Home › Kentucky › Hunting records
Top Bucks and Telecheck
Kentucky Hunting Records
The rules of the Kentucky Top Bucks list in the 2026-27 guide, the 2025 list by score, county and method, and the harvest records kept by Telecheck: deer back to 1999, spring and fall turkey, elk and black bear. Hunter names from the guide are not repeated here.
Photo: Lynn Freeny (U.S. Department of Energy) (Public domain (U.S. Government work))
Kentucky Top Bucks for 2025
Typical, 2025
| Score | County | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 184 5/8 | Clark County | Modern gun |
| 173 3/8 | Bourbon County | Found |
| 173 | Woodford County | Crossbow |
| 171 2/8 | Rockcastle County | Modern gun |
| 167 2/8 | Bourbon County | Modern gun |
| 164 6/8 | Breathitt County | Modern gun |
| 163 | Scott County | Archery |
| 162 1/8 | Wayne County | Crossbow |
Non-typical, 2025
| Score | County | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 210 6/8 | Harrison County | Archery |
| 201 4/8 | Laurel County | Found |
| 201 2/8 | Taylor County | Modern gun |
| 200 | Metcalfe County | Modern gun |
| 186 6/8 | Trigg County | Modern gun |
| 186 2/8 | Casey County | Modern gun |
| 185 | Washington County | Modern gun |
| 185 | Martin County | Modern gun |
Kentucky's Top Bucks list in the hunting guide: Kentucky deer reported to KDFWR netting 160+ typical or 185+ non-typical (Boone and Crockett); send score sheet and photo by May 1. KDFWR has about 30 official Boone and Crockett measurers. No separate Kentucky big game records program turned up in the sources read for this site.
The 2025 list holds 16 bucks from 15 counties; by method, modern gun 10, found 2, crossbow 2 and archery 2. Bourbon County placed 2, more than any other county.
Sources: 2026-27 Hunting & Trapping Guide, page 15; KDFWR deer page. Checked: figures matched to the KDFWR wording on November 10, 2026.
How the Kentucky deer harvest has moved
The highest count in the app is 155,724 deer in 2015-16; since 2016 the lowest was 132,327 in 2021-22.
| License year | Deer checked |
|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 139,448 |
| 2017-18 | 136,024 |
| 2018-19 | 145,752 |
| 2019-20 | 148,391 |
| 2020-21 | 141,621 |
| 2021-22 | 132,327 |
| 2022-23 | 144,515 |
| 2023-24 | 141,065 |
| 2024-25 | 149,919 |
| 2025-26 | 145,525 |
| 2025-26 split | Deer |
|---|---|
| Antlered bucks | 74,444 |
| Button bucks | 7,837 |
| Does | 63,241 |
| Modern gun | 105,476 |
| Archery | 16,664 |
| Crossbow | 14,363 |
| Muzzleloader | 9,022 |
Sources: KDFWR Harvest Results app; 2025-26 Kentucky White-tailed Deer Report. Checked: figures matched to the KDFWR wording on November 10, 2026.
Kentucky county harvest leaders
Hardin County led the deer count in 2025-26 with 3,545; Graves County led spring 2026 turkey with 778 birds.
Deer, 2025-26
| Rank | County | Deer | Per sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardin | 3,545 | 5.7 |
| 2 | Breckinridge | 3,091 | 5.4 |
| 3 | Christian | 3,002 | 4.2 |
| 4 | Hart | 2,817 | 6.8 |
| 5 | Graves | 2,698 | 4.9 |
| 6 | Shelby | 2,692 | 7.1 |
| 7 | Washington | 2,663 | 9.0 |
| 8 | Pendleton | 2,642 | 9.5 |
| 9 | Nelson | 2,591 | 6.2 |
| 10 | Hopkins | 2,486 | 4.6 |
Spring turkey, 2026
| Rank | County | Turkeys |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graves | 778 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | 746 |
| 3 | Breckinridge | 662 |
| 4 | Pulaski | 659 |
| 5 | Christian | 640 |
| 6 | Hopkins | 636 |
| 7 | Ohio | 593 |
| 8 | Hardin | 566 |
| 9 | Grayson | 549 |
| 10 | Logan | 538 |
Per square mile uses Census land area. Sources: KDFWR Harvest Results app. Checked: figures matched to the KDFWR wording on November 10, 2026.
Kentucky elk, bear and spring turkey by year
Elk hunters checked 187 elk in 2025-26 against 526 in 2016-17; black bear hunters checked 205 bears in 2025-26.
Sources: KDFWR Harvest Results app; KDFWR page. Checked: figures matched to the KDFWR wording on November 10, 2026.
Kentucky records questions
What was the top Kentucky buck of 2025?
A typical scoring 184 5/8 from Clark County, taken with a modern gun; the top non-typical scored 210 6/8 in Harrison County.
What score makes the Kentucky Top Bucks list?
Kentucky's Top Bucks list in the hunting guide: Kentucky deer reported to KDFWR netting 160+ typical or 185+ non-typical (Boone and Crockett); send score sheet and photo by May 1.
What deer total did Telecheck log for 2025-26?
145,525 by the Harvest Results app. The 2025-26 Kentucky White-tailed Deer Report prints 145,433 deer; the KDFWR Harvest Results app (live Telecheck) counts 145,525.
Does Kentucky keep a state big game record book?
No separate state records program was found; KDFWR prints the Top Bucks list in the hunting guide and has about 30 official Boone and Crockett measurers.
Which license year holds the Kentucky deer harvest high?
2015-16, with 155,724 deer in the app's statewide series, which starts in 1999.
Which Kentucky county had the most deer checked?
Hardin County with 3,545 in 2025-26, ahead of Breckinridge (3,091) and Christian (3,002).
Are found deer on the Top Bucks list?
Yes, the 2025 list includes 2 found bucks alongside the hunted ones.
How many elk do Kentucky hunters take?
187 in 2025-26, all checked through Telecheck.
Kentucky guide downloads
KDFWR says its guides summarise 301 KAR and KRS Chapter 150, and where a guide line and the regulation text part ways, the regulation is the one a conservation officer enforces.
Other photos on this page: fishhawk (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); NPS Photo (Public domain); Mary Ellen Urbanski (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) (CC BY 2.0).