Kentucky public land?

[Mike32]

Thinking of doing a DIY hunt down there this fall. Wondering if any of you guys could help out with a little help in the right direction? Not looking for anyone's spot, just a general idea of what region, county's to possibly start with..

[mheichelbech]

I don’t hunt KY but I do live across the River from Louisville. I think any accessible public along or near the Ohio River would be good. I’ve heard particularly good stuff about aWMA that borders the river and is southwest of Louisville but I can’t think of the name of it at the moment.

Kentucky being more of a rural state doesn’t get the intense pressure that other states do....unless you are near a metro area like Louisville, Lexington or Cincinnati.

[brancher147]

Depends what you like to hunt, Kentucky has a lot of different topo and habitats. I have looked into it but never been. If it was me I would find an area I liked then call the Kentucky fish and game or usfs for Daniel Boone or both and ask specific questions. But most stuff and info should be available online.

[hambone]

I've never hunted KY. But if I was planning on it, I would be looking at 'The Land Between the Lakes'.

[Georgia beast]

Clark river wildlife refuge land is good has some overlooked spots for sure and not far from the land between the lakes. I hunted clark river a few years ago and saw a few good ones but wasn't able to close the deal. I would suggest before the gun season opens

[tbunao]

Peabody, pennyrile, sloughs are all good ones it’s a you pick yard. Plenty of terrain types to suit your liking. I started by looking at harvest numbers then etc.. cyber scout, cyber scout, you get the point. CALL and talk conversation officers to what ever region you choose. LBL is pretty good but if I recall you’ll have to apply and hope. If you are looking for September hinting make sure you plenty of hydration.

[Edcyclopedia]

Dan did a scouting workshop a few years back.
Possibly some info to be had if you search...

[JKW]

Peabody, pennyrile, sloughs are all good ones it’s a you pick yard. Plenty of terrain types to suit your liking. I started by looking at harvest numbers then etc.. cyber scout, cyber scout, you get the point. CALL and talk conversation officers to what ever region you choose. LBL is pretty good but if I recall you’ll have to apply and hope. If you are looking for September hinting make sure you plenty of hydration.

Unless it's different than TN side LBL is open to archery except during quota hunts. For gun hunts most seem to draw every other year.

[Halonhunter6]

Western part of the state has some higher deer density wma’s. Big Rivers and Higginsion Henry are good but after mid October are quota only so it would be early or late season. Peabody has tons of acerage with little pressure outside of gun season then it’s flat out dangerous. LBL has lost a lot of the deer population over the last several years but have been working to improve it. I hunt mostly Daniel Boone in the eastern part I may be able to help with that as well.

[Tennhunter3]

I've scouted some in western Kentucky was not really impressed. Lol Pennyrile have alot of hunters and deer population at lowest levels in years.

You might want to look at Broward county I've seen some pretty good deer killed up that way.

Kentucky's kinda tough in western part of the state not many wmas.

[UofLbowhunter]

Peabody, pennyrile, sloughs are all good ones it’s a you pick yard. Plenty of terrain types to suit your liking. I started by looking at harvest numbers then etc.. cyber scout, cyber scout, you get the point. CALL and talk conversation officers to what ever region you choose. LBL is pretty good but if I recall you’ll have to apply and hope. If you are looking for September hinting make sure you plenty of hydration.

Unless it's different than TN side LBL is open to archery except during quota hunts. For gun hunts most seem to draw every other year.

LBL is open under state wide regulations for bow, but season dates are oct 1 through dec 31. They do two day gun hunt thats a draw. And like saidbow season is closed for the gun days.

[UofLbowhunter]

Ky has a wide variety of terrain to choose from. There swamps, sloughs, flat kinda farm land, rolling hills, and mountians choose your poision! Some wma are better than other, with desent deer numbers. But there will be pressure, in fact i see quite a bit but bow season isnt that bad, not like alot of places i here up north oe east. Gun season is a diffrent story! Ky dept of fish and wildlife has a good website that you can do public land searches that does good telling about the terrian and property, as well what regulation they have for each wma. Look there and pick then start cyberscouting. You will have a shot at a decent buck but it wont be a cake walk for sure! Good luck!

[Mike32]

Thanks for all the good information so far guys. I tried calling about a few places, but nobody is working those offices right now due to the government shut down.