Looking for a hunting adventure? West Virginia hunting seasons offer every hunter an unforgettable opportunity to catch animals in its scenic woods and explore numerous hunting areas.
This is one of the best places for hunting due to an incredible variety in game and wonderful scenery and nature.
One can enjoy hunting for deer, bear, wild boar and turkey in this state and recently elk population has grown incredibly.
Aside from big game species, there are also small game species such as squirrel, pheasant, bobwhite quail and many others.
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West Virginia Hunting Seasons and All Available Games
#1. West Virginia Deer Seasons
Games | Seasons |
|---|---|
Archery and Crossbow | September 29 – December 31 |
Youth Hunt | October 20 December 26 – 27 |
Firearms Antlered | November 19 – December 1 |
Antlerless | *October 20 and December 31 |
*NOTE: Season dates may vary by zone.
#2. West Virginia Wild Boar Seasons
Games | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Archery | September 29 – December 31 February 1 – 3 | Bag Limit – 1 per season |
General | October 27 – November 3 February 1 – 3 |
#3. West Virginia Black Bear Seasons
Games | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Archery | September 29 – December 31 | Bag Limit – 1 daily, 2 possession/season |
Firearms | *September 1 – December 31 |
#4. West Virginia Turkey Seasons
Games | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Spring General | April 15 – May 11 | Daily – 1 Possession/Season - 2 |
Fall General | *October 13 – 20 October 29 – November 17 | Bag limit - 1 |
Spring Youth | April 13 |
*NOTE: Season dates may vary by zone.
#5. West Virginia Small Game Seasons
Games | Seasons | Bag Limit |
|---|---|---|
Ruffed Grouse | October 13 – February 28 | Daily – 4 Possession – 16 |
Squirrel | September 8 – February 28 | Daily – 6 Possession – 24 |
Bobwhite Quail | November 3 – January 5 | Daily – 3 Possession – 9 |
Rabbit/Hare | November 3 – February 28 | Daily – 2 Possession – 8 |
Raccoon | October 13 – February 28 | No limit |
Pheasant | November 3 – January 5 | / |
License Requirements
How do you obtain a hunting license for West Virginia and what’s required of you?
There are several types of hunting licenses, and mostly they have one thing in common – you need to pay for them. Regardless if you’re a resident, and youngster or a non-resident, you have to purchase the license.
Of course, there are several things you need to do, and that’s something like completing the “West Virginia Hunter Education Certification”. Every single person that wants to legally hunt in West Virginia will have to complete this.
So who is considered a resident?
Living in the state of West Virginia for 30 consecutive days makes you a resident, also, non-resident students who are attending a university or college full time and active duty military personnel are the ones considered a resident.
There’s a non-resident license, and the thing is that this type of license is ten times more expensive than the residential one.
There are also senior hunting licenses, youth license, disability license and military and veteran license.
You can purchase all of these by calling 304-558-2758 or visiting one of the West Virginia Division of Natural resources office or online.
Night Hunting in West Virginia
Is night hunting allowed in this state?
Of course, it is, but only for specific species. You can hunt for coyote using red or amber artificial light but exclusively during the legal night season.
From January 1 to July 31, night hunting for coyotes is legal. Night vision is also allowed since it hasn’t been listed as a prohibited device in WV 2010-2011 Hunting & Trapping Guide.
Where to Hunt in West Virginia?
Wildlife Management Areas are present everywhere, in every state, and the reason for that is to maintain a balanced level of animal population.
It’s never good when there are too many of one type of species, that why there are so-called Statewide Wildlife Management Program to conserve these high-quality habitats as well as diversity among animal species.
The perfect location for hunting varies from year to year but there are some generalisations which can be drawn, such as deer is mostly concentrated in Mountain State.
The State of West Virginia is one of the best places for hunting. Here are a few counties where you’ll doubtlessly have a successful hunting experience: Mason, Ritchie, Monroe, Jackson and Lewis.