SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — According to preliminary harvest data for the opening day of the traditional buck firearms season, hunters in West Virginia took approximately 13,000 bucks. These harvest figures are only preliminary and subject to change once numbers can be verified.

“The buck firearms season is an exciting time for hunters and we want to remind folks to not only be safe but to enjoy their time hunting in our beautiful state,” said Paul Johansen, chief of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Section. “While these preliminary numbers are below the reported number of bucks harvested last year on opening day, we believe this season will be a good one.”

As of Tuesday, Nov. 20, only three hunting incidents have been reported by the DNR’s Law Enforcement Section. There has been one non-fatal tree stand fall, one person was injured while field dressing a deer and one person suffered a fatal heart attack while hunting. The buck firearms season opened Monday, Nov. 19.

As the season continues, the DNR would like to remind hunters of the following facts and safety tips:

• Approximately 250,000 deer hunters will be in West Virginia’s woods this season.
• The buck firearms season is open in all counties except Logan, Mingo, McDowell and Wyoming.
• The bag limit during the buck firearms season is two (one on the base license and one on an RG [resident] or RRG [nonresident] stamp). A hunter may take no more than three antlered deer per calendar year in all archery, crossbow and firearms seasons combined.
• A hunter may harvest two deer per day, but only one antlered deer may be harvested per day. The first deer does not have to be electronically registered before harvesting the second deer in the same day. However, all deer legally harvested must be electronically registered and legally tagged before hunting during a subsequent day.
• Sunday hunting is legal on public lands, as well as private land with written permission of the landowner. Nov. 25 is the only Sunday that falls within the two-week buck firearms season.
• All deer harvested by hunters in Berkeley and Mineral counties on Nov. 19 and 20 are required to be brought to a designated Biological Game Examination Station. For station locations, consult page 12 of the 2018-2019 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary.
• All hunters must use their permanent DNR ID number to check game. Game may be checked by telephone at 1-844-WVCHECK, online at wvhunt.com or at any hunting license agent. All field tagging, transporting and possession requirements still apply.
• Hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange (about the size of a vest) as an outer garment for visibility and safety. Blaze orange camouflage patterns are legal as long as 400 square inches of blaze orange are displayed on the garment. A blaze orange hat is not required, but the hunter must have blaze orange visible from both the front and the back.

Hunters who wish to donate deer meat or money to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, which distributes deer meat through the Mountaineer Food Bank and the Facing Hunger Food Bank, should call 304-924-6211 or visit the DNR website at www.wvdnr.gov to find a participating meat processor.