Fleming County, Kentucky Hunting

Deer rules a Fleming County hunter needs

This season Fleming County counts as a Zone 2 county, so every Zone 2 rule in the guide applies across it. The Zone 2 bag tops out at four deer, any mix of does and one buck. Nothing moved here: Fleming County stays in its 2025-26 zone.

KDFWR wording for Zone 2: “Up to 4 deer (1 antlered max statewide).” 301 KAR 2:172

Gun season in Fleming County covers 16 days from November 14, and late muzzleloader adds 9 more days starting December 12. The first powder smoke comes October 17 to October 18, 2026 for early muzzleloader, inside the youth gun window of October 10 to October 18, 2026. From September 5 to January 18, 2027 a bow is legal, and a crossbow from September 19.

Bow or gun, a hunter in Fleming County needs solid orange visible on head, back and chest whenever a deer gun season is running. Youth hunters close the gun year on December 26 to December 27, 2026, the free weekend that waives the license.

A January 9-11, 2027 antlerless-only firearms season in Zones 1-3 was adopted in 301 KAR 2:172 effective November 5, 2026; KDFWR's guide still lists it as pending. 301 KAR 2:172

Zones and bags from 301 KAR 2:172 and the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide; hunter orange from the guide. Checked November 10, 2026.

Bear, elk and small game zones in Fleming County

Black bear, Zone 2

Bear Zone 2 takes in Fleming County and 40 other counties for 2026-27. Gun hunters wait until December 12 to December 16; bows and crossbows get October 24 to October 28. Only one bear a license year, it has to reach 75 pounds, and a sow with cubs is protected.

KDFWR bans bait for bears, and a site that was baited stays closed for 30 days after cleanup. Outside the hunting days, a chase-only season lets dogs train on bears in Zones 1 to 3. No bear dogs at Daniel Boone National Forest.

No bear quota; bear permits are over the counter. 301 KAR 2:300

Elk

No elk draw is needed in Fleming County; it lies outside the zone, where an out-of-zone permit covers one elk. An out-of-zone elk is not part of the deer bag.

Follows deer season dates and methods; needs annual hunting license plus Out-of-Zone Elk Permit; no deer permit required. 1 elk of either sex per license year (not counted in deer bag) Guide p. 23

Small game and birds

Small game zones split along wildlife district lines, and Fleming County falls in the Eastern Zone (November 1 to November 13 and November 16 to January 31). Grouse season applies in Fleming County as a Grouse Zone county. For otter, Fleming County is a Zone 1 county under 301 KAR 2:251.

September geese in Fleming County use the Eastern Zone dates, September 16 to September 30, 2026; the later duck and goose seasons have one statewide zone. The regular duck season runs in two pieces from November 26 to January 31, 2027, the same across Kentucky.

September goose zone counties are read from the KDFWR zone map; they agree with the 301 KAR 2:225 rule. Waterfowl guide p. 11

From the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide, the Kentucky Hunting Guide for Migratory Birds and Waterfowl, bear zone rules, elk rules and small game zones. Checked November 10, 2026.

Harvest trends for Fleming County

KDFWR records show 1,051 deer taken in Fleming County last season, 58th in the state. That works out to 3.0 deer per square mile of land, 69th by density. Compared with 979 in 2016-17, the total is up 7%. Averaging the ten seasons gives roughly 889 deer a year; 2025-26 was the high mark.

Does made up 42% of the take, antlered bucks 52% and button bucks 6%. Modern firearms produced the largest share, 75%, of the county total. Counting the counties in today's Zone 2, the share from Fleming County was 5%.

Wild turkey

Fleming County gave up 297 spring turkeys in 2026, the 53rd biggest county total. The fall 2025-26 season added 10 more. Spring 2027 dates had not been published by KDFWR when this page was checked.

Harvest from the KDFWR Harvest Results app (Telecheck; license years, 2025-26 = the latest); turkey from the same app. Checked November 10, 2026.

Help and services near Fleming County

Call the Northeast regional coordinator at (859) 473-0061 with questions about Fleming County; the region e-mail is FW.NortheastRegion@ky.gov. About 19 miles from the county centre, the Northeastern Fisheries District Office in Morehead is the nearest KDFWR address.

Town guides in Fleming County:

• Flemingsburg3,003 people

Businesses hunters use around Fleming County are below, 4 of them inside the county; call ahead, since directory rows are unverified.

Regional coordinator phone and e-mail from the KDFWR regional biologists map; offices from the KDFWR Contact Us page and fisheries district layer; services from the KDFWR taxidermist and processor list and directories. Checked November 10, 2026.

Fleming County legal hours by season date

Fleming County keeps Eastern Time, so these times are on the local clock; the state line between Central and Eastern Time runs through the middle of Kentucky.

Crane hunting is sunrise to sunset. Times are on local clock time: Central Time in the western 41 counties, Eastern Time elsewhere.

Hours rules from the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide; sunrise and sunset from the NOAA solar formula at this point on Eastern Time; checked November 10, 2026. Legal hours across Kentucky.

Beyond Fleming County

Keep going: nearby counties and three statewide pages.