It shall be unlawful to carry firearms while hunting with archery equipment during the special archery seasons, except that a muzzleloading gun, as defined in 4vac159080, may be in the possession of a properly licensed muzzleloading gun hunter when and where a special archery deer season overlaps a special muzzleloading deer season. If you wish, instead, to receive a printed copy, please visit an authorized hunting license agent or request a copy from a dnr district office. Deer general regulations west virginia division of. Point blank, that is a lot of meals for west virginia families. Urban deer management city of martinsburg, west virginia.
View the most recent content of whitetail times magazine. Hunters should enjoy a great deer season in 2017, said gary foster, assistant chief in charge of wildlife management for the west virginia. Arrowgun a pneumaticpowered air gun that fires an arrow. On private lands in botetourt, carroll, clarke, floyd, frederick, grayson, montgomery, pulaski, roanoke, rockingham east of route 6 and 731, scott, shenandoah, warren and wythe counties. However, in the nottoodistant future, it is possible that the major management issue in virginia will not be where are the deer but where are the deer hunters. Good weather usually results in better hunter turnout and a.
West virginia hunters harvest 108,160 deer in 2017 wv dnr. Season dates and open counties for antlerless deer, fall wild turkey, and black bear hunting seasons have changed. West virginia hunters harvest 108,160 deer in 2017 january. Taking elk counts towards a hunters deer permits and bag. Wildlife biologist jim crum said the 2017 deer hunting opportunities. There are restriction on how many deer may be taken, limits to how many deer can be taken with which type of weapon, muzzleloading bans in chesapeake, doe restrictions, and more. West virginias deer seasons provide quality outdoor recreation for hunters and at the same time. West virginias buck firearms season underway huntington. The buck firearms season is open in all counties except logan, mingo, mcdowell and wyoming. Antlered deer may be taken every day of the season. Get the latest information about vdhas involvement in current legislative matters surrounding deer hunting in virginia. Check out a few of the most popular seasons and regulations here, and learn more with the georgia department of natural resources, wildlife resources division. Approximately 250,000 deer hunters will be in west virginias woods this season.
Definitions archery tackle as used in this digest, archery tackle includes longbow, recurve bow, compound bow, slingbow, and crossbow. Hunting west virginia division of natural resources. West virginia hunter killed on first day of deer season nov 23, 2017 according to the division of natural resources, kenneth franklin lafferty iii, died while hunting with a rifle near his home in. The bag limit during the buck firearms season is two one on the base license and one on an. A big increase or decrease in the statewide deer kill from last fall 180,661 is. Please, refer to the 20172018 west virginia hunting and trapping regulations summary for additional details on this special split antlerless deer season. West virginia authorities said a 20yearold hunter was killed on monday, the opening day of the states deer season with firearms.
Deer hunting firearms seasons virginia hunting seasons. West virginia 2017 deer season west virginia fishinghunting. West virginia hunters kill 108,160 deer in 2017 the. Licensing, equipment, hours, tagging boar hunting regulations 2019 whitetailed deer hunting seasons season dates, bag limits, regulations for. This is within one percent of the 2017 harvest of 108,160. Hunting in west virginia hunting in west virginia is a timehonored tradition in which the majority of families have at least one member who participates on a regular basis. According to crum, overall deer hunting opportunities in 2017 will be like those of the past season, except for increased antlerless season bag limits and more hunting opportunities in counties where recorded deer harvest data indicates the harvest should be increased to stabilize or decrease current deer populations. Heres a quick guide to the 2017 deer hunting season. For station locations, consult page 12 of the 20172018 hunting and trapping regulations summary. Hunting seasons west virginia division of natural resources. The estimated six and a half yearold buck became the largest deer killed last season with a gun. This was the lowest statewide deer kill total in 18 years. Deer hunters may be contacted by mail, email, or telephone for surveys regarding their deer hunting activities.
West virginia authorities say a 20yearold hunter was killed on the opening day of the states deer season with firearms, and a second hunter died after his allterrain vehicle rolled over a day. West virginia hunter killed on first day of deer season. Keep your eyes peeled on the roads when you start seeing hunters orange. According to crum, overall deer hunting opportunities in 2017 will be like those of the past season, except for increased antlerless season bag. Deer hunters west of the blue ridge mountains may take both of their season limit of two antlered deer during the early muzzleloading season. Approximately 330,000 deer hunters will be in west virginias woods this season. Despite being a smaller state, west virginia is home to more than 350,000. Eithersex deer hunting days west of the blue ridge. During the past deer season 180,661 deer were reported harvested by deer hunters in virginia. Specific laws and regulations are found in the code of virginia or the dgif fisheries, wildlife, and boating regulations. The hunting season start and end dates vary by animal, weapon, and sometimes location. West virginia hunters harvest 112,384 deer in 2016 january 11, 2017 west virginia wv dnr expects good buck season, despite scattered. West virginia hunter takes down 17point buck after. According to the west virginia division of wildlife, hunters took a total of 108,160 deer during the 2017 season.
A 179 58inch typical came from fauquier county, virginia, two years ago. Overall, hunters have donated 26,387 deer or nearly 1. The season resumes january, 2020 and continues through january 31, 2020. Dnr officials are hoping for cool, clear weather during the oct. West virginia, iowa, pennsylvania, kentucky and michigan had the most deerstrike claims in the peak month of november from 20062018.
It shall be lawful to hunt deer during the early special archery season with archery equipment or a slingbow from the first saturday in october through the friday prior to the third monday in november, both dates inclusive. Ap west virginia authorities say a 20yearold hunter was killed on the opening day of the states deer season with firearms, and a second hunter died after his. Hunters may also direct their questions to any of the six dnr district offices. Each year more than 350,000 hunters take to west virginia s woods in search of some sort of quarry.
West virginia hunting seasons, 20192020 hunting season hq. Wsaz west virginia authorities say a 20yearold hunter was killed on monday, the opening day of the states deer season. Ap state wildlife officials say the number of whitetailed deer killed in west virginia during the recently completed hunting seasons was down compared to a year ago. Antlerless deer may only be taken on designated eithersex deer hunting days. Hunters who would like to know the annual deer kill totals by county dating.
West virginias buck, antlerlessdeer seasons open nov. Hunters should enjoy a great deer season in 2017, said gary foster, assistant chief in charge of wildlife management for the west virginia division of natural resources. It was a fairly quiet hd year across most of virginia in the fall of 2017. This is a large 7mb file and may take a long time 20 min or longer to open on a dialup internet connection. Hunter david miller first spotted what would go on to be a 17point buck on a network of game cameras set up on land he and his friends has leased in mingo county, west virginia in 20. The division of natural resources said kenneth franklin lafferty.
For answers to specific questions about hunting and trapping, please contact the virginia department of game and inland fisheries. Information gathered from the survey is important to the management of connecticuts whitetailed deer population. Deer hunters in west virginia have to be pretty dang excited with the recent news from the state legislature that their weekend deer hunting on public land has just doubled. Participation in wvs october antlerlessdeer season often. Approximately 250,000 deer hunters will be in west virginias woods. So what is the forecast for the fall 2017 deer season. Explosive propellant arrowguns may not be used for hunting in virginia. Firearm hunting season opens in west virginia news. The deer hunter is a 1978 american epic war drama film cowritten and directed by michael cimino about a trio of steelworkers whose lives were changed forever after fighting in the vietnam war. In the counties including the cities and towns within of augusta, botetourt, carroll, craig, giles, grayson, montgomery, pulaski, roanoke. Tens of thousands of hunters are expected to head into the woods this week for the deer gun season. Even if you did not hunt, you should complete the survey.
The hunting of whitetailed deer in west virginia is a cultural, social, and economic phenomenon that transcends all other types of hunting in the state. Muzzleloader deer hunters and persons accompanying a muzzleloader deer hunter shall wear blaze color, except when physically located in a tree stand or other stationary hunting locations. For example, south carolinas deer season is one of the longest in the u. Virginia hunting seasons, 20192020 hunting season hq. In present day, the deer herd fluctuates between 888,000 and just over a million deer before hunting season begins. Approximately half of the states 55 counties close their schools during the entire first week of the traditional buck season. West virginia hunters harvest 108,160 deer in 2017. West virginias buck and antlerless deer firearms seasons.
The 20182019 urban deer hunt commences september 7, 2019 and continues through december 31, 2019. Good deer hunting can be found in many parts of west virginia, but the best whitetailproducing counties share a common set of characteristics plenty of deer, enough size to make harvest. Annual deer kill totals by county dating back to 1947 can be found on the deer kill data section of the dgif website. As always in this threestate region, deer hunters in west virginia will. Take note that, as of last season, liquid deer scents that contain actual deer urine are outlawed in virginia as a guard against the spread of cwd. My dad was able to take a spike during the 2017 wv archery season. Hunter from wetzel county killed on first day of deer season. Deer season means animal strike season on the roads. Virginias deer hunting season dates are very confusing to many people. West virginia offers several big game hunting seasons through the beautiful appalachian mountains. While most deer hunting is legal on sunday in virginia, dog hunting is still banned on sunday. Bait bait shall mean any food, grain, or other consumable substance that could serve as a lure or attractant. As of last season, most of the counties west of the blue ridge were one deer a day. In 2018, hunters once again stepped up to the challenge, donating 685 deer to the program resulting in 24,378 pounds of venison.
Home virginia deer hunters association deer hunting. Fairmont marion county hunters were graced by a clear and sunny first day of deer gun season. In 2017, the traditional bucksonly firearm season harvest of antlered. West virginias deer seasons provide quality outdoor recreation for hunters and at the same time boosts the states economy by millions of dollars. A breakdown of the combined 2017 deer seasons reveals 44,127 bucks were harvested during the traditional buck firearm season, 33,584. Aptly named the mountain state, west virginia gives hunters the opportunity to hunt in majestic solitude while pursuing deer, bear, turkey and small game. West virginia hunters kill 108,160 deer in 2017 wchs. Firearm season for deer opens in west virginia the. Special youth and apprentice deer regulation applies statewide. The total whitetailed deer harvest for the 2018 hunting season was 108,856. Which wv deerhunting counties can truly be considered.
However, we can assess relative hunter densities among states by comparing the number of hunters to each states total area. January 10, 2018 west virginia department of natural resources. Preliminary counts indicate hunters harvested 108,160 whitetailed deer in west virginia during the 2017 seasons. Ap state wildlife officials said the number of whitetailed deer killed in west virginia during the recently completed hunting seasons was down compared to a year ago. Deer season and deercrash season are one and the same. Texas, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming.
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