Kansas Draw Odds
Kansas runs a true preference-point draw for its headline product, the Nonresident Whitetail Either-sex Deer permit: you apply in April (deadline the last Friday of April) for up to four choices, each a unit plus one adjacent unit, with your weapon picked at application, and roughly 20,000-22,000 permits go to 30,000+ applicants - unsuccessful applicants automatically earn a point, and one point has recently been enough to draw any unit.
Only the $27.50 application fee and a $125 nonresident hunting license are paid up front; the ~$450 permit balance is charged to your card only if you draw, so nothing is fronted or refunded. Resident deer hunting is almost all over the counter (the lone resident draw is the firearm Either-species permit in two western zones), and the elk and pronghorn firearm/muzzleloader draws are residents-only - a plain nonresident's only Kansas elk or pronghorn option is the over-the-counter archery pronghorn permit.
Sources: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks documents, last verified September 1, 2026. · 24 sources
Odds by Species
Deer
27 hunt codes- NR Tags 2026
- 21,782
Elk
4 hunt codesAntelope (Pronghorn)
7 hunt codesThe Rules, Side by Side
Nonresident and resident rules for every species. Small numbers are sources.
| Rule | Nonres. | Resident |
|---|---|---|
| System | Pref 5 | Pref 2 |
| Choices | 4 | 1 |
| Lower Choice Burns Points | — | — |
| Point-Only | Yes | Yes |
| Points Expire | Yes · 5 yr | Yes · 5 yr |
| Party Averages | No | — |
| NR Share | — | — |
| Species | Who | System | Choices | Lower Choice Burns Points | Point-Only | Points Expire | Party Averages | NR Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Nonresident | Preference points 5 | 4 | — | Yes | Yes · 5 yr | No | — |
| Resident | Preference points 2 | 1 | — | Yes | Yes · 5 yr | — | — | |
| Elk | Resident | Bonus points (linear) 3 | 1 | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Pronghorn | Resident | Preference points 1 | 1 | — | Yes | Yes · 5 yr | — | — |
NR Share
- Pronghorn
- 0% Firearm and muzzleloader antelope permits are residents-only; nonresidents can buy an over-the-counter archery permit instead.
- Elk
- 0% The elk draw is open to Kansas residents, landowners and tenants only.
Points Expire
- Deer and pronghorn
- After 5 years without applying or buying one.
Party Applications
- Deer
- Lowest.
How These Draws Work, With an Example
Preference points: Tags go to the applicants with the most preference points, one level at a time. If the last level that draws has more applicants than tags remaining, those applicants are chosen at random. Everyone below that level misses and earns a point.
Bonus points (linear): Every applicant gets points + 1 entries in a random draw, so more points mean more chances, but never a guarantee.
Buying Points
A nonresident can buy an Apply for Points only in Kansas without applying for a tag. Choose "Apply for Points only" on the Go Outdoors Kansas application during the application period; you cannot buy a point and apply for a permit for the same species in the same year.
Taking any permit for that species spends the points you built. Points carry over from year to year, and Kansas voids them after 5 years without applying or buying one.
| Species | Resident | Nonresident | How | Points Lapse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer On The Application · lapses after 5 idle years | $10 1 | $25 2 | On The Application | After 5 idle years |
| Elk On The Application | $12.50 1 | — | On The Application | — |
| Pronghorn On The Application · lapses after 5 idle years | $12.50 1 | — | On The Application | After 5 idle years |
- 1.The $10.00 point plus a $1.00 agent fee and a $1.50 transaction fee, so $12.50 all in
- 2.Plus a $1.00 agent fee and a $1.50 transaction fee, so $27.50 all in
Source: Apply for Points only — ksoutdoors.gov
Fees
| 2026 Fee | Nonres. | Resident | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Applicant | |||
| Hunting license (16+), required at application 5 To apply | $125 | — | To apply |
| Youth hunting license (15 and younger) 5 To apply | $40 | — | To apply |
| Hunting license (ages 16-74) 8 If drawn | — | $25 | If drawn |
| Deer | |||
| Deer application fee (included in the $477.50 permit price) 5 To apply | $27.50 | — | To apply |
| Deer preference point (points-only application), plus processing/agent fees 5,6 Point-only purchase | $25 | $10 | Point-only purchase |
| Firearm Either-species/Either-sex deer permit, nonresident tenant (may apply in the resident draw) 6 If drawn | $95 | — | If drawn |
| White-tailed Deer permit (16+) - $477.50 total includes the $27.50 application fee; the $450.00 balance is charged only if drawn 5,6 If drawn | $450 | $50 | If drawn |
| Youth White-tailed Deer permit (15 and younger), $117.50 including application fee 5,6 If drawn | $117.50 | $30 | If drawn |
| Mule Deer Stamp (optional second drawing for units 1, 2, 17, 18 archery/muzzleloader applicants; upgrades permit to either-species) 5 If drawn | $150 | — | If drawn |
| Elk | |||
| Elk application fee (also the bonus-point purchase price, unchanged from 2025) 7 To apply | — | $12.50 | To apply |
| Antlerless-only Elk permit, general resident 7 If drawn | — | $150 | If drawn |
| Antlerless-only Elk permit, nonresident tenant 7 If drawn | $150 | $75 | If drawn |
| Antlerless-only Elk permit, resident youth (15 and younger) 7 If drawn | — | $50 | If drawn |
| Any-Elk permit, general resident 7 If drawn | — | $300 | If drawn |
| Any-Elk permit, nonresident tenant (the only nonresident class eligible) 7 If drawn | $300 | $150 | If drawn |
| Any-Elk permit, resident youth (15 and younger) 7 If drawn | — | $125 | If drawn |
| Pronghorn | |||
| Antelope preference point only 4 If unsuccessful | — | $10 | If unsuccessful |
| Firearm/muzzleloader antelope application, general resident (excludes agent/transaction fees) 4 If drawn | — | $60 | If drawn |
| Firearm/muzzleloader antelope application, nonresident tenant 4 If drawn | $95 | $35 | If drawn |
| Cash to Apply, One Species | $192.50 | $12.50 | Kept if you miss |
Cash to apply adds up every fee due with an application; each extra species adds its own application fee.
Next Application Deadlines
-
Deer · nonresidents only 6
(Last cycle ran Apr 1 – Apr 24, 2026.)
Apr 1–30, 2027 195 days expected -
May 12 – Jun 11, 2027 237 days expected
Dates marked expected are last cycle's schedule rolled forward by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks' own rule; confirm them once the new dates are published.
Legal cartridges in Kansas by species and weapon
Sources (24)
Draw Rules, Fees and Deadlines
- 1. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 Kansas Antelope Regulations Summary
- 2. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 Kansas Deer Regulations Summary
- 3. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 Kansas Elk Regulations Summary
- 4. Antelope | Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (2026 draw statistics)
- 5. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · Application Period Now Open for Nonresident Deer Permits (KDWP news release, 2026-04-13)
- 6. Deer | Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (2026 quotas)
- 7. Elk | Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (2026 program)
- 8. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · Hunting, Furharvester Licenses & Permit Fees · 2026
- 9. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes · K.S.A. 32-937 - Big game permits; deer crossbow hunting pilot project · 2026
Draw Results, Hunt Lists and Harvest Reports, 2021–2025
2025 · 3 documents
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 Antelope Draw Stats
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 NR Deer Draw Stats (Limited Draw Statistics Report)
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2025 Resident Either Species/Either Sex Deer Draw Stats
2024 · 3 documents
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2024 Antelope Draw Stats
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2024 Nonresident Whitetail Either Sex Deer - Limited Draw Statistics Report (with PP)
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2024 Resident Either Species/Either Sex Deer Draw Stats
2023 · 3 documents
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2023 Antelope Draw Stats
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2023 Nonresident Whitetail Either Sex Deer - Limited Draw Statistics Report, Successful & Unsuccessful
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2023 Resident Either Species/Either Sex Deer Draw Stats
2022 · 3 documents
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2022 Antelope Draw Stats
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2022 Nonresident Deer Draw Stats (All Choices)
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2022 Resident Either Species, Either Sex Deer Firearms Draw Stats
2021 · 3 documents
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2021 Antelope Draw Stats
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2021 Nonresident Deer Draw Stats (All Choices)
- Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks · 2021 Resident Either Species, Either Sex Deer Firearms Draw Stats
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About These Numbers
Rules, fees and deadlines are copied from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks documents and change by commission action; a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. The odds on each species page are last draw's results. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.