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Where to hunt wild turkey near Lynchburg, Virginia

Last updated 2026-09-24 · seasons from VDWR · 2026–27 licence year

There are 5 public units within 40 miles of Lynchburg, Virginia that hold ground where wild turkey is recorded — 67,951 acres of it. The most of it is in Jefferson National Forest, 15.3 miles out, with 50,423 recorded acres. The closest is George Washington National Forest at 12 miles. 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.

Public land within 40 miles of Lynchburg

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.

UnitClassMilesRecorded acresAcres in rangeWhere the records are
Jefferson National Forest part of the unit National forest 15.3 50,423 75,266 67% regular, 33% present
George Washington National Forest part of the unit National forest 12 15,483 151,214 10% regular, 80% present, 10% occasional
Short Hills Wildlife Management Area State wildlife management area 27.3 1,973 4,233 47% regular, 53% present
George Washington and Jefferson National Forest part of the unit National forest 34.3 58 210 28% regular, 72% present
Short Hills State wildlife management area 28.7 14 83 17% regular, 83% present

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.

Season and limits

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.

ZoneOpensClosesDays
Albemarle, Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Greene, Highland, Madison, Page and Rockingham countiesOctober 17, 2026October 30, 202614
November 26, 2026November 26, 20261
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 NewsOctober 17, 2026October 30, 202614
November 25, 2026November 26, 20262
November 30, 2026December 26, 202627
January 9, 2027January 23, 202715
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 SuffolkOctober 17, 2026October 30, 202614
November 25, 2026November 26, 20262
November 30, 2026December 12, 202613
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 countiesOctober 17, 2026October 30, 202614
November 25, 2026November 26, 20262
November 30, 2026December 12, 202613
January 9, 2027January 23, 202715
Statewide archeryOctober 3, 2026November 13, 202642
Open today
Shut — next opening October 3, 2026
Bag limit
1 per day
Hunter orange
requiredEvery 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.
Shooting hours
One half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset.
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.

What to walk when you get there

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.

Read next

Open the hunting map →Public land and bird cover, drawn for the bird you are after.