The KY Elk Record continues to climb. (Some of this will be notes taken from the 19Dec05 Louisville Courier Journal.)

Since the reintroduction of Elk into the Eastern KY habitat, the Elk have done extremely well. The project is in it’s tenth year and the numbers continue to increase at a rate above what had been expected. Due to that, the number of Kill Permits has also risen faster than expected.

Last year a new State Record was killed by Mrs. Rita Tharp which scored 310 3/8 as measured by the Boone & Crockett scoring system. I got to meet her at a RMEF Banquet in Shelbyville, KY early this year. She is really a great ambassador for KY Elk Hunting. Personable and charming while relating the kill without being a braggart.

This year Paul Cummings and Matthew Hall made Elk kills, which to the trained eye, gave every indication that a new KY Elk Record would be established. Mr. Cummings has hunted Elk out West and mentioned the cost of riding around on a Guides horses for a week can easily run $5,000. He went on to say, "I don’t see why more people don’t apply(for a Kill Permit). It is the cheapest hunt in the world."

Last year 16,536 people sent in a non-refundable $10 fee to be eligible for the Permit Drawing. If you are selected and a resident, the Permit is $25 plus your Hunting License and $300 for non-residents plus the Hunting License.

Mr. Cummings’ Knott County Elk scored 319 6/8, which broke Mrs. Tharp’s Record. Mr. Cummings had killed six Elk previously on out of state hunts, but seemed to be especially happy about this one.

Matthew Hall had not hunted in years, but took notice when the KY Elk Herd was mentioned on the Outdoor Channel. He mentioned to a friend he would love to do that and applied for a Permit.

They began scoring Mr. Hall’s Bell County Elk and it came in at 320 2/8, but it did not replace Mr. Cummings’ new Elk Record because the Hall Elk carried two Crown Points between the G-3 and G-4 tines which made it a non-typical. KY Wildlife Officials had not recognized a non-typical Elk prior to this, so they established that category and KY has two new Elk Record holders.

Both of those Elk were born in KY as a result of the re-introduction and were about 5 to 5 1/2 years old. So, there are still a lot of larger Elk roaming Eastern KY.

If you would like to enter the 2006 Elk Permit Drawing, the applications are still $10 and can be purchased simply by calling (877) 598-2401. Application can be made by a third party if they have the hunters name, birth date and either their drivers license or social security number.

Current estimates of the herd size have it at about 5,300. The original target was for the land to carry 7,500 Elk. However, due to the combined efforts of the KY Fish and Wildlife Department and the RMEF, additional land has been acquired. They now plan a target of 10,000 Elk.

For 2005 there were 12 at large Bull Permits issued. For 2006 there will be 60 Bull Permits and 140 Cow Permits. The Permit announcement will be in August 2006 with the Bull hunts in October and Cow hunts in December. Best of luck to you in the Drawing.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills.

Ain't the chapest elk hunt around!!!!!!!!!!

I can buy an over the counter bull elk tag as a resident of Colorado for $35 and I don't have to put up with a drawing. Don't have to buy a general hunting license either. Just the elk tag.

I'll stick with hunting my elk west of the Mississippi River.

Mac

Thank you for posting this.

And as an out of state resident I pay $487 for a bull elk tag in Colorado...

Hey Mac, That does look like quite a deal for you all that live in Colorado. I would imagine that same situation exists for the other people that live in Western states with resident Elk herds.

I just didn't include enough of the story. I believe Mr. Cummings comment about the "Cheapest Elk Hunt" was directed to people who do not currently live where there is a resident Elk Herd.

It mentioned in the story he had 5 previous Elk kills which he made as a non-resident hunter out West. It did not give specifics about each of those hunts, other than the one that cost him $5,000 to ride around for a week on some horses. Come to think of it, it did not mention if he made a kill on that hunt.

So, anyone within a reasonable drive of KY that is interested in Elk Hunting, and has a desire to have an excellent chance at establishing a new State Record, can get into the drawing for $10. You might hear some Coyotes, but no Wolves.

You are more than welcome too Mac.

Does this elk population reside primarily on private ground or public?

How tough is it to gain access?

Thanks for posting this info, it's good stuff.

Hey 375AI, You are welcome.

Hey Bill, I believe it is on both Public and Private grounds.

Gaining access so far has not been a problem, because they have been providing a lot of "Assistance" by means of Volunteers and the KY Fish & Wildlife Dept. Just remember there have been small numbers of Tags - so far.

I believe the article also had a web site mentioned http://www.fw.ky.gov where you can also Sign-Up for the chance at a Permit. I've not been on one of the Hunts, so my info is limited to word of mouth, newspaper articles, the RMEF Bugle magazine and the oldest hunting/fishing show in the USA - KY Afield on the PBS Stations.

If that link is no good or does not provide what you and 375AI are looking for, let me know and I'll see what I can turn up.

One of my old buddies is a Regional Manager with the RMEF and I sent him the article.
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Just got the Jan06 NRA American Hunter today and noticed on page 31 these numbers. The first one is the number of Elk in the state and the second one is the Non-Resident Tag Cost.

Arizona........35,000...$400
Colorado....270,000...$490.25
Idaho.........125,000...$338.50
Montana.....138,000...$640.25
New Mexico..70,000...$481
Utah.............60,000...$795
Wyoming....100,000...$400
And I already mentioned:
Kentucky.........5,300...$300

So, you can see the KY Herd still has a l-o-n-g way to go.

By the way, there was no count for the Pennsylvania Elk shown. And I seem to remembe rhaving read where they do have them. Can anybody provide an Assist for Penn?

Pennsylvania Elk hunting info (wild elk - they also have some high-fenced places):

2004 Elk Pop - 500 - 40 elk hunters went afield to hunt elk, and 34 returned successful.

2005 info - The Game Commission will award 40 licenses (10 for antlered elk and 30 antlerless) for this fall’s season, which runs from November 7 to 12, and 10 licenses (2 either-sex and 8 antlerless) for a new early season to held Sept. 18-23, 2006, to assist farmers sustaining crop damage caused by elk. The $10 application fee qualifies you for the drawing for both hunts!" Also, preference points are awarded if not drawn.

2005 License fees - $25 Elk License - resident, $250 Elk License - non-resident.

More info at: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/digestpdfs/2005/elk_season.pdf and http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=471&q=152694

I also found this with a pic through Google: "This PA Elk was taken by Harmon Silloway. It is a 7×7 Typical, and scored 407 5/8 gross, 389 5/8 net Boone & Crocket (official score). He shot it in Pennsylvania, during the 2004 Elk season, under fair chase." at http://pahuntfishshoot.com/?p=13

Tags in Wyoming start at $400 and go to $600 or $700. I got a left over cow tag in wyoming. It was 423 and change....I did get an elk though. Resident tags are always cheaper. I get my whole hunting license in Idaho for around $120.
I can get:
1 elk
2 Bears
1 Deer
2 turkey
1 mountain lion
plus my 2 pole fishing permit, I haven't figured out how to fly fish with two rods, but when I do I will pass the info along.

Hot core,

Thanks much for the help. It is appreciated.

I'll have to look into this. It's not really that far from me.

Hey Erict, Thanks for the scoop on the Penn Elk.

Hey Westman, Glad to help. Looks like one day this KY Herd is going to be quite nice.

They are also in the early stages of getting a Herd established in the N.C. mountains. They stopped relocating Elk when the CWD started showing up in different places. None in the KY or N.C. herds yet and hopefully it will stay that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Hey 375AI, You are welcome.

Hey Bill, I believe it is on both Public and Private grounds.

Gaining access so far has not been a problem, because they have been providing a lot of "Assistance" by means of Volunteers and the KY Fish & Wildlife Dept. Just remember there have been small numbers of Tags - so far.

I believe the article also had a web site mentioned http://www.fw.ky.gov where you can also Sign-Up for the chance at a Permit. I've not been on one of the Hunts, so my info is limited to word of mouth, newspaper articles, the RMEF Bugle magazine and the oldest hunting/fishing show in the USA - KY Afield on the PBS Stations.

If that link is no good or does not provide what you and 375AI are looking for, let me know and I'll see what I can turn up.

One of my old buddies is a Regional Manager with the RMEF and I sent him the article.
---

Just got the Jan06 NRA American Hunter today and noticed on page 31 these numbers. The first one is the number of Elk in the state and the second one is the Non-Resident Tag Cost.

Arizona........35,000...$400
Colorado....270,000...$490.25
Idaho.........125,000...$338.50
Montana.....138,000...$640.25
New Mexico..70,000...$481
Utah.............60,000...$795
Wyoming....100,000...$400
And I already mentioned:
Kentucky.........5,300...$300

So, you can see the KY Herd still has a l-o-n-g way to go.

By the way, there was no count for the Pennsylvania Elk shown. And I seem to remembe rhaving read where they do have them. Can anybody provide an Assist for Penn?

Yeah it does have a long way to, but they are only concentrated in a few of the eastern counties of the state.

quote:

Originally posted by Jarrod:
Yeah it does have a long way to, but they are only concentrated in a few of the eastern counties of the state.

Jarrod is correct for the ones we can Hunt. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we have some at Land-between-the-Lakes, but those Elk are not being hunted at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Westman:
Does this elk population reside primarily on private ground or public?

How tough is it to gain access?...

Just got another booklet - Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide July2005-June2006. So, the information from this book is for this past Season. They may expand the Elk Zone this coming year depending on the areas where the Elk are moving into.

If you have an Atlas, you should be able to locate 16 counties in the Southeastern corner of KY(as Jarrod said) that comprised the 2005 Restoration Zone - Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Perry, Pike and Whitley Counties.

"Hunting will be permitted in both limited entry areas(large blocks of both public and private lands established to manage for high-quality Elk) and on public and private lands within the Restoration Zone at-large, that are not part of a Limited Entry Area. Permits are valid only for a specific hunt period."
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As you look on your map, the following WMAs are available:
Ataya Hardwoods(portions in Bell and Knox counties and Leslie county East of US Hwy 421), and all of Beaver Creek, Beech Creek, Big South Fork NRRA, Buckhorn lake, Carr Creek Lake, Cranks Creek, Dewey Lake Fishtrap lake, Hensley-Pine Mountain, Kentucky Ridge Forest, Martins Fork Lake, Paintsville Lake, Shillalah Creek and Stone Mountain WMAs.

Other areas:
The McCreary & Whitley County and non-Begley/Redbird WMA Limited Entry Area portions of Daniel Boone National Forest in Bell, Clay, Harlan, Knox, Leslie and Perry counties, the Jefferson National Forest, Kentucky Ridge State Forest and Kentenia State Forest are open in Zone At Large firearm and archery quota Elk Hunts.

Limited Entry Area Description:
Begley WMA/Redbird Limited Entry Area
Starting at the Thousand Sticks Exit on the Hal Rogers Parkway, the boundary proceeds east along Hwy 118 to the junction of US Hwy 421 at Hyden, KY. The boundry then proceeds South along US Hwy 421 to it’s intersection with Hwy 221. Then West along 221 to it’s intersection with Hwy 66. Then North along 66 and back to 421/Hwy 80(Hal Rogers Parkway). And East along the Hal Rogers Parkway, back to the Thunder Sticks Exit which completes the boundary.