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Virginia ruffed grouse regulations, 2026–27
Last updated 2026-09-24 · from VDWR data · 2026–27 licence year
Virginia's 2026–27 ruffed grouse season runs October 24, 2026 to February 13, 2027, on dates that depend on the zone. The bag is 3 per day. Hunter orange is required. Read against the 2026–27 licence year, from VDWR.
Season and limits
- Season
- Ruffed grouse — October 24, 2026 to February 13, 2027
- Bag limit
- 3 per day
- Hunter orange
- required Every hunter, and anyone accompanying one, must wear a solid blaze orange or blaze pink hat, or solid blaze upper-body clothing visible from 360 degrees, or display at least 100 square inches of solid blaze material at shoulder level, visible from 360 degrees.
- Sundays
- Virginia allows Sunday hunting, with two exceptions: not within 200 yards of a house of worship, and not for deer or bear with dogs.
- Virginia requires solid blaze orange or blaze pink — a hat, 360-degree upper-body clothing, or 100 square inches at shoulder level. Waterfowl and dove hunters are exempt; upland bird hunters are not.
- The I-95 line is not drawn in this app. The dates are for the western zone; which side of the interstate you are on is not answered here.
- East of I-95 is a continuous closed season — not a gap in this app's data, a closure Virginia has declared.
- Virginia's grouse are a Blue Ridge and Allegheny bird and the population has been declining for decades. West of I-95 is where the season is; the mountains are where the birds are.
Zones
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| West of I-95 | October 24, 2026 | February 13, 2027 | 113 |
| East of I-95 | Closed season | ||
Licences
- Hunting licence
Everyone, resident or not — Bought through Go Outdoors Virginia, and what every other permit is added to. - Hunter education certificate
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1961, and every hunter under 16 — Or an apprentice licence, which lets an uncertified hunter hunt under supervision. - Federal HIP registration
Woodcock and every other migratory bird — Free, and it lapses every July 1 — last season's registration is not this season's. - Public land permits
Hunters on national forest and some WMAs — Virginia sells a separate access permit for national forest and DWR land. Check which your ground needs before you park.
The other questions
- How to hunt ruffed grouse in Virginia
- When does Virginia's 2026–27 ruffed grouse season open?
- Where to hunt ruffed grouse in Virginia
- Virginia ruffed grouse hunting report
- Ruffed grouse hunting in Virginia — the whole picture
- Ruffed grouse — biology, range and how it is hunted