More opportunities added for deer and bear seasons
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2025) — Cooler August temperatures have many people thinking about shorter days, crisp, cool mornings and changing leaves – all signs of fall and the hunting opportunities it brings across Kentucky.
Before going afield, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources encourages hunters to reference the 2025-2026 Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, available online and at vendors, to update themselves on new season dates and regulations. New regulations are in effect for deer, bear, dove and waterfowl hunting, in addition to changes on some public lands.
Kentucky’s archery deer season opens Sept. 6, 2025, with crossbow season opening two weeks later, on Sept. 20. Both seasons close Jan. 19, 2026. New for 2025 is an extended youth-only modern gun season. Expanded to nine days from two, the season runs Oct. 11-19, 2025. The most popular fall hunting opportunity is the modern gun season, Nov. 8-23, 2025.
“The vast majority of our deer harvest comes from the modern gun season,” said Joe McDermott, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s deer program coordinator. “With the additional youth opportunity, we are looking for more antlerless deer to be harvested, especially in Zone 1 counties. We’ve added a special season for our Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Zone counties as well.”
The “special season” is Sept. 27-28, 2025, for antlerless deer only and is open only in the fourteen counties in the CWD Surveillance Zone. Henderson, Union and Webster counties are new additions to the zone for 2025 to go along with Ballard, Breckinridge, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hardin, Hickman, Marshall, McCracken and Meade. Modern guns are allowed during the special season, but only antlerless deer may be taken, regardless of equipment used.
Hunters in the CWD Surveillance Zone are advised to review the hunting and trapping guide as well as the Chronic Wasting Disease pages on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website for complete information on restrictions for the CWD zone. Updates on baiting, check stations and CWD Sample Drop-off Sites are included.
Kentucky’s fall hunting seasons kicked off Aug. 16, 2025, with the opening of the fall squirrel season. The season closes briefly on Nov. 8, 2025, for the start of modern gun season for deer, then reopens Nov. 10 and runs until Feb. 28, 2026. Squirrels present one of the greatest opportunities for hunters due to the high density of the species and relative ease to hunt them.
Bear hunters have additional opportunity this fall. Clinton and Wayne counties are now open to hunting, forming a new Bear Zone 3. Season dates for Zone 3 include a hunt with dogs season Oct. 20-24 and Oct. 30-Nov. 7, 2025. Archery/crossbow season is open Sept. 20-Oct. 3 and Oct. 25-29, 2025, and firearm season is open Dec. 13-17, 2025.
The opening of dove season is Sept. 1. That also happens to be Labor Day this year, presenting an opportunity for hunters to hit the field if they are off work for the holiday. A new regulation affects public land hunters in 2025. Dove hunters may not use decoys on department-controlled lands during the month of September.
“The goal of our public dove fields is to provide a safe and quality hunting experience to as many people as we can,” said John Brunjes, waterfowl and migratory bird program coordinator. “Eliminating decoys on our public fields during their busiest time helps to accomplish that.”
The Kentucky Hunting Guide for Migratory Birds and Waterfowl is an important resource to view season dates and bag limits. The teal hunting season is reduced to five days this fall and the daily harvest limit for pintail ducks is now three birds. Changes have also been made to the standby hunt procedure at Ballard and Boatright Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
Unless they are Kentucky residents hunting on their own property, hunters born after 1974 must be hunter education certified. This applies to all hunting and species. Schedules for hunter safety courses are available on the department’s Hunter Education webpage.
Additional educational opportunities are available on the department’s Learn to Hunt webpage. Classes, tips, recipes and more will help new hunters get started.
For questions and more information about the fall hunting seasons, contact the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife information center by calling 1-800-858-2549 or emailing Info.Center@ky.gov. The information center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Eastern), except holidays. Also, visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov to view the most current hunting and trapping guides for complete information on the fall hunting seasons.