army Depot and Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center.

Portable stands and tree climbers that do not injure trees may be used on the above areas, but must be marked with the owner’s name and address. Portable stands and tree climbers may be placed in trees no earlier than two weeks before the opening of the season and must be removed within one week after the season closes on the area. Use of existing permanent tree stands is prohibited. On state parks open to hunting, tree stands must not be left unattended for more than twenty-four (24) hours.

POSSESSION OF PROTECTED WILDLIFE

Possession of protected wildlife except during an open season is illegal without a permit. All permits must be obtained prior to taking or holding protected wildlife. Wildlife acquired prior to obtaining the proper permits may be confiscated and the holder fined. The KDFWR strongly urges people not to take animals from the wild and attempt to make them pets. A person must not hold wildlife in captivity that was not legally taken or obtained. Persons transporting live deer or other types of cervids (members of the deer family) without proper documentation or permits, or holding live deer captive in unpermitted facilities or pens are subject to severe fines and may have their animals confiscated or destroyed. 

DOG TRAINING & HUNTING WITH DOGS

Hunters may run or train dogs for small game and furbearers year-round as long as game is taken only during an open hunting season. Some WMAs have special restrictions on using dogs, so check ahead of time. All members of the party (unless license-exempt) must have a valid hunting license to pursue small game or furbearer species, even when training dogs without taking game. Dogs may not be used to chase, molest or hunt deer, elk, bears or turkeys, except: Dogs are permitted for locating and flushing turkeys during the FALL turkey season only, and dogs ON LEASH are permitted for tracking and locating wounded deer. Except during the season, raccoon and opossum hunters must not carry firearms, tree climbers, squealers or devices capable of killing, injuring or forcing raccoons or opossums from trees or dens. Squealers may be used during permitted field trials only.

FIRE HAZARD SEASONS

Oct. 1 - Dec. 15 and Feb. 15 - April 30 are fire hazard seasons in Kentucky. During these periods, it is illegal to start any fires within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland except between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time. Willful, malicious or wanton setting of forest fires at any time is a felony punishable by fines from $1,000 to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to five years. For information on specific county burning bans or restrictions, call the Kentucky Division of Forestry at (502) 564-4496.

FEDERAL WILDLIFE LAW

(Summary Only) Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, 16 USC 3371 3378

Prohibited Acts: It is unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce; any fish, wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any state, or in violation of any foreign law.

Criminal Penalties:

• Felony: Fine of $20,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years.

• Misdemeanor: Fine of $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 1 year.

Rewards: Furnished to individuals providing information that leads to an arrest or criminal conviction for violations of above.

MIGRATORY BIRD & WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) governs migratory bird and waterfowl hunting. Season dates for these species are finalized by the USFWS in August, which is too late to be included in this guide. However, the first portion of the Kentucky dove season usually opens September 1 each year and runs through late October. Hunters should consult the 2007-08 Early and Late Season Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Hunting guides for complete details on migratory bird and waterfowl hunting in Kentucky, or check the KDFWR website at fw.ky.gov a few days before the season is expected to open.