State: Virginia

Virginia Agency Information

On Your Own Hunting in Virginia

Virginia offers an abundance of opportunities for the own your own hunter who is willing to put some miles on his boots and get away from the crowds near the roads edge. With  over 1.6 Million acres of the Jefferson and George Washington National Forests,  36 Wildlife Management Areas, totaling nearly 200,000 additional acres, State Parks, Military Areas, and a program called PALS (Public Access Lands for Sportsmen), nearly every region of the state offers an opportunity to get into the outdoors, on lands that belong to us all.

In order to help the hunter sort out all of these opportunities, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) has established a website, www.findgame.org, which provides a map database of public land that can be sorted by species or location and is further color coded to indicate which areas have the greatest population of a game species.

Click here for Virginia Public Land Hunting Data Base

Directories include Bear, Deer, Dove, Grouse, Quail, Rabbit, Raccoon, Rail/Snipe, Squirrel, Turkey, Waterfowl, and Woodcock.

Licenses

All licenses in Virginia are available online, at the DGIF Website, to purchase and print out, or can be pick up at most sporting goods dealers throughout the state. Additionally, this website is a great source for all hunting regulations and season information. Seasons vary from county to county so to be sure of the season in your area consult this site.

Bear Hunting

The traditional way of hunting bears in Virginia is with hounds, and while this is a lot of fun it can become a major production and is usually done with large groups of people and dogs, limiting the personal experience. By carefully studying maps and using resources such as Google Earth, one can identify topography that will allow spot and stalk hunting, but during the bear season you must get away from the roads to have success with this method.

Seasons run generally from early October to the first Saturday in January, with special seasons for Archery, Muzzleloaders, and Firearms.

Deer Hunting

Virginia has a lot of deer and some good bucks can be had in certain areas, finding remote areas of public land and putting in you time should get you close to a mature buck. Antlerless deer, on the other hand, are everywhere and filling your freezer is a fairly simple task with urban archery seasons in many cities and towns, beginning in early September and ending in late March.

Turkey Hunting

Turkey are also plentiful in most of Virginia, and we have both spring and fall seasons with either sex legal in the fall.

Spring gobbler season runs from mid April to mid May and virtually any weapon is legal. The fall seasons are generally from early October through early January, with special seasons for each weapon type. Fall seasons vary greatly across the state so be sure to consult the web site listed above.

Feral Hog

Feral hogs are becoming a problem is many areas of the state and can be hunted on public land at any time that a regulated season is open, and on private land all year. While hogs are a nuisance and are designated as such by the DGIF, they can be great fun to hunt and good eating as well.

While Virginia is probably not thought of as a hunting destination, the opportunities are great and the hunting tradition is strong here. For the Own Your Own Adventurer, some great adventure and great hunting can be found beyond the beaten path.

Virginia information provided by Steve Canonico.  Thanks Steve!

Virginia Spring Turkey

Steve Canonico and his Virginia buck