kentucky big bucks

"But I can tell you," he says, "that it's going to top 173 net and it's going to be the biggest pure 8-pointer from Kentucky ever officially measured and recorded for Boone & Crockett.". “The Ultimate Whitetail Hunting Experience” Located in the rolling hills of Western Kentucky, Kentucky Trophy Deer, LLC is a family owned and operated business that specializes in mature trophy whitetail bucks from carefully managed blood lines. “The rut is driven by photoperiods (the amount of sunlight and number of hours in each day) and population size,” Jenkins says. A bowhunter took our biggest buck (so far for 2016) on September 8th that I conservatively measured at 160 inches. To see this data, you can go to Kentucky’s Fish and Wildlife Resources website and click on 2016-2017 “Hunting and Trapping Guide” (, http://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Documents/1617huntingguideentire.pdf, Because of the productive and well-thought-out deer-management program that has been put in place by Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (, , the demand for quality deer lands has been in high demand. The best buck taken in the 2015 season at West Kentucky Buck Company was a huge one that scored 194-7/8 on B&C. In fact, he has shot three other wall-hangers from the same stand he was manning when this big buck ambled into range on December 12. Each season about 600 elk are harvested by hunters that produces an overall hunter-success rate of about 60%, with about 40% of those bulls. Muzzleloader season in Zones 1-3 is October 15-16 and December 10-18 for either sex. An expanded rut often is caused by an overpopulation of deer. ", "We have an 18-month-old at home, so my wife was kind of on me about hunting too much this year," laughs Peak, shown here with his son, Landon. Trophy bucks can be found on ground open to all. “We've learned that the most-important ingredient in taking older-age-class bucks is to put as little hunter pressure on the deer as possible.” When Stewart goes onto a property to check his trail cameras, he goes in the middle of the day when the deer should be bedded down to let his scent age before the bucks are up and moving again. A Bonnier Corporation Company. * 220 on November 23, 2013, in Meade County. Here is your opportunity to hunt an unusual 200 acre property in Hopkins County, the heart of Western Kentucky Big Buck Region! Kentucky sent out numbers of hunter surveys to see if the hunters would support a one-buck limit. From $3,250.00 to $3,500.00. Here is your opportunity to hunt an unusual 200 acre property in Hopkins County, the heart of Western Kentucky Big Buck Region! Kentucky Deer Hunting offers the ability for hunting bucks in velvet. Cooper has scored several thousand bucks over the last 35 years. To consistently hold big bucks on your land, you’ve got to have the kind of thick habitat that they desire and some areas that you stay out of. This page is designed to showcase bucks from the Bluegrass State. Mostly tillable hunting tract located in an area known for big bucks! If you plan to hunt on public lands on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), study the rules and regulations specific to the WMA you want to hunt. “Anytime is a good time to take a mature buck here at Integrity Outfitters. In Zone 3, gun season starts November 12 and ends November 21, and you can take either-sex deer. The two biggest Kentucky 8-pointers currently in the Boone & Crockett book both scored 171 4/8--and both were measured by official Boone & Crockett scorer Bill Cooper, a native Kentuckian who lives now in Georgia. Our hunting operation permits bowhunting, gun hunting and muzzleloader hunting on our property during the appropriate seasons. You also have to purchase a deer permit that allows you to take one buck and one doe or two does. Bryan is the Regional Sales Manager for Bluegrass Cellular. Hopkins County was rated #8 of all Kentucky Counties in the 2016 season for big bucks taken, and the 2018 top B&C typical whitetail deer was taken in Hopkins County scoring 187 & 3/8. Now it’s even reached the backwoods. One of these landowners is Travis South of Integrity Outfitters (. ) Due to this regulation, we often see bucks 4-1/2- to 5-years old being taken. "He came out about 8 in the morning and was feeding by himself about 225 to 250 yards from me. Let’s face it having a place to deer hunt can be difficult! Kentucky’s other top areas for big bucks over the past seven seasons include Casey, Henderson, Lewis, and Grayson counties. There has been a downward decline in our harvest surveys of yearling bucks being taken. To the west of this area, farm fields are larger and cover more restricted, making bucks more vulnerable to harvest by gun. The next year produced this 8 … “We were one of the last states in the nation to restock deer in certain parts of our state,” Jenkins explains. It’s also entered 92 non-typicals. “Our hunters in Kentucky don’t hesitate to take does,” Jenkins emphasizes. Starting in December, 1997, 1,549 elk were restocked over 4-1/2-years and released in the southeastern portion of the state at release sites, including Perry, Pike, Knott, Bell, Letcher and Leslie counties. She didn't give me too much grief about hunting. In Zone 4, all four does can be taken with a crossbow, but only one antlerless deer can be taken with a modern muzzleloader, during the last 3 days of the late muzzleloader season. They have everything they need.". Once the acorns start dropping, hunters are often more successful hunting the oak flats than the food plots. We tighten restrictions even more on our doe harvest by limiting the number of unantlered deer you can take by the weapon used. I really enjoy getting out in the woods during the spring with my dog and finding antlers. ), located in Crofton, Ken., in Christian County, provides other opportunities to take big bucks on private land. The cost of the deer permit is $35 for a resident hunter and $120 for a nonresident hunter. Since 2000, Hart County has emerged as the top producer of trophy deer. When Dream Sporting Trips asked Jenkins to name the best time to hunt deer in Kentucky, he immediately answered, “The first 2 weeks in November, because that’s when the pre-rut takes place, and the rut generally kicks in about November 14. Kentucky is one of the top states in the country for Boone & Crockett bucks. To keep better tabs on his deer, South begins his hunting for the next season after the current deer season ends. Sheffer killed his buck—a green-scored 226-inch giant—with his bow in southern Illinois back on November 3. She said, 'That's a huge deer, you need to get that mounted.' Kentucky issues 910 permits for taking elk, and all these permits are awarded through a quota draw. Entries since 2010: 440. Conservation officers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began investigating Robert J. Koch, of … Dream Sporting Trips tried to pin Jenkins down to a specific county that he would hunt for a trophy buck, but he smiled and answered, “I’ll hunt any county in the state.” Traditionally a large number of trophy bucks have come from the Green River region in the central/western part of the state. Needless to say, Wisconsin is still king in the deer hunting world. I was a little worried the scope might have slipped, but I didn't want to climb down and shoot it to find out. A father and son were on one of the hunts, and the father told us, ‘I missed a really big one.’ The following day his son bagged that buck, and he saw the flesh wound where his father had shot the buck. According to Stewart, “One of the big advantages that we have here at WKBC is that most of the landowners on adjacent properties are managing their deer herds the same way we manage ours. In Kentucky, using the management system that we’re under, we do see a small rut in October and a little bit of a rut in December and January, but the majority of the breeding takes place during November.”. Eleven days after an Illinois hunter tagged the pending Boone & Crockett world record 8-pointer, 32-year-old Kevin Peak shot another great 8 that should take the title as the biggest Kentucky 4-by-4 ever officially measured and recorded in the Boone & Crockett record books. Karen Smith with her first doe of the 2020 season. In the last 5-10 years, the State of Kentucky has blossomed as a trophy-buck state, with the state record non-typical whitetail scoring 270 inches and a buck scoring 283-5/8 in 2012 harvested in Muhlenberg County. Story is that someone cut it;s head off and left before the F&W guys arrived. Kentucky Hunter Shoots a New Record Velvet Whitetail. However, pockets of private property are where the bulk of the big bucks roam. Just the other day I was paying my bill for cell service when I ran into my friend, Bryan Franklin. At 200+ inches, Huffman’s deer becomes the new Kentucky state record for typical bucks taken with a crossbow. The best buck taken in the 2015 season at West Kentucky Buck Company was a huge one that scored 194-7/8 on B&C. Although the WKBC lodge will accommodate eight hunters, Stewart prefers to host just six hunters at a time. Levisa Fork LEA encompasses Fishtrap Lake WMA in Pike County but is closed to elk hunting due to ongoing elk-restoration efforts. My wife's uncle was with me, and he had a gun but couldn't get the deer in his scope. About 8:30 a.m. the wind died, so Peak decided to switch to a stand he calls "the honey hole." But, if you put yourself in the right position, you can have the opportunity to fill a tag early in the year. The next year produced this 8-pointer, which at the time was the biggest buck Peak had ever shot. Also two Limited Entry Areas (LEA) are now available for elk in Kentucky. View 91 photos, read details, and contact the seller. The deer patterns are consistent between bedding and food. One of the major factors is our hunters have learned to recognize yearling bucks, and they aren’t harvesting them. There's food, a creek, thick cover, and I always see does in the area. “For instance in Zone 1, hunters can take an unlimited number of does with no daily limit. Levisa Fork LEA encompasses Fishtrap Lake WMA in Pike County but is closed to elk hunting due to ongoing elk-restoration efforts. Video; Photos; Aerial; Satellite; Interactive Map; Topography; Acreage 105 +/- Price $293,475 State Kentucky County Caldwell Description. The restocking of white-tailed deer in Kentucky is not the only positive conservation story of big-game species in the state. I watched him for 15 minutes, and I kept thinking he'd work his way down the field and I'd get a shot at him. “We manage our deer herd in hunting zones,” Jenkins reports. "That was the worst feeling in the world. They're letting little bucks … To see this data, you can go to Kentucky’s Fish and Wildlife Resources website and click on 2016-2017 “Hunting and Trapping Guide” (http://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Documents/1617huntingguideentire.pdf). If a hunter wants to take one of those cull bucks, that’s fine with us. Kentucky has official measurers who submit copies of the B&C score sheets to the state, and all that information is in the “Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide” the department puts out every year. The win earns Terry a sweet pack combination from ALPS OutdoorZ: The Bino Harness X with Vital X (see below). Modern gun season arrives the second Saturday in November, and the closing day depends on the zone where you’re hunting. Here's a quick roundup of the latest headlines. “We were still restocking deer up until 1999.” Most of the deer used for Kentucky’s restocking were captured from the western portion of the state and moved to the eastern section of the state during the 1990s. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. This 6-1/2-year-old buck had 13-scorable points. They’re also managing their does, so that the lands have a tight one buck to one doe ratio.”, Last season, Stewart had five bowhunters who harvested three bucks that scored 141 inches, 148 inches and one old cull buck, and reports, “We had two hunters miss twice too. Two weeks passed before Peak saw the buck again. Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) TSI is a process … The longest tine is around 15 inches long and the second stretches more than 14 inches. Illinois Roadkill Buck. Another advantage of hunting WKBC is that because they run so many trail cameras you’ll be able to see some of the bucks you can expect to see on each stand you hunt. Copyright © 2021 Field & Stream. The big bucks aren’t just limited to traditional places like Ohio, Muhlenberg, Butler, and Christian counties, either. From $3,250.00 to $3,500.00. Hunter's BBD (Big Buck Down) Posted: 10/29/2020. It overlooks a creek near the thicket. The plan was to search for my arrow and any initial blood in … “The fort has a minimum 12-inch rack spread for buck harvest. Watch this big Kentucky 10 point buck as he tends to his lady friend. By then it was muzzleloader season. The number of out-of-state elk permits is capped at up to 10% of the available permits. ", He's already added the buck to his trophy room, and within a couple of weeks he'll have his official score. Every deer season, Kentucky hunters take some trophy bucks. “Each year, Kentucky puts new listings and new hunters in the Boone and Crockett Records Book, (https://www.boone-crockett.org.bgRecords/TrophySearch.asp?area=bgRecords). Bryan knows … Hunting In Kentucky > Big Bucks On Little Acres. "When I brought home that 150, she said, 'That's not that big a deer,'" Peak chuckles. South’s property also homes some really-nice oak flats. The following weekend, on November 11, Ervin shot his 218-incher in Kentucky … This is a prime time to catch groups of bachelor bucks visiting food sources. This page is designed to showcase bucks from the Bluegrass State. The record was previously set by Mark Belcher of Logan County, Ky, who tagged a buck on Sept. 28, 2019 that scored 190 and 2/8. Since we have 40 trail cameras out, we know when and where our cameras have photographed mature bucks. He plants both early-season and late-season food plots that range in size from 1/4-acre up to 7 acres each. In early November, they each tagged gargantuan bucks. (Durban's scoring notes are pictured here.) The 2016/2017 season will be West Kentucky Buck Company’s third year of operation to hunt 2,200 acres of rolling hills and bottoms, including hardwoods, green fields, croplands and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands. ", The next day Peak hunted on the field edge near the thicket. "I've mounted four deer out of that same stand in eight years," including this 150-class 10-pointer (right) from 2009. “For that reason, hunters are far more selective about the bucks they choose to harvest. By 9:15 he'd sighted the buck he was waiting for, walking straight down the creek toward him. Early season hunting can be hot, and slow. “For public access deer, Fort Knox is superb, with 50,000 acres open to deer hunting,” he says. On the following Monday, the dad missed a buck that would score in the 160s, and we had another hunter who passed-up several bucks that would score in the 130s.”. Integrity Outfitters has 2,700 contiguous acres, and 2016 is the second year this property has been open for commercial hunting. VELVET WHITETAILS Kentucky Deer Hunting offers the ability for hunting bucks in velvet. To see pictures of some of the deer being harvested at WKBC go to the website http://www.wkbcoutfitters.com; or, the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/westkentuckybuckcompany. The deer patterns are consistent between bedding and food. You can email Elijah Stewart at wkbcoutfitters@gmail.com or call 270-719-1469. Zone 1 is in the southeastern portion of the state that’s mountainous and doesn’t have very-good habitat for deer. "As soon as I recovered this 8-pointer I sent her a picture. "The buck was chasing a doe and stopped 75 yards from me, but I wasn't carrying a gun," Peak recalls. "He came from that thicket I'd seen him in a couple weeks before. Zone 1 is the most liberal in the state on doe harvest. I knew it was him as soon as I saw that tall, chocolate rack. Big buck stories and rut reports aside, what's been going on in the whitetail world this fall? Kentucky, like many other states in the East, realized that to control its deer herd as it grew, the state would have to reduce the number of does to steadily increase the number of bucks, and to keep the deer herds from becoming overpopulated. At this writing, a resident hunting license costs $20, and a nonresident license is $140. According to Stewart, “One of the big advantages that we have here at WKBC is that most of the landowners on adjacent properties are managing their deer herds the same way we manage ours. Big buck stories and rut reports aside, what's been going on in the whitetail world this fall? Whitetail deer hunts in KY are as good as it gets and Buck Country Outfitters features free range premier private property for guided deer hunts. In 2004, Kentucky was 5-years out from its last restocking of deer. By Will Brantley. “In Zone 4, hunters can harvest four does per season. “There are increases in the numbers of bucks that go into the Boone and Crockett Records Book every year,” Jenkins says. Kentucky arrived late to the table with the restocking of deer. The reason we have such a tight restriction on the unantlered harvest in Zone 4 is because we’re trying to grow the deer herd there.”. According to South, last season with 17 bowhunters, “We harvested four bucks with true low 140s average, and each bowhunter had an opportunity to shoot. I knew I'd better make the shot count, because if I let him get away again the chances were slim to none that I'd ever see him again. "The gun dropped a good five feet and slammed into the ground. “Last year 50 to 65% of our hunters had an opportunity to take bucks that would score 130 or more. It was a a 17-yard shot. In late January, Cooper rough-scored Peak's buck. Established Western Kentucky Hunting Tract In Big Buck Area, 127.63 acres in Dawson Springs, Kentucky offered at $319,000. On December 12 he got into the same stand where he'd last seen the buck and watched as a group of five does came by and headed into the thicket where the buck bedded. The results from the surveys were very positive in favor of the one-buck limit. More bucks will be on their feet chasing does then. Initially, Kentucky had a two-buck limit. What has caused the tremendous turnaround in the number of big bucks with heavy body weights and large antlers being taken in Kentucky? W.R. Sutherland, age 9 with a buck taken with a crossbow on his family farm in Sadieville, KY. Posted: 10/27/2020. Posted: 10/20/2020. ", the pending Boone & Crockett world record 8-pointer, Best Tarps: How to Choose the Right Tarp for Camping, Survival, and More, A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting the Spring Snow Goose Season, Best Men’s Jackets: Stay Warm in Winter Weather, There’s a New Pending Record Black Crappie in California, The Best Flyfishing Gear for Winter Anglers, Alaskan Coalition Seeking Permanent Protections For Bristol Bay, How to Make a DIY Gun Rack for a Duck-Hunting Canoe, The Beginner’s Guide to Northern Pike Fishing, 14 Lightweight Hunting Rifles For Every Budget. 18 talking about this. Hunting in Kentucky > Big Bucks on Your Cell Phone. He ended up taking a nice 8 … The Green River Region has long been regarded as a trophy buck host area, with the best counties being Ohio, Logan, Hopkins and Todd, according to Game and Fishing magazine. This 6-1/2-year-old buck had 13-scorable points. One of the major factors is our hunters have learned to recognize yearling bucks, and they aren’t harvesting them. “One of the reasons we can provide older-age-class bucks for our hunters to hunt is because of the rule that a hunter only can take one buck per season in Kentucky,” South explains. On the first day of modern gun season last year, the big 12-pointer narrowly missed a trip home with Fogle's son, Nathan. However, as any good deer hunter knows, just because you get a picture of a buck doesn’t necessarily mean that buck will show up when you're hunting. On a big record-book deer, five to six inches of deductions isn't considered bad. Wisconsin. ", There was just one problem: When he'd climbed into his stand, Peak had found his gun rope covered in frost. ", As he centered the buck in his crosshairs, Peak was pondering the odds. So, Kentucky hunters are letting their bucks get older before they take them.”. One of these landowners is Travis South of Integrity Outfitters (http://www.integrityoutfitters.com) located in Windsor, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in western Casey County. "I thought I'd missed, and I eased the gun up to load another round just in case," Peak recalls. “We have a lot of sportsmen who just enjoy the taste of venison.”. big Kentucky buck I ate maybe five bites of dinner. As he pulled up his muzzleloader, the rope slipped from his hands. Especially large properties. This 6-1/2-year-old buck had 13-scorable points. "From side to side it matches up extremely well. This property is unique in that it is … The State of Kentucky gets a list of all the bucks that score high enough on B&C to be registered in the Boone and Crockett Records Book. Hopkins County was rated #8 of all Kentucky Counties in the 2016 season for big bucks taken, and the 2018 top B&C typical whitetail deer was taken in Hopkins County scoring 187 & 3/8. located in Windsor, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in western Casey County. Taxidermist Donnie Durban of Louisville initially tallied a net green score approaching 173 inches. The two biggest Kentucky 8-pointers currently in the Boone & Crockett book both scored 171 4/8--and both were measured by official Boone & Crockett scorer Bill Cooper, a … In Zone 4, muzzleloader season is October 15-16 and December 10-15 for antlered deer only, and December 16-18 for either sex.”. But he has already impressed his wife. Today, the most-current estimate of the elk herd in Kentucky is 10,000 animals. I think they might be related. Entries (per square mile) the last five seasons:.00600 Top county for typicals: Buffalo (20) Top county for non-typicals:Dane (five) This place has the typical whitetails. So, a nonresident will pay $260 to hunt deer in Kentucky. Although the old buck had seemed careless over the previous weeks, that day the buck … Another factor that also has increased the number of older-age-class bucks being taken by Kentucky hunters is that since the 1990s, Kentucky hunters have had a limit of one buck per hunter per season. Secure a decent piece of private ground in the state and you’re well on your way to tagging a big whitetail. By planting agriculture and green fields specifically for deer and monitoring Kentucky’s deer herd with trail cameras, private landowners can manage their deer herds even more intensely than the state does. Here's a quick roundup of the latest headlines. Those decisions made in 2004 have produced the large number of mature older-age-class bucks that the state homes today. Two other factors that directly influence a hunter’s chances for taking an older-age-class buck are wind and hunting pressure. The 25-year-old Fogle was watching a food plot and saw several bucks on opening morning. Buck Country Outfitters features Full Service Deer Hunts including Bow Hunting, Muzzle Loader & Modern Firearms hunting for Whitetail deer in west central Kentucky, the heart of big buck country. To see pictures of some of the deer being harvested at WKBC go to the website, https://www.facebook.com/westkentuckybuckcompany, Also two Limited Entry Areas (LEA) are now available for elk in Kentucky. Kentucky has official measurers who submit copies of the B&C score sheets to the state, and all that information is in the “Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide” the department puts out every year. These bucks all grew to be world-class deer and avoided the tip of an arrow or the smack of a bullet until their last breath. All rights reserved. Good hunting land is becoming harder and harder to find. Welcome to Kentucky Trophy Deer!!! ", Around 8:45 a.m. Now that I’ve established what good cover is and how critical it is to holding big bucks, I’d like to share some things that you can do on your hunting property to improve the habitat. Hopkinsville. 15 talking about this. Why has this happened? October 9, … Big Buck's (FR) Age: 11 (Foaled April 16th, 2003) Sex: Bay Gelding Breeding: Cadoudal - Buck's (Le Glorieux) Trainer: P F Nicholls; Owner: The Stewart Family Vital Stats. Lewis County in northeast Kentucky is another prime spot for record bucks. Jenkins feels that this one-buck limit has been the driving force that has allowed more bucks to move into the older-age classes. There has been a downward decline in our harvest surveys of yearling bucks being taken. South shows his hunters the trail-camera pictures from each stand to aid them in seeing and identifying the older-age-class bucks frequenting each area. Hopkinsville • Hunt big bucks in Western Kentucky during the heat of the rut with your rifle! The State of Kentucky gets a list of all the bucks that score high enough on B&C to be registered in the Boone and Crockett Records Book. By planting agriculture and green fields specifically for deer and monitoring Kentucky’s deer herd with trail cameras, private landowners can manage their deer herds even more intensely than the state does. Why has this happened? That’s world-class numbers. The buck was estimated to be 8 ½ years old, which prompted Peak to wonder what the big whitetail looked like in its prime. “When I start getting trail-camera pictures of bucks with only one antler or with no antlers, I go to the woods with my shed-hunting short-haired pointer. It's gonna get credit for about everything it grew. South also limits the number of hunters he allows to hunt his acreage to 25 hunters for the entire season from September 1 until mid-January to ensure that the bucks on any section of his land experience very-little hunting pressure throughout the entire season. During the early bow season, the bucks haven’t felt any hunter pressure and are much-more predictable than at other times of the year. Hopkinsville • Hunt the first or second week of Kentuckys archery season, when bucks are still in full velvet! Hope that's not the case cause I would like to see some better pics of it. Then Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources yearly can check the quality of the bucks taken in the state. Integrity Outfitters has 2,700 contiguous acres, and 2016 is the second year this property has been open for commercial hunting. To learn more about Integrity Outfitters, go to, call South at 540-239-9194; check out the Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/integrityoutfitters/?fref=ts, Another Fine Kentucky Private Land Option -, Elijah Stewart’s West Kentucky Buck Company (.

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