Scott County Hunting Rundown

Deer seasons and bag in Scott County

Kentucky sets deer zones by whole county, and Scott County falls in Zone 1 along with 67 others. Doe hunting is wide open in Zone 1, with additional deer permits covering every antlerless deer after the statewide permit. Unlike 30 other counties, Scott County did not change zones for 2026-27.

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

Rifles and shotguns open on November 14, 2026 and close on November 29, 2026; muzzleloaders get a second turn from December 12 to December 20, 2026. Earlier gun chances come with the youth-only season, October 10 to October 18, 2026, and the two early muzzleloader days, October 17 to October 18, 2026. Bowhunters have September 5, 2026 to January 18, 2027; crossbows join on September 19.

During the gun, muzzleloader and youth gun deer days, everyone afield in Scott County wears solid hunter orange on head, back and chest, archers and turkey hunters included. After Christmas comes the free youth weekend, December 26 to December 27, 2026, open to any legal method.

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.

Which zones reach Scott County

Black bear

Kentucky bear seasons cover 47 counties, and Scott County is not among them; try Clark County, about 32 miles away.

Elk

The out-of-zone elk rule covers Scott County: annual hunting license, Out-of-Zone Elk Permit, deer dates and methods. It is separate from the deer bag, and a deer permit is not required.

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

Scott County uses the Eastern Zone dates for rabbit and quail, November 1 to November 13 and November 16 to January 31. Scott County is outside the Grouse Zone, which means no ruffed grouse season here. River otter rules put Scott County in Otter Zone 1.

The September Canada goose season here follows the Eastern Zone, September 16 to September 30, 2026, while ducks and regular geese are statewide. Duck season opens statewide on November 26, 2026 in two parts that end 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.

Scott County Telecheck harvest record

972 deer were reported from Scott County in 2025-26, the 65th highest county total. Divide by land area and you get 3.4 deer per square mile, 57th in Kentucky. Against the 2016-17 baseline of 1,540, the change is -37%. The ten-year average is about 1,245 deer, with a peak of 1,540 in 2016-17.

By sex, 53% were males (454 with visible antlers) and 47% females. Most deer fell to modern firearms (63%), with archery at 145 and crossbows at 138. Zone 1 counties, as listed for 2026-27, checked 103,888 deer, under 1% of them here.

Wild turkey

The 2026 spring gobbler season produced 216 turkeys in Scott County, ranking 77th. Another 17 turkeys came in during fall 2025-26. Dates for spring 2027 were not yet out from KDFWR.

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 Scott County

Regional help for Scott County comes from the Bluegrass coordinator, (502) 782-0742, e-mail FW.BluegrassRegion@ky.gov. The nearest KDFWR office with a mailing address is the Headquarters (Frankfort) in Frankfort, some 20 miles from the county centre.

Local town pages:

• Georgetown40,518 people
• Stamping Ground835 people
• Sadieville343 people

Processors, taxidermists and sporting goods stores in and around Scott County; listings from directories are not individually verified, so call ahead.

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.

Scott County legal hours by season date

Scott County raccoon, coyote and other furbearer hunters follow separate night and daylight rules that this table leaves out.

Coyote hunting has night rules. 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.

Counties near Scott County

More counties near Scott County and three wider guides.