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Virginia, 2027 shed season

Virginia Shed Antler Season 2027

Virginia DWR allows shed collecting on its lands for anyone carrying a hunting or fishing license or a DWR Access Permit.

“Yes, if the person has in their possession a valid hunting or fishing license or a daily or annual Access Permit available from the DWR website (available here) or at license agents located across the Commonwealth.” Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

Permit or course
Rule type
from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
5
Rules quoted
each linked to the agency page
Yes
Course or permit
Access Permit (daily or annual), or a valid hunting or fishing license, on DWR lands
September 21, 2026
Rules read
from the agency page
The rule

Shed antler rules in Virginia

Permit or course

The Access Permit comes daily or annual from the DWR website or a license agent. DWR also says a found shed elk antler may be kept, and most Virginia bucks drop their antlers in January or February, with some holding them into March or April.

DWR lands

Shed antlers may be collected on DWR lands by a person carrying a valid hunting or fishing license or a daily or annual Access Permit.

Yes, if the person has in their possession a valid hunting or fishing license or a daily or annual Access Permit available from the DWR website (available here) or at license agents located across the Commonwealth.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

DWR says a person who finds a shed elk antler may keep it.

I found a shed elk antler, can I keep it? Yes.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
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Courses, sale and state land

More Virginia shed rules

Required: Access Permit (daily or annual), or a valid hunting or fishing license, on DWR lands

Access Permit (daily or annual), or a valid hunting or fishing license, on DWR lands.

Is it okay to collect shed antlers on DWR lands? Yes, if the person has in their possession a valid hunting or fishing license or a daily or annual Access Permit available from the DWR website (available here) or at license agents located across the Commonwealth.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Buying and selling sheds

Antlers from a legally possessed deer or other cervid carcass or part may be bought and sold.

It shall be lawful to purchase or sell the hair, hide, tail, sinew, skull, antlers, bones, and feet of a legally possessed cervid carcass or cervid carcass part, any products made from these deer parts, and cervid mounts.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

State wildlife land

On DWR lands, including Wildlife Management Areas, shed collecting needs a valid hunting or fishing license or an Access Permit in hand.

Yes, if the person has in their possession a valid hunting or fishing license or a daily or annual Access Permit available from the DWR website (available here) or at license agents located across the Commonwealth.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in Virginia

Most Virginia bucks drop antlers in January or February, though some keep them into March or April.

Most bucks in Virginia shed their antlers in January and/or February, but DWR frequently receives reports of deer in hard antler in March up to April.
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source
A large elk antler lying in green grass with snow covered mountains in the distance
An elk shed on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, with the Tetons behind. Elk winter range in the West is where most dated shed closures fall, because the closures exist for the animals wintering there. “Shed Antler on the National Elk Refuge (53662858076)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Virginia shed antler questions

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Shed antler rules in other states

Virginia deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for Virginia, read from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.Virginia deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Virginia elk rutWhen bulls bugle in September and October, on the same animals that shed in spring.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.
A young bull elk carrying a single antler standing among elk bedded in snow
A young bull that has already dropped one antler, among elk bedded in snow. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says elk may start shedding in February and run through April. “Bull Elk and Herd (6258537907)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Elk in Virginia, Virginia DWR and the other Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.