Pike County Hunting, 2026-27

Deer Zone 3 rules in Pike County

Pike County is in Deer Zone 3 for 2026-27, one of 13 counties KDFWR placed there under 301 KAR 2:172. Zone 3 caps the gun take of antlerless deer at one, inside a four-deer bag. Old guides show Pike County in Zone 4, but the 2026-27 map has it in Zone 3.

KDFWR wording for Zone 3: “Up to 4 deer; only 1 antlerless deer with a firearm or air gun (1 antlered max statewide).” 301 KAR 2:172

The Zone 3 modern gun season runs November 14 to November 29, 2026, 16 days, and the late muzzleloader season follows from December 12 to December 20, 2026. Youth hunters get the woods to themselves October 10 to October 18, 2026, and early muzzleloader falls on October 17 to October 18, 2026. Archery runs statewide September 5, 2026 to January 18, 2027, and crossbow opens September 19, 2026 and ends the same January day.

Gun deer days mean orange for all: head, back and chest, archers and trappers too, unless you are hunting waterfowl or doves. On December 26 to December 27, 2026 youth under 16 need no license or deer permit, only an adult with them.

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.

Pike County bear, elk and bird rules

Black bear, Zone 2

Pike County is in Bear Zone 2, one of 41 counties in that zone and 47 in Kentucky's bear range. Bowhunters go first (October 24 to October 28), hound hunters follow (October 19 to October 23 and October 29 to November 6), and gun hunters finish (December 12 to December 16). A hunter can take one bear a license year; it must weigh 75 pounds or more and cannot be a sow with cubs.

No bait for bears, and garbage counts as bait under KDFWR rules. Bear dogs get practice in the chase-only season, which takes no bears.

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

Elk zone

KDFWR counts Pike County in its elk zone, 16 counties where elk are hunted only by quota permit. The 500-permit pool for 2026 broke down to 140 bull, 164 cow, 170 archery or crossbow and 26 youth-only. Public tracts here carry the labels Elk Hunting Unit 5, Elk Hunting Unit 6 and Elk Hunting Unit 7 in the land records.

Bait is off the table in the elk zone, a rule that covers deer hunters too. The voucher cooperator program pays landowners of 100 or more acres in the zone with an elk permit after enough elk come off their land.

Unit boundaries are an incorporated map ("Elk Hunting Units" 2024). Boone's Ridge viewing area closed to all elk hunting. 301 KAR 2:132

Small game and birds

Rabbit and quail follow the Eastern Zone calendar here: November 1 to November 13 and November 16 to January 31. Pike County counts toward the Grouse Zone, with birds open into late February. Pike County falls in Otter Zone 2 for trapping and hunting otters.

The Eastern September goose zone, read from the map, puts the early goose season here at September 16 to September 30, 2026. Kentucky runs one duck zone, opening November 26 and closing January 31, 2027.

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.

What hunters took in Pike County

The 2025-26 deer harvest here came to 1,632, which places Pike County 31st statewide. Density-wise, 2.1 deer came off each square mile (98th statewide). Since 2016-17 (1,508 deer), harvest is up by 8%. Ten-season high: 1,632 in 2025-26; low: 542 in 2017-18.

319 does and 1,295 antlered bucks were checked, plus 18 button bucks. By method, modern firearms led with 1,157 deer; muzzleloaders took 91. Among the counties in today's Zone 3, Pike County supplied 14% of the harvest.

Wild turkey

Spring turkey hunters checked 319 birds here in 2026, 48th among counties. Fall 2025-26 brought 12 birds. The spring 2027 season dates were still unpublished at the last check.

Elk

The elk record here runs to 360 animals over the seasons from 2016-17, with 41 last season.

Black bear

Bear harvest in the county adds up to 164 since 2016-17.

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

KDFWR contacts, towns and services for Pike County

Reach the Northeast Region through its coordinator at (859) 473-0061 or FW.NortheastRegion@ky.gov. Region offices have no published address, so the nearest KDFWR building to visit is the Eastern Fisheries District Office, Prestonsburg, roughly 22 miles off.

Pike County towns covered on this site:

• Pikeville7,366 people
• Elkhorn City978 people
• Freeburn
• South Williamson

Need a processor or a taxidermist near Pike County? These are the closest listed, and it pays to call first.

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.

Pike County legal hours by season date

Pike County gets no printed sunrise table from KDFWR, so each time comes from the NOAA solar formula for this exact spot.

Some WMAs post their own hours. 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.

Explore past Pike County

Neighbouring county guides and statewide pages for Pike County hunters.