West Virginia · Bear · 2026–27 Edition
West Virginia Bear Season 2026–27: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Firearms, with or without dogs — segment 1 | Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming counties | Aug 29 – Sep 7 |
| Special Split Youth/Class Q/Class XS — segment 1 (with or without dogs) | 26 counties (all or part) open to bear hunting with or without dogs | Sep 12 – Sep 13 |
| Archery and crossbow | Statewide | Sep 26 – Dec 31 |
| Urban Deer/Bear Archery/Crossbow Split Season — segment 1 (opt-in only) | Incorporated cities, towns, villages, and HOAs that requested the split season from WVDNR by March 1 | Sep 5 – Dec 31 |
| Firearms, without dogs — group 1 | Barbour (W of Rt. 92/250 to south county line), Braxton (W of I-79), Calhoun, Clay (N of Elk River), Harrison, Lewis, Mercer, Monongalia, Monroe (W of Rt. 219), Roane, Summers, Taylor, Upshur (W of Rt. 20) | Sep 19 – Sep 25 |
| Firearms, with or without dogs — segment 1 | Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Raleigh counties | Oct 3 – Oct 9 |
| Special Split Youth/Class Q/Class XS — segment 2 (no dogs) | 51 counties open to a firearms deer season | Oct 17 – Oct 18 |
| Firearms, without dogs — group 2 (portions open to antlerless deer) | Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Hampshire, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Mineral (E of New Creek), Monongalia, Monroe (W of Rt. 219), Morgan, Ohio, Pleasants, Putnam, Raleigh, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur (W of Rt. 20), Wayne, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood | Oct 22 – Oct 25 |
| Firearms, without dogs — group 3 | Barbour, Berkeley, Braxton, Brooke, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Hampshire, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Mineral (E of New Creek), Monongalia, Monroe (W of Rt. 219), Morgan, Ohio, Pleasants, Putnam, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur (W of Rt. 20), Wayne, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood | Nov 23 – Dec 31 |
| Firearms, without dogs — group 4 | Boone, Fayette, Gilmer, Kanawha, Raleigh, Ritchie counties | Nov 23 – Dec 6 |
| Firearms, with or without dogs — segment 2 (all groups) | Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Raleigh, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming counties, plus Barbour (E of Rt. 92 or south of US 33), Braxton (E of I-79), Clay (S of Elk River), Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hardy, Mineral (W of New Creek), Monroe (E of Rt. 219), Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Tucker, Upshur (E of Rt. 20), Webster | Dec 7 – Dec 31 |
| Mountaineer Heritage Season (muzzleloader/long bow/recurve — bonus bear, does not count toward annual limit) | Statewide; Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming counties get any weapon legal for this season | Jan 14 – Jan 17 |
| Urban Deer/Bear Archery/Crossbow Split Season — segment 2 (opt-in only) | Incorporated cities, towns, villages, and HOAs that requested the split season from WVDNR by March 1 | Jan 11 – Jan 31 |
02 — Bag limits & check-in
| Statewide | 2 bears per year across archery/crossbow, the Special Split Youth season, and firearms combined; at least 1 of the 2 must come from Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh or Wyoming counties; no more than 1 bear per day |
|---|---|
| Statewide | It is unlawful to shoot at or kill a bear under 75 lbs. live weight (50 lbs. field-dressed), or to kill a bear accompanied by a cub, or a cub accompanied by a sow, regardless of the cub's weight |
| Statewide | Baiting or feeding bears is illegal at all times; an area is considered baited for 10 days after bait is removed |
| Mountaineer Heritage Season | 1 bonus bear, muzzleloader/long bow/recurve only — this animal does not count toward the annual 2-bear limit |
| Urban Deer/Bear Archery/Crossbow Split Season | 1 bonus bear where a participating municipality/HOA has opted in — does not count toward the regular archery/crossbow bag limit; requires a Class DS stamp |
| Harvest reporting | Must be electronically registered (Game Check) within 24 hours of the kill; a completed field tag must stay with the carcass until the 13-digit confirmation number is attached, and that number plus the hunter's name/address must remain on the hide until tanned or mounted |
| Biological sample | A first premolar tooth, labeled with hunter info, kill date, weapon, dog use, county, and game-check confirmation number, must be mailed or delivered to a WVDNR district office or the Elkins Operations Center by Jan. 31 of the year following the kill |
| Tomblin WMA special hunt | A separate limited-permit dog hunt runs Aug. 29-Sept. 7, 2026 in Logan/Mingo counties on Tomblin WMA behind a designated gate; requires a WVDNR application submitted online by July 31, 2026, and is closed to hunters without a permit during that window |
| Dog hunting | Nonresidents may not hunt bear with dogs except in specifically designated counties during the firearms season |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (August 29, 2026) 06:19 — 20:26
Rule: Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset — WVDNR writes the bear rule as a prohibition: it is unlawful to 'hunt bear between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise', which leaves exactly this window. The same margins are stated for deer and wild boar elsewhere in the same summary. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local West Virginia sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Bear hunters in West Virginia need a West Virginia hunting license — a Class DS (Damage Stamp) added to a qualifying base license — resident Classes X/X3/XP/XP3/XJ/AHJ/AB-L/A-L + DS, Class XS, or Classes A/AH + CS + DS + BG; nonresident Classes EE + DS + CS/LE or Class EE-L; a Class I/I-L stamp is additionally required to hunt bear on National Forest land Check-in or reporting a harvest is typically mandatory; see the row above for West Virginia's specific rule.
West Virginia hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in West Virginia — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — Scouting gear
Patterning bear activity before West Virginia's opener usually means glassing feeding areas and running a trail camera through summer — check the state's own rules on baiting before you set one over bait.
- Hunting binoculars on Amazon →
- Trail cameras on Amazon →
- Trail camera SD cards — class, capacity & format explained →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are category links, not a single named pick — we run no product tests of our own.
06 — FAQ
When does bear season open in West Virginia?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is August 29, 2026. See the table above for each method and zone.
When does bear season end in West Virginia?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is January 31, 2027. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Do I need a separate bear license or tag in West Virginia?
a Class DS (Damage Stamp) added to a qualifying base license — resident Classes X/X3/XP/XP3/XJ/AHJ/AB-L/A-L + DS, Class XS, or Classes A/AH + CS + DS + BG; nonresident Classes EE + DS + CS/LE or Class EE-L; a Class I/I-L stamp is additionally required to hunt bear on National Forest land
How many bears can you shoot in West Virginia?
2026–27 bag limits: Statewide — 2 bears per year across archery/crossbow, the Special Split Youth season, and firearms combined; at least 1 of the 2 must come from Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh or Wyoming counties; no more than 1 bear per day. Statewide — It is unlawful to shoot at or kill a bear under 75 lbs. live weight (50 lbs. field-dressed), or to kill a bear accompanied by a cub, or a cub accompanied by a sow, regardless of the cub's weight. Statewide — Baiting or feeding bears is illegal at all times; an area is considered baited for 10 days after bait is removed. Mountaineer Heritage Season — 1 bonus bear, muzzleloader/long bow/recurve only — this animal does not count toward the annual 2-bear limit. Urban Deer/Bear Archery/Crossbow Split Season — 1 bonus bear where a participating municipality/HOA has opted in — does not count toward the regular archery/crossbow bag limit; requires a Class DS stamp. Harvest reporting — Must be electronically registered (Game Check) within 24 hours of the kill; a completed field tag must stay with the carcass until the 13-digit confirmation number is attached, and that number plus the hunter's name/address must remain on the hide until tanned or mounted. Biological sample — A first premolar tooth, labeled with hunter info, kill date, weapon, dog use, county, and game-check confirmation number, must be mailed or delivered to a WVDNR district office or the Elkins Operations Center by Jan. 31 of the year following the kill. Tomblin WMA special hunt — A separate limited-permit dog hunt runs Aug. 29-Sept. 7, 2026 in Logan/Mingo counties on Tomblin WMA behind a designated gate; requires a WVDNR application submitted online by July 31, 2026, and is closed to hunters without a permit during that window. Dog hunting — Nonresidents may not hunt bear with dogs except in specifically designated counties during the firearms season. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting bear in West Virginia?
On opening day (August 29, 2026) legal light runs 06:19 to 20:26. The rule is: Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset — WVDNR writes the bear rule as a prohibition: it is unlawful to 'hunt bear between 1/2 hour after sunset and 1/2 hour before sunrise', which leaves exactly this window. The same margins are stated for deer and wild boar elsewhere in the same summary. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local West Virginia sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt bear on my own land in West Virginia without a license?
West Virginia resident landowners, their resident children or parents, and resident tenants may hunt, trap, or fish their own land without a license — except on land designated a wildlife refuge or preserve. Some species stamps carry their own separate landowner rules.
Verified · West Virginia Division of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Read directly from the official 'West Virginia Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary, July 2026-June 2027' PDF (published by WVDNR June 29, 2026), downloaded and converted to text with pdftotext since it exceeded WebFetch's normal size limit. West Virginia's bear firearms season is unusually granular: it splits into 4 'without dogs' county groups (Sept. 19-25; Oct. 22-25; Nov. 23-Dec. 31; Nov. 23-Dec. 6) and 3 'with or without dogs' county groups (Dec. 7-31; Oct. 3-9 + Dec. 7-31; Aug. 29-Sept. 7 + Dec. 7-31), and several of those groups are further split by sub-county boundary lines (e.g. Barbour County 'West of Route 92 and Route 250' vs 'East of Route 92 or south of U.S. Route 33'). All county lists and date ranges below are transcribed directly from the PDF's two firearms-season tables (guide pages 37-38); the sub-county route/river boundary descriptions are quoted verbatim from the source and should be checked against WVDNR's own county maps by anyone hunting near a described boundary. Also captured directly from the guide: the statewide Sept. 26-Dec. 31 archery/crossbow season; the two-segment Special Split Youth/Class Q/Class XS bear season (Sept. 12-13 in 26 counties open with-or-without dogs, Oct. 17-18 in 51 counties open to firearms deer, no dogs); the statewide Jan. 14-17, 2027 Deer/Bear/Turkey Mountaineer Heritage Season (muzzleloader/long bow/recurve only, bag doesn't count toward the annual bear limit, and Logan/McDowell/Mingo/Wyoming counties get expanded weapon choice); the opt-in Urban Deer/Bear Archery/Crossbow Split Season (Sept. 5-Dec. 31, 2026 and Jan. 11-31, 2027, available only where an incorporated city/town/HOA has requested it from WVDNR by March 1 — one bonus bear, doesn't count toward the regular bag); the annual 2-bear limit with the rule that at least one must come from Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh or Wyoming counties; the 75 lb. live / 50 lb. dressed weight floor and sow-with-cub/cub protections; the 24-hour electronic Game Check registration requirement; and the first-premolar-tooth submission due by Jan. 31 of the year following the kill. Also noted: a special limited-permit dog hunt on Tomblin WMA (Logan/Mingo counties), Aug. 29-Sept. 7, 2026, requiring a separate WVDNR application by July 31, 2026 — this runs inside the same calendar window as the regular Logan/McDowell/Mingo/Wyoming with-dogs firearms segment and is not modeled as its own row here, just flagged in bagLimits.