Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Hunting

Deer rules a Muhlenberg County hunter needs

This season Muhlenberg County counts as a Zone 1 county, so every Zone 1 rule in the guide applies across it. The Zone 1 bag has no cap on antlerless deer once a hunter carries the statewide deer permit and buys additional deer permits. Nothing moved here: Muhlenberg County stays in its 2025-26 zone.

KDFWR wording for Zone 1: “Unlimited antlerless deer with the statewide deer permit plus additional deer permits; 1 antlered deer statewide.” 301 KAR 2:172

Gun season in Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg County

Black bear

Without a bear zone, Muhlenberg County has no bear season; Cumberland County, about 101 miles away, is the closest that does.

Elk

No elk draw is needed in Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg County falls in the Western Zone (November 16 to February 10). Grouse hunting is limited to the 53 Grouse Zone counties, and Muhlenberg County is not one. For otter, Muhlenberg County is a Zone 1 county under 301 KAR 2:251.

September geese in Muhlenberg County use the Western Zone dates, September 1 to September 15, 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.

Open hunting ground around Muhlenberg County

Muhlenberg County holds 2 public hunting areas on the KDFWR and federal lists, the largest being Peabody WMA. Measured from map layers, public hunting land covers about 20,189 acres (7%).

Kinds of land are measured separately here, and parks open only for drawn or listed hunts.

At roughly 40,744 acres, Peabody WMA is a WMA looked after by KDFWR. Expect mainly forest there (60%). Hunters go there for white-tailed deer, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit. KDFWR manages Harris-Dickerson WMA, about 1,837 acres in all. The habitat breakdown puts wetland first at 77%. All species may be hunted there on statewide dates.

The closed list for Muhlenberg County names Lake Malone State Park.

Nearby options outside Muhlenberg County:

• Tradewater WMAWMA · 30 miles from the centre
• Pennyrile State ForestState forest · 30 miles from the centre
• Clear Creek WMAWMA · 32 miles from the centre
• L. B. Davison WMAWMA · 33 miles from the centre
• Gabbard Branch WMAWMA · 34 miles from the centre
• Jones-Keeney WMAWMA · 35 miles from the centre

Land records from KDFWR, the Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky State Parks and federal managers; GIS acres from the KDFWR Public Hunting Areas layer and PAD-US (map measures, not official acreages); closures under 301 KAR 2:178 and 400 KAR 2:090. Checked November 10, 2026.

Muhlenberg County on the events list

Results on record here: 1 (UKC nite hunt).

Results on record

Is your club date absent? Submit it

Listings and results from the KDFWR calendar, the DU and NWTF feeds, UKC and American Field, read November 9, 2026.

Muhlenberg County legal hours by season date

Muhlenberg County keeps Central 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 Central Time; checked November 10, 2026. Legal hours across Kentucky.

Beyond Muhlenberg County

Keep going: nearby counties and three statewide pages.