Hunting in West Virginia

A trophy fan taken in southern West Virginia

A hunter's paradise unmatched in the eastern U.S., West Virginia was long a native hunting ground shared by many native Americans. Its mountains and valleys continue to attract  hundreds of thousands of hunters annually. According to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources,  more than 350,000 hunters annually take to West Virginia woods, and the majority of West Virginia families have at least one member who hunts regularly.

Public Hunting Areas

Public hunting is accommodated in all or parts of most state forests and wildlife management areas in West Virginia. For information on regulations, please refer to each specific article. The sport is also permitted in parts of most national forest areas and in some national park areas.

Hunting Regulations

West Virginia hunting and trapping regulations are continually updated by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. For on hunting in West Virginia, please refer to their site.

Further hunting information

Information on hunting, trapping, and related sports in West Virginia will be featured here and on our quarterly guide, West Virginia Hunter Magazine.

Help build our guide to hunting in West Virginia.

Hunting is one of the most popular forms of recreation accommodated in West Virginia, and it's hard to keep up with the constant change. If you’ve noted inaccuracies in our content or would like to contribute as a correspondent, please contact a member of our editorial staff.

West Virginia Hunting News

Mourning Dove by Joshua J. Cotten

Mourning dove hunt applications available for South Branch

OLD FIELDS, W.Va. — Applications for a controlled mourning dove hunt at the South Branch Wildlife Management Area in Hardy County in the eastern...
Winners of the 2022 W.Va. Big Buck Photo Contest were announced today by the Governor.

Gov. announces 2022 W.Va. Big Buck Photo Contest winners

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice today announced the winners of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources second annual Big Buck Photo Contest....
A buck peers out from behind a shock of grass in a West Virginia countryside.

West Virginia deer seasons harvest increases 12.7 percent

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Deer hunters in West Virginia have had a very good year, according to officials at the W.Va. Division of Natural...
A beaver gnaws at woody debris in a West Virginia stream.

W.Va. reminds hunters, trappers about furbearer season end

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Officials at the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources are reminding hunters and trappers that West Virginia's 2023 furbearer trapping and...
A black bear ambles through a meadow in West Virginia.

Hunters harvest fewer black bears in West Virginia in 2022

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hunters harvested 1,727 black bears during the combined archery, crossbow, and firearms seasons in West Virginia in 2022, according to the...