Among the sprawling deer-hunting community, Kentucky has become a destination state, an area to which hunters are willing to travel for a chance to tag a trophy deer.
“Trophy” is a relative term. In my judgment, every deer is a trophy. But to make the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ official trophy buck list, a minimum net 160 typical or 185 non-typical Boone & Crockett score is required. For the 2018-19 season, 26 typical and 13 non-typical reported deer met the minimum. But participation is voluntary; the list includes only deer that state wildlife officials know about. Big deer are not always reported.
Kentucky’s deer season has been underway since Sept. 7, when archery season, which runs through Jan. 20, opened. Crossbow season also is currently open. A two-day muzzleloader hunt was held in October, and the second half of that weapon-specific season will be Dec. 14-22. But for the bulk of the state’s deer hunters, the season opens Nov. 9, opening day for the modern gun hunt, which runs through Nov. 24 in all zones. (Bows, crossbows and muzzleloaders also can be used during the modern gun deer season.)
Kentucky is home to about a million deer, maybe 1.5 million. No one knows exactly. What is known is that last year, hunters tagged 145,753 whitetails, the second-highest number on record, including at least 39 B&C-class trophies. These numbers are a measure of the health, size and quality of the herd. It’s destination state size.
This was not always the case. The phenomenal deer hunting enjoyed by about 350,000 Kentuckians—and deer watching, enjoyed by everyone who takes pleasure in seeing wildlife—is a result of numerous factors, good habitat being one. Kentucky has excellent deer habitat, ranging from stands of hardwoods that produce mast (food) for the deer to grain-producing agriculture fields, with a few wetland areas thrown in, resulting in a varied and wide-ranging landscape. Genetics also are a driving factor in producing big, healthy deer. Kentucky’s deer herd draws from a rich gene pool.
And then there’s the state’s wildlife management, which has not always been great but is usually solid and, at times, has been stellar. A brief review:
1894 Kentucky has no agency overseeing wildlife management, but the state legislature passes a law making it illegal to kill a whitetail buck, doe or fawn from March 1 to Sept. 1.
1912 The Kentucky Game Commission is formed at the request, and with the support, of many of the state’s sportsmen. One of the commission’s early recommendations is that Kentucky be closed to deer hunting, as whitetails are vanishing, due largely to habitat loss and little or no game management. Deer hunting will remain closed for more than three decades.
1946 The recently reorganized Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources offers a limited deer season.
Early 1960s As the state’s deer herd hovers around 35,000 animals, restoration efforts escalate by trapping, relocating and releasing deer. The first implants arrive from Wisconsin and are stocked in four western Kentucky counties. Success is limited.
1973 A three-day firearm deer season is offered.
1973 The Department of Fish and Wildlife commission establishes a mandatory hunter orange requirement for deer hunters.
1976 Deer check stations are established as a management tool; 3,476 deer are checked.
1978 State wildlife biologist John Phillips becomes deer program coordinator for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Among other management innovations, he analyzes deer populations across the state and determines that a county could be opened for hunting if it has a whitetail population of more than one deer per square mile. To help meet this goal, Phillips proposes a 10-fold increase in the number of deer that were being stocked per county. During the next two decades, more than 12,000 deer are trapped, moved and released. The program is enormously successful.
1981 Hunters check 14,983 deer. It is the first time a season kill exceeds 10,000.
1991 Kentucky establishes its one antlered buck per season limit. This remains in effect today and is widely considered the lynchpin in the state’s trophy deer population.
1999 The wildlife agency’s last deer stocking occurs (in Perry County).
2000 Kentucky hunters check 106,263 deer, exceeding 100,000 for the first time.
Nov. 9, 2019 Kentucky’s 2019 modern gun season opens.
This long legacy is not lost on current wildlife stewards.
“It’s hard to imagine that deer were hard to find 50 years ago in many places in this state. As the program leader for managing this wonderful resource, we do not take it lightly. Kentucky is now renowned in the deer hunting culture as a destination state that provides a high chance of harvesting a large antlered deer,” said current state Deer and Elk Program Coordinator Gabe Jenkins.
Hunt safely.
For more information, check the current hunting and fishing guide or go to fw.ky.gov.