State: West Virginia

West Virginia Agency Information

Welcome to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.

Public Hunting Access:

West Virginia is a state that hosts many hunting opportunities for On Your Own hunters. We have 78 Wildlife Management Areas, 9 State Forest Wildlife Management areas, and 14 National Forest Wildlife Management areas. Overall West Virginia supports 1.4 million acres of public hunting access, this represents approximately 8% of our total land area.  Click here for the link to West Virginia Wildlife Management Areas.

Whitetail Deer Hunting:

Most abundant of course is our whitetail deer population, which provides for very liberal harvest limits and maximum hunting opportunities.  Click here for Whitetail Deer Regulations and here, for Whitetail Deer Season Dates and Bag Limits.  In many areas, it is possible to take more than one, antlered buck per year.

Rules related to Non-resident Whitetail Deer Hunting are quite simple.  Licenses are easily acquired, and opportunity abounds.

Black Bear Hunting:

Our black bear population has been on the rise and continues to improve with a variety of hunting methods available to the hunter.  Click here for West Virginia Black Bear Regulations.  Residents and non-residents alike, can hunt black bear, with the limit being one per season, whether taken with either archery or rifle.

Note, the use of bait is not allowed for bear hunting in West Virginia, as is the case for electronic calls. Bear Season Dates and Weapon Types can be found here.

Other species available for hunting in West Virginia are Eastern Turkeys and Wild Boar.

The terrain in West Virginia is varied from the gently sloping hills in the west along the Ohio River, to the steep, rugged terrain in the mountainous eastern section.

The weather also is quite varied with temperatures ranging in the 70’s some years to below freezing in others.

Come experience West Virginia and our variety of hunting opportunities. To check out license fees and WMA’s available for hunting please visit www.wvdnr.gov for details.