3 West Virginia Rules That Kick In When Buck Season Opens, Even for Non-Hunters
Buck season opens Nov. 23 in West Virginia, and you don’t need a rifle for it to change your plans.
If you ride trails on a wildlife management area, some of the rules apply to you, too.
Here are the West Virginia rules that kick in when buck season opens, even for non-hunters.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Hunting rules and season dates are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR).
1. Landowner Permission
Landowner permission is first on the DNR’s list of the 10 most common hunting violations.
DNR officers encounter those violations season after season.
When buck season opens Nov. 23, a hunter on your fenced, enclosed or posted land needs written permission in their possession.
Without it, that’s a misdemeanor.
A hunter without permission is also liable for killing or injuring your domestic animals.
The same goes for damaging your gates and fences, or for leaving a gate open that results in damage.
2. Sunday Hunting
Sunday hunting is part of buck season, which runs from Nov. 23 through Dec. 6.
That stretch includes two Sundays.
Those Sundays fall on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6.
West Virginia law makes Sunday hunting lawful throughout the state, but on private land it takes the owner’s written consent.
On a Sunday, that goes for any private land, whether or not it’s fenced or posted.
The law also opens Sunday hunting on federal land where hunting is permitted, in state forests and on land the state owns or leases for wildlife purposes.
If you take your Sunday walk in a state forest, hunters can be out there too.
3. Legal Shooting Hours
Legal shooting hours for deer hunting start half an hour before sunrise and end half an hour after sunset.
So if you walk your dog at first light or sit on your porch at dusk, you’re doing it during hunting hours.
The same hours cover bear and boar.
Purple Paint Posting
If you own land, purple paint is one way to post it.
The mark has to be a single vertical line of purple paint on an immovable, permanent object.
Marks can be no more than 100 feet apart, and the bottom of each one has to sit between 3 and 6 feet off the ground.
Signs work too.
They have to be posted at every road, driveway or gate that enters the land.
If a hunter’s dog chases game onto your posted land without being sent, the criminal penalty and arrest provisions don’t apply.
That holds only if the chase doesn’t end with game taken or damage done.
500-Foot Rule
The 500-foot rule applies year-round.
It’s illegal to shoot a firearm within 500 feet of a school, church or dwelling.
That covers your house as well as churches and schools, with the exceptions below.
Where the 500-Foot Rule Bends
West Virginia’s 500-foot rule has an exception for people who live in the dwelling.
A resident or guest may shoot a firearm within 500 feet of the dwelling where that person lives.
That works only if all residents of the dwelling consent and no other dwelling is within 500 feet.
Air rifles are exempt from the limit, since they may be discharged within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Hunting From Vehicles
Hunting from a vehicle is against West Virginia law, which generally bars shooting at wild animals from an automobile or other land conveyance.
The DNR lists hunting from a motor vehicle among the 10 most common hunting violations.
DNR guidance tells hunters to get fully off the roadway before loading or firing.
That rule applies year-round, so you can expect it outside buck season too.
2025 Deer Harvest
Hunters harvested 33,823 bucks statewide during the 2025 traditional buck firearm season.
That was part of a 2025-2026 harvest of 92,553 deer across all seasons, a 17 percent drop from the year before.
That puts the buck firearm season at more than a third of the all-seasons total.
Blaze Orange
Blaze orange is required of hunters during firearms deer season.
That means an outer garment with at least 400 square inches of it.
Bow and crossbow hunters have to wear it during any firearm deer season too.
The rule doesn’t apply to waterfowl hunters or to people farming their land.
Wearing too little of it is one of the ten violations the DNR lists.
Reporting Poaching
To report poaching, you can call the DNR’s Natural Resources Police at (844) 484-7367.
If a crime is in progress, call 9-1-1.
You can also send a tip through the DNR’s online form, and the form is anonymous.
Psst! How ready is your household for buck season? Run through this checklist and see where you stand.
Group Riding on Wildlife Management Areas
Group riding on the state’s wildlife management areas is banned through buck season.
Group use of the horse and bicycle routes is prohibited between Oct. 10 and Dec. 31, except on Sundays.
The ban began Oct. 10, more than six weeks before buck season opens.
The same ban applies during spring gobbler season.
Groups of 10 or more people also need a permit, and group size is capped at 25.
If you ride with a group, a Sunday outing is the one that fits the rule.
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