West Virginia’s buck firearms hunting season opens on Monday, November 25 and runs through December 7.
Licensed hunters can take one buck per day during the two-week season, with a maximum of two antlered deer during the season.
Two deer may be taken with a gun, crossbow or bow during the buck firearms season.
Only deer having one or both antlers more than three inches in length above the hairline are legal during the buck firearms season.
West Virginia also has a concurrent antlerless deer season that opens November 25 and runs through December 7, then resumes again as a split season for later weeks in December in certain counties.
To hunt antlerless deer during the buck firearms season, a valid Class N or NN stamp or Class DT license is required for all hunters except for resident landowners hunting on their own land.
Hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange as an outer garment durin
g the deer firearms season.
Members of the public who are in the woods and fields near hunting areas can take the extra precaution of wearing blaze orange during the firearms season as well.
Small game hunting is prohibited during the first three days of buck firearms season in all counties having a buck firearms season; provided, waterfowl hunting is legal on lakes, rivers and waterways during the
open waterfowl season, bear hunting is legal in specified counties, and coyote hunting is legal. Small game hunting is legal during open small game seasons beginning November 28, 2019.
For full buck season regulations, visit www.wvdnr.gov or www.wvhunt.com — the state’s electronic licensing and game check website — for official hunting and trapping rules. Paper copies of the annual regulations are also available where sporting goods and hunting licenses are sold.
In Morgan County, hunting licenses are sold at Roy’s Service Center and Cacapon State Park.
For more information on hunting licenses, call the Wildlife Resources Section Hunting and Fishing License Unit at 304-558-2758.
Those with game check questions can call the Wildlife Resources Section at 304-558-2771 or email DNR.Wildlife@wv.gov.
Chronic Wasting sampling
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has established restrictions on deer carcass transport and the baiting and feeding of deer to combat the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.
West Virginia’s Chronic Wasting Disease Containment Area includes all of Morgan, Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy and Mineral Counties. It is illegal to bait or feed deer at any time in the containment area.
All adult deer harvested on November 25-26 within the Chronic Wasting Disease containment area of Morgan, Berkeley and Mineral Counties are required to be brought to a designated Chronic Wasting Disease sampling area for carcass examination and sampling between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Hunters must still check their deer by telephone, internet or at a license agent.
Morgan County Chronic Wasting Disease designated sampling stations are Roy’s Service Center, Ridge State Fish Hatchery and Stony Creek Country Store in Largent.
For more information, contact the West Virginia DNR Wildlife Division in Romney at 304-822-3551.
