CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The winter woods in West Virginia are echoing with the traditions of an earlier era as the state’s four-day Mountaineer Heritage Season for deer, bear, and turkey opened Thursday.
The special season runs Jan. 8–11 and is open across all 55 counties, offering hunters the opportunity to pursue game with primitive-style weapons that reflect the state’s long hunting heritage, according to officials with the W.Va. Department of Natural Resources.
Participants must purchase a 2026 West Virginia hunting license to take part, according to Brett McMillion, director of the division. He said the season provides hunters in West Virginia an opportunity to participate in time-honored hunting traditions.
“West Virginia’s Mountaineer Heritage Season is a celebration of our state’s deep-rooted hunting traditions,” McMillion said. “We invite hunters to participate in this unique season and step back in time, experience the challenge of using primitive weapons, and enjoy our state’s beautiful winter wilderness.”
Primitive weapons only
Only traditional equipment is allowed during the Mountaineer Heritage Season. Legal weapons include percussion side-lock and flintlock rifles or pistols, as well as longbows and recurve bows. Modern muzzleloaders, including those equipped with scopes, are prohibited statewide during the season.
In Mingo, Logan, McDowell, and Wyoming counties, hunters are limited to longbows and recurve bows only, reflecting those counties’ designation as bow-hunting-only areas.
Bag limits and harvest rules
During the four-day season, hunters may harvest one deer, one bear, and one turkey. However, restrictions apply when combined with other seasons:
- A hunter may take no more than two antlered deer during the regular deer seasons and the Mountaineer Heritage Season combined.
- In Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming counties, only one antlered deer may be harvested during the combined archery and Mountaineer Heritage seasons.
- A bear or turkey harvested during the Mountaineer Heritage Season does not count toward a hunter’s annual bear bag limit or spring or fall turkey season limits.
Blaze orange required
Hunters must wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange during the Mountaineer Heritage Season, unless they are hunting in the state’s four bow-hunting-only counties.
All hunters 15 years of age and older are required to carry a valid West Virginia hunting license and a valid form of identification while in the field, unless exempt by law.
Licenses may be purchased online at WVHunt.com.
Hunting has long been a defining cultural tradition in West Virginia, shaped by the state’s rugged Appalachian landscape, rural settlement patterns, and reliance on the land for sustenance and livelihood.
From Indigenous peoples who hunted deer, bear, turkey, and small game for food, clothing, and tools to early European settlers who depended on hunting to survive in isolated mountain communities, the practice has remained deeply embedded in daily life and identity.
Over time, hunting evolved from necessity into a regulated sport, with seasons, bag limits, and conservation laws established to ensure sustainable wildlife populations. Traditional methods—such as flintlock rifles, longbows, and tracking skills passed down through generations—remain celebrated alongside modern practices.
Today, hunting in West Virginia continues to serve multiple roles—a means of food procurement, a family and community tradition, an economic driver for rural areas, and a cornerstone of wildlife conservation funded through license sales and excise taxes.
Hunting in West Virginia is most popular in its rural and mountainous regions, where large tracts of forest, low population density, and strong cultural continuity sustain participation.
- The southern coalfields—including counties such as Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming—have some of the highest per-capita hunting participation rates, reflecting long-standing reliance on wild game for food and tradition.
- The central Appalachian highlands, including parts of Pocahontas, Randolph, and Webster counties, are also major hunting destinations because of extensive public lands such as national forests and wildlife management areas.
- In the eastern mountains, particularly Pendleton, Hardy, and Tucker counties, hunting is closely tied to mixed agricultural and forest landscapes that support healthy deer, bear, and turkey populations.
While participation is lower in urbanized areas such as Kanawha and Monongalia counties, hunting remains widespread statewide, with popularity closely correlated to access to public land, forest cover, and multigenerational rural traditions.
More information
Hunters are encouraged to review the Hunting Regulations Summary, available for download at WVDNR.gov/hunting-regulations, for complete details on season rules, legal equipment, and safety requirements.
The Mountaineer Heritage Season is one of West Virginia’s most distinctive hunting traditions, offering a rare opportunity to experience the state’s winter landscape and sporting heritage much as earlier generations did.
Sign up to receive a FREE copy of West Virginia Explorer Magazine in your email weekly. Sign me up!
