West Virginia Deer Season 2026-27
Deer (Archery and Crossbow): September 26, 2026 to December 31, 2026. Deer (Buck Firearms): November 23, 2026 to December 6, 2026. Every date below was read from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’s own published page, linked beside it, on September 2, 2026.
West Virginia deer seasons, 2026-27
“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources dates white-tailed deer seasons separately by weapon, so each one is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.
Deer (Archery and Crossbow)
publishedDeer (Archery and Crossbow) is OPEN now, through December 31, 2026.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | September 26, 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
WVDNR dates archery and crossbow together as one continuous statewide season running from late September to the end of the calendar year.
Deer (Buck Firearms)
publishedDeer (Buck Firearms) opens in 35 days, on November 23, 2026.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | November 23, 2026 | December 6, 2026 | Opens the Monday before Thanksgiving |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
The traditional two week buck firearms season. WVDNR runs a separate antlerless firearms season in selected counties on four split windows; those are listed under other seasons.
Deer (Muzzleloader)
publishedDeer (Muzzleloader) opens in 56 days, on December 14, 2026.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | December 14, 2026 | December 20, 2026 |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
One week statewide muzzleloader season the week after the buck firearms season closes.
Deer (Youth/Class Q/Class XS) Split Season
publishedDeer (Youth/Class Q/Class XS) Split Season opens in 68 days, on December 26, 2026.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide (segment 1) | October 17, 2026 | October 18, 2026 | Two weekends |
| Statewide (segment 2) | December 26, 2026 | December 27, 2026 |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
WVDNR runs the youth season together with its Class Q and Class XS seasons on two split weekends, one in October and one after Christmas.
West Virginia 2026-2027 Hunting Season DatesWest Virginia Division of Natural Resources, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
Other West Virginia deer seasons the agency names
Beyond the four main windows, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources dates 2 further seasons for deer. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a tag actually covers.
Deer (Antlerless) Split Season (Selected Counties)
publishedDeer (Antlerless) Split Season (Selected Counties) opens in 3 days, on October 22, 2026 (Selected counties).
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selected counties (segment 1) | October 22, 2026 | October 25, 2026 | Which counties are open is WVDNR's designation |
| Selected counties (segment 2) | November 23, 2026 | December 6, 2026 | |
| Selected counties (segment 3) | December 10, 2026 | December 13, 2026 | |
| Selected counties (segment 4) | December 28, 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
Four split windows in the counties WVDNR designates; the county list is on the agency page.
Deer, Bear and Turkey (Winter 2027 Mountaineer Heritage)
publishedDeer, Bear and Turkey (Winter 2027 Mountaineer Heritage) opens in 87 days, on January 14, 2027.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | January 14, 2027 | January 17, 2027 |
Dates read from West Virginia Hunting Seasons, WVDNR, accessed 2026-09-02.
A four day January season WVDNR lists for deer, bear and turkey together.
One calendar, one state
West Virginia is one of the states that keeps it simple: West Virginia Division of Natural Resources publishes these windows as listed above rather than splitting the state into zones with different openers. That makes the calendar easy and the sourcing no less important, because the dates still change every year.
Which unit or county you hunt can still change what you may take, even where it does not change when the season runs. That is the agency’s to tell you, and its regulations page is linked below.
West Virginia deer hunting regulations
Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and its regulations page is linked below.
Current West Virginia regulations
Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours, tagging and reporting, and license and permit requirements for West Virginia are set by West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources: current regulations
Deer season dates in other states
West Virginia deer season questions
This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources page linked beside it, read on September 2, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours and license rules are set by West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide.