Deer Hunting

General Information

Bag Limits

East of the Blue Ridge (except on National Forest lands in Amherst, Bedford, and Nelson counties)

The bag limit for deer shall be two a day, six a license year. Of the six-deer limit, no more than three may be antlered deer and at least three must be antlerless deer (unless noted in the exceptions below).

Exceptions

• The daily bag limit for deer shall be unlimited in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and in all cities and towns east of the Blue Ridge except in the cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. However, no more than three antlered deer may be killed in a license year.
• Only one deer per day may be taken on National Forest lands and Department-owned and Department-managed lands east of the Blue Ridge.

West of the Blue Ridge and on National Forest lands in Amherst, Bedford, and Nelson counties

The bag limit for deer shall be two a day and five a license year. Of the five-deer limit, no more than two may be antlered deer and at least three must be antlerless deer (unless noted in the exceptions below).

Exceptions

• The daily bag limit for deer shall be unlimited in all cities and towns west of the Blue Ridge. However, no more than two antlered deer may be taken in a license year.
• Only one deer per day may be taken on National Forest lands and Department-owned and Department-managed lands west of the Blue Ridge.
• If a deer hunter kills two antlered bucks in a license year in Alleghany, Bath, Highland, or Rockbridge County, at least one of the bucks must have at least four antler points, one inch or longer, on one side of the antlers (see Deer Hunting).
• Only one elk per day may be taken statewide.

Bag Limit Exceptions

• Deer hunters, including those exempt from purchasing a license, on private land and authorized public lands may take more than the license-year bag limit of antlerless deer by using bonus deer permits or special deer permits (DCAP, DMAP, and DPOP).
• DCAP, DMAP, and DPOP deer tags do not count against the daily or season bag limit.

Antlered and Antlerless Deer

Deer Tags

• Either-sex deer tags (commonly called “buck” tags) may be used on antlered or antlerless deer.
• Antlerless-only deer tags (commonly called “doe” tags) may only be used on antlerless deer.

Antlered Deer

• Antlered deer must have antlers visible above the hairline.
• An antlered deer must be tagged with an either-sex deer tag.

Antlerless Deer

• Antlerless deer may only be taken during designated either-sex deer hunting days during the archery season(s), muzzleloading season(s), and firearms season(s). Youth and apprentice deer hunters, see Deer Hunting Earn a Buck for exceptions.
• Antlerless deer (does, button bucks, and shed-antlered bucks) may be tagged with an antlerless-only deer tag or an either-sex deer tag.
• Button bucks, male fawns approximately six months old, are considered antlerless deer. The hair covered bumps on a button buck’s head are not antlers. They are the pedicels from which the antlers will grow the next year.
• Antlered deer that have shed their antlers, usually in late December or early January, are also considered antlerless deer.

Antler Point Restrictions

Alleghany, Bath, Highland, and Rockbridge Counties

If a deer hunter kills two antlered bucks in a license year, at least one of the bucks must have at least four antler points, one inch or longer, on one side of the antlers (in each of the counties listed above).