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Virginia › Hunting › Small Game Hunting

Small Game Hunting

Eastern cottontail rabbit sitting in green grass with ears upright in a natural habitat.
An eastern cottontail rabbit rests in tall grass, representing common small game species and wildlife found throughout Virginia. Photo taken by Lynda Richardson of Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.


General Information

Legal Methods and Restrictions

Special restrictions apply to specific firearms use during this season. See Legal Use of Firearms and Archery Tackle and Local Firearms Ordinances for details.

  • Modern firearms.
  • Arrowguns are allowed.
  • Archery tackle.
  • Muzzleloading firearms.
  • Dogs may be used.

Crow

Season Dates

August 16 through March 20 on Mondays, Wednesdays,

Fridays, and Saturdays.

September 1 through March 9

On National Forest Lands and Department lands on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only.

  • Crows are a federally regulated migratory species; however, no HIP registration is required and hunters may use unplugged shotguns to hunt them.
  • Electronic calls may be used on private and public lands. Written permission of the landowner is not required to hunt crows with electronic calls, except when hunting on posted property.

Groundhog

Season Dates

Continuous open season on private lands.

  • Groundhog hunting on National Forest lands and Department lands is permitted from September 1–March 10 and during the spring turkey season.
  • Groundhog hunting is permitted during the spring squirrel season on Department lands that are open for spring squirrel hunting.
  • Groundhog hunting is not permitted on National Forest lands during the spring squirrel season.

Grouse

Season Dates

October 25 through February 14: west of I-95.

Continuous closed season: east of I-95.

Bag Limit

Three per day.

Grouse Hunting Survey

The Department annually monitors fall populations of ruffed grouse by surveying avid grouse hunter success rates flushing and harvesting grouse. Grouse populations have been declining so we are very interested in getting more help with this survey. If you are an avid grouse hunter and are willing to participate please consider joining the survey. Hunters are asked to provide information on the number of grouse they flush and kill on a daily basis. In addition, we ask cooperators to send us some tail and wing feathers so we can estimate age and sex ratios of hunter-killed birds. All survey instructions and materials will be provided. We invite active grouse hunters to participate in our annual Ruffed Grouse Hunter Survey. This survey assists DWR biologists monitor populations of ruffed grouse and provides critical data to reversing the declines of this native gamebird. Visit the Virginia grouse survey page to fill out the form and join the survey.

Quail & Pheasant

Season Dates

November 8 through January 31

Quail is closed on all public lands west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and, until further notice, on Flippo-Gentry WMA in Sussex County.

Bag Limits

Quail: six per day.

Pheasant: no daily or seasonal bag limit.

Rabbit

Important Regulation Additions, see “Attention Rabbit Hunters” below.

Season Dates

November 1 through February 28

Bag Limit

Six per day.

Squirrel (Gray, Red, Fox)

Bag Limit

All squirrels combined–six per day.

Fall Seasons

Gray and Red Squirrels: September 6 through February 28

Statewide.

Fox Squirrels: September 6 through January 31 in the following designated areas only:

Counties west of the Blue Ridge and in the counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Culpeper, Fauquier, Franklin, Greene, Henry, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Patrick, Prince William, and Rappahannock.

Spring Season

June 6 through 20, 2026: Closed on National Forest lands.

During the Spring Season:

Gray and red squirrels may be harvested statewide, unless otherwise posted, and on the following WMAs: Amelia, Big Survey, Big Woods, Briery Creek, Cavalier, Chickahominy, Clinch Mountain, Coastal Forest, Crooked Creek, Dick Cross, Doe Creek, Fairystone (including Fairystone State Park and Philpott Reservoir), Featherfin, Flippo-Gentry, Gathright, Goshen, Hardware River, Havens, Hidden Valley, Highland, Hog Island (Carlisle Tract only), Horsepen, James River, Lake Robertson, Land’s End (Salem Church tract only), Little North Mountain, Mattaponi, Mattaponi Bluffs, Merrimac Farm, Oakley Forest, Pettigrew, Phelps, Powhatan (including the Goochland Tract), Rapidan, Short Hills, Stewarts Creek, G. Richard Thompson, Robert W. Duncan, Turkeycock Mountain, Tye River, Ware Creek, and White Oak Mountain.

Fox squirrels may be harvested on all lands, unless otherwise posted, in all counties with an open fall fox squirrel season and on the following WMAs: Big Survey, Clinch Mountain, Crooked Creek, Gathright, Goshen, Havens, Hidden Valley, Highland, Lake Robertson, Little North Mountain, Merrimac Farm, C. F. Phelps, Rapidan, Short Hills, Stewarts Creek, G. Richard Thompson, and Turkeycock Mountain.

Hunting Preserves

Pen-raised game birds may be taken on licensed hunting preserves from September 1 through April 30, including Sundays. A list of hunting preserves open to the public is available at the Department’s Henrico office or on the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources website. A resident hunting on a licensed hunting preserve is required to have a hunting license. A nonresident is required to have either a nonresident hunting license or a special nonresident hunting (shooting) preserve license which is valid only within the boundaries of licensed hunting preserves.

East & West of the Blue Ridge

Map of Virginia dividing counties into West of the Blue Ridge and East of the Blue Ridge regions for hunting regulations.
This Virginia map separates counties into western and eastern regions based on the Blue Ridge Mountains, a key boundary used for hunting regulations and wildlife management.

Attention Rabbit Hunters

DWR continues to monitor the status of a highly infectious virus of rabbits, known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2). RHDV2 is not a human health concern, but causes significant mortality in wild and domestic rabbits. It was detected for the first time in North American wild rabbits in the southwestern United States in 2020 and since then many western states have experienced outbreaks. Although RHDV2 has not been detected in wild rabbits in the east, it is important to remain vigilant.

RHDV2 outbreaks typically involve at least three dead rabbits of any age in a small, localized area, over a period of less than seven days. Most infected rabbits are in good body condition with no obvious wounds at the time of death. Bright red blood may be observed around the nose. Actions that can help minimize the introduction into or spread of RHDV2 within Virginia include:

  • Reporting multiple dead rabbits fitting the description above to the nearest DWR regional office
  • IMPORTANT! Per regulation, properly disposing of all portions of rabbits harvested in Virginia not saved for human consumption via burial (at least two feet), incineration, or double-bagging and placing in trash for transport to a landfill
  • IMPORTANT! Per regulation, fully dressing (skin, feet, head, and internal organs removed) all rabbits harvested out-of-state before importing into Virginia (rabbits harvested on out-of-state properties that span the Commonwealth’s boundary will not be considered imported and should be handled as described for rabbits harvested in Virginia)
  • Wearing gloves when dressing rabbits and avoiding contact with pet rabbits before showering and changing clothes after handling wild rabbits
Virginia DWR “Restore the Wild” campaign graphic featuring wildlife species and message to support conservation and habitat restoration.
The Virginia DWR “Restore the Wild” campaign encourages residents to support wildlife conservation, helping protect habitats and preserve Virginia’s diverse species.
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