Last updated 2026-09-24 · seasons from VDWR · 2026–27 licence year
There are 4 public units within 40 miles of Blacksburg, Virginia that hold ground where wild turkey is recorded — 219,312 acres of it. The most of it is in Jefferson National Forest, 2.3 miles out, with 172,639 recorded acres. The season runs October 3, 2026 to January 23, 2027 — on dates that depend on the zone, bag 1 per day, read against the 2026–27 licence year from VDWR. Public-land boundaries here are PAD-US, which records who manages a parcel rather than where the line runs or whether a unit carries a local closure — check with VDWR before you park.
Distance is measured to the nearest edge of a unit rather than to its middle, in a straight line — this app carries no road network and will not print a drive time it cannot compute. A unit whose ground reaches inside the circle is listed for the acreage that is inside it, never for its statewide total.
Ordered by recorded acres — how much of each unit lies inside subbasins where wild turkey is recorded at regular strength or better — rather than by how big the unit is. The biggest block in a state is often not in the half of it the bird is in. PAD-US splits a forest into many parcels, so acreage is summed over the unit's name, and the share is measured against the unit's drawn boundary rather than a centroid: a national forest can be two polygons across half a peninsula.
Season boundary not carried
VDWR zones this season and this app does not hold the boundary, so
these units are not narrowed to it. Nothing here says the season is
open on any of them — read the boundary with VDWR before you go.
Season geography here is read off a
dates table rather than the rule itself, and a dates table carries no boundary.
| Unit | Class | Miles | Recorded acres | Acres in range | Where the records are |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson National Forest part of the unit | National forest | 2.3 | 172,639 | 310,350 | 56% regular, 44% present |
| George Washington National Forest part of the unit | National forest | 29.4 | 41,513 | 41,606 | 100% regular |
| Fairystone Farms Wildlife Management Area | State wildlife management area | 33 | 5,087 | 5,087 | 100% regular |
| Fairystone Farms | State wildlife management area | 34.8 | 73 | 73 | 100% regular |
A unit marked part of the unit has ground outside the circle as well, and the acreage here is only what is inside it. PAD-US records who manages a parcel, not where its line runs on the ground and not whether it carries a local closure: context, not permission. Check the unit with VDWR before you park.
VDWR's dates for the 2026–27 licence year, read from VDWR. Virginia lists this season as Wild turkey (fall). It is zoned, and a circle drawn round a town is not a zone — check which zone a unit falls in before you go.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albemarle, Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Greene, Highland, Madison, Page and Rockingham counties | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | 14 |
| November 26, 2026 | November 26, 2026 | 1 | |
| Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Caroline, Carroll, Clarke, Craig, Culpeper, Dickenson, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Franklin, Giles, Grayson, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lee, Loudoun, Montgomery, Nelson, Northumberland, Prince William, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Richmond, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Stafford, Washington, Westmoreland, Wise and Wythe counties, plus Camp Peary, Hampton and Newport News | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | 14 |
| November 25, 2026 | November 26, 2026 | 2 | |
| November 30, 2026 | December 26, 2026 | 27 | |
| January 9, 2027 | January 23, 2027 | 15 | |
| Accomack, Amelia, Dinwiddie, Gloucester, Greensville, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Northampton, Powhatan, Prince George, Southampton, Surry, Sussex and York counties, plus Suffolk | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | 14 |
| November 25, 2026 | November 26, 2026 | 2 | |
| November 30, 2026 | December 12, 2026 | 13 | |
| Amherst, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buchanan, Buckingham, Campbell, Charles City, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Floyd, Fluvanna, Frederick, Goochland, Halifax, Hanover, Henrico, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Orange, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Tazewell and Warren counties | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | 14 |
| November 25, 2026 | November 26, 2026 | 2 | |
| November 30, 2026 | December 12, 2026 | 13 | |
| January 9, 2027 | January 23, 2027 | 15 | |
| Statewide archery | October 3, 2026 | November 13, 2026 | 42 |
Mature hardwoods that carry mast — oak ridges and beech — against open ground: pasture, food plot, log landing or field edge where birds strut and feed. Roost trees are usually the biggest timber near water.
Locate first and call second. Fall hunting is often a matter of finding a flock, scattering it and calling it back together; spring hunting is working a gobbler off the roost from a set-up he can walk to without crossing anything.
Written for this app rather than read off an agency page — the cover a bird uses does not change at a state line. Everything above that is a date, a limit or an acreage names the source it came from.