No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
Kentucky Elk Draw Odds
In the 2025 draw Kentucky offered 3 elk hunts to residents and nonresidents in one shared draw, drawn at random with no points. 0 of them, open to every hunter, gave at least an even chance.
Applications open now: close Apr 30, 2027, opened Aug 1
Kept if you miss. Elk license $560 only if drawn
2025 draw · nonresidents capped at 10%
How the Kentucky Draw Works (30-Second Version)
Random draw.
Every applicant has the same chance: tags divided by applicants. No points count in this draw.
Best Bets
Odds × hunter success × public land, 10 tags or more. Private-land, ranch, landowner and youth hunts left out.
Bull or Either-Sex
Before You Apply
A Waiting Period After Drawing
Draw one and you wait 3 years before applying again.
Anyone drawn - including a Loyalty Redraw purchaser - sits out the next three elk quota hunt drawings; there is no lifetime bar.
Source: fw.ky.gov
- Limit
- 3-year wait
- Nonresident Share
- Up to 10%
- Nonresidents may be no more than 10% of the drawn applicants in each pool, so about 50 of the 500 permits.
Every Hunt
3 hunt codes drawn in 2025 · 0 at 50% or better · first choice · all residencies adult
| Hunt | Season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BULL-FA Unit 2 +5 · Bull rifle · Bull firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) | Bull rifle · Bull firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) | 2 +5 | Sep 26–Oct 7 | <1% (small sample) | 140 / — | 40% |
| COW-FA Unit 2 +5 · Antlerless rifle · Cow (antlerless) firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) | Antlerless rifle · Cow (antlerless) firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) | 2 +5 | Nov 28–Jan 6 | <1% (small sample) | 164 / — | 40% |
| ES-ARCH Unit 2 +5 · Either-sex archery · Either-sex archery/crossbow elk quota hunt | Either-sex archery · Either-sex archery/crossbow elk quota hunt | 2 +5 | Sep 12–Dec 11 | <1% (small sample) | 170 / — | 40% |
Showing all 3 · sorted by unit · 1 hunt not offered in 2025 hidden — show discontinued hunts
What These Columns Mean
- Odds —
- the share of first-choice applicants who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year. A badge marked * had under five tags, so one applicant either way swings it.
- Tags / apps —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them.
- Success —
- the share of hunters in the unit who killed an animal, from the latest harvest report on file. It is the whole unit's figure, not the hunt's.
All 6 Units
Each unit has its own page: where it is on the map, how much of it is public land, what the hunters who went there killed last season, and every license type you can apply for inside it.
Report an error on this page
About These Numbers
Every percentage here is the chance any applicant had in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results; quotas and applicant numbers change every year. A dash means the agency did not publish the number. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.