● Ranked from real Kentucky data · 2024-25 season
Best counties to lease or own hunting land in Kentucky
Kentucky counties where private hunting access is worth the most — strong deer harvest AND very little public land, so a hunter has real demand and nowhere free to go. If you own ground here, this is what it's worth.
#1Hardin County3,545 deer · 14.6% public14.6% public→#2Breckinridge County3,091 deer · 2.7% public2.7% public→#3Christian County2,998 deer · 5.8% public5.8% public→#4Hart County2,817 deer · 0.6% public0.6% public→#5Shelby County2,692 deer · 0% public0% public→#6Graves County2,698 deer · 0.6% public0.6% public→#7Washington County2,663 deer · 0% public0% public→#8Pendleton County2,642 deer · 0.3% public0.3% public→#9Nelson County2,591 deer · 0.8% public0.8% public→#10Hopkins County2,486 deer · 2.3% public2.3% public→#11Crittenden County2,394 deer · 2.1% public2.1% public→#12Grayson County2,318 deer · 1.4% public1.4% public→
How this list is ranked
Ranked by opportunity = reported deer harvest (normalized) × private-land scarcity (1 − huntable public %). Strong harvest with little public land ranks highest. A relative guide from public data, not an appraisal.
Data year: 2024-25 season. Each row links to its full page with every number cited to its agency source. A place missing a signal is never guessed — it simply can't rank.
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