Rabbit Hunting Season in Virginia: Dates, Limits, Licenses, and Rules
October 28, 2026
Rabbit hunting season in Virginia runs for four months, and it is one of the longest small game seasons in the Commonwealth. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), the season opens October 31 and closes February 28, with a bag limit of six rabbits per day.
That long window makes rabbit hunting one of the easiest ways to get into the field, whether you carry a shotgun, run a pack of beagles, or are taking a first-timer along. This article covers the dates, species, limits, licenses, legal methods, shooting hours, and hunter orange rules you need before you head out.
Regulations change, so confirm every detail against the current DWR Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide before opening day.
Rabbit Hunting Season Dates in Virginia
Virginia’s season is long and simple compared with deer or bear. The DWR small game page lists rabbit season as October 31 through February 28, and the 2026-2027 calendar from AskHunting shows Oct. 31, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027.
Some older guides list November 1 as the opening day. The eRegulations summary, for example, shows November 1 through February 28. That difference reflects a change from earlier years, so treat the DWR page as your authority and check the current regulations guide when you plan your first trip.
Important Note: Third-party sites list slightly different opening dates, and one guide even shows a shorter October 15 to January 31 window for certain areas. DWR’s own small game page is the most reliable source, so verify there before you go.
| Detail | Virginia Rabbit Season |
|---|---|
| Opening day | October 31 |
| Closing day | February 28 |
| Best months for action | November through January |
| Daily bag limit | Six |
Dog training is a separate matter. Training on rabbits is permitted during designated periods outside the regular season on private lands, though no harvest is allowed during training times.
If you hunt other game in the Old Dominion, our guides to deer hunting season in Virginia and turkey hunting season in Virginia help you plan around overlapping dates.
Which Rabbit and Hare Species You Can Hunt in Virginia
For practical purposes, you are hunting one species. The eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is the main rabbit hunters pursue, and eastern cottontails are found statewide.
Hare hunting is a different story. According to Hunting Locator, snowshoe hares are rare in Virginia, so you should not plan a trip around them.
Cottontails live where cover is thick. They favor brambly fence rows, brush piles, and cutover fields. Look for unmowed tangles near farmland, old field edges, and overgrown pastures, and plan early morning hunts on mild winter days.
Where Cottontails Hold
- Brush piles and slash from recent timber cuts
- Fence rows and field corners with briars
- Reclaimed logging roads and overgrown pasture edges
- Thick edge habitat along old strip mine areas in the southwest
Pro Tip: DWR is monitoring rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2), a highly infectious rabbit virus. If you see sick or dead wild rabbits, report them to DWR rather than handling them.
Rabbit Hunting Bag and Possession Limits in Virginia
The bag limit is the same everywhere in the state. Virginia’s administrative code says the bag limit for rabbit shall be six a day, and the DWR small game page confirms six per day.
One older roundup lists a lower limit of four per day. That figure does not match DWR or the state administrative code, so you should treat six as the legal daily limit.
AskHunting’s bag limit table shows no separate possession limit listed for rabbit. Because a possession limit is not spelled out in the sources I found, check the regulations guide if you plan to freeze or transport several days of harvest.
Handling Rabbits After the Hunt
DWR added a rule tied to disease prevention. If you harvest rabbits out of state, you must fully dress them (skin, feet, head, and internal organs removed) before importing them into Virginia. DWR also recommends wearing gloves when dressing rabbits and showering and changing clothes before contact with pet rabbits.
Violations carry real costs. Hunting Smart lists fines of up to $111 for bag limit violations, though that figure comes from an older source, so treat it as a rough guide rather than a current schedule.
Licenses and Permits Required to Hunt Rabbits in Virginia
You need a base hunting license to hunt rabbits. Fall Obsession’s summary of DWR rules says a valid Virginia hunting license is required to hunt rabbits, and you do not need the deer, turkey, or bear add-ons.
Hunting Locator lists the resident annual hunting license at $23, with the nonresident version at $111. That data comes from a 2025 guide, so check current pricing before you buy.
You can buy a license through GoOutdoorsVirginia.com, by phone, or at authorized retailers. Our Virginia hunting license requirements article breaks down every license type, exemptions, and costs.
Extra Permits for Public Land
Where you hunt can add requirements. According to Hunting Prime, a National Forest Stamp is required on National Forest lands, and a WMA Stamp is required on Wildlife Management Areas. Landowners hunting their own property have separate exemptions, so read the DWR rules if that applies to you.
| Where You Hunt | What You Need |
|---|---|
| Private land | Base hunting license and landowner permission |
| National Forest | Base hunting license plus National Forest Stamp |
| Wildlife Management Area | Base hunting license plus WMA access permit |
Legal Hunting Methods and Weapons for Rabbits in Virginia
Virginia gives you a lot of freedom here. Fall Obsession lists shotguns, archery equipment including crossbows, muzzleloaders and other legal small-game firearms, and dogs as legal methods for pursuing rabbits.
Shotgun gauges in common use include .410, 20-gauge, and 12-gauge. Many Virginia hunters favor a 20-gauge with light field loads for close, fast shots in thick cover.
Hunting With Beagles
Dogs are a big part of rabbit hunting here. Beagles excel at flushing rabbits from dense cover. Dog use is generally allowed on private land with landowner permission, but rules vary on public land, so check the specific WMA or National Forest before bringing a pack.
- Pick an area with thick edge cover and confirm access.
- Release the dogs and walk field cuts, logging roads, and brushy edges.
- Stay spaced out and be ready as the rabbit circles back along its escape route.
- Know your target and what is beyond it before you shoot.
Shooting Hours and Sunday Hunting Rules for Rabbit Hunting in Virginia
Virginia has relaxed its Sunday hunting restrictions in recent years. Hunting Smart’s FAQ and other guides note that Sundays are generally open for hunting in Virginia, though a few site-specific rules still apply.
Before you head out on a Sunday, check three things: whether the property is private land, a WMA, or a National Forest, whether that property has its own day-of-week schedule, and whether you have written landowner permission where required. One guide notes that some areas operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday only schedules, which usually applies to specific public properties.
I did not find a clear statement of legal shooting hours for rabbits in the research for this article. Virginia’s small game rules have historically allowed rabbit hunting during daylight hours, but confirm the exact start and stop times in the current DWR regulations guide, and use sunrise and sunset tables for your county.
Pro Tip: Save the DWR regulations guide to your phone before you leave. Cell service is spotty on many WMAs, and you want the rules in hand if a game warden asks.
Hunter Orange and Public Land Rules for Rabbit Hunting in Virginia
Hunter orange is mandatory only during certain seasons. Virginia’s requirement applies during the deer firearms season and the youth/apprentice deer hunting season, and it covers any person accompanying a hunter.
That matters because rabbit season overlaps with deer firearms season in many counties. If you are running beagles in the woods during those weeks, wear orange even if you are only after cottontails.
The options for meeting the rule are:
- A solid blaze orange or pink hat
- Solid colored clothing visible on the upper body from all sides
- At least 100 square inches of solid blaze orange material at shoulder level, visible from 360 degrees
Camouflage-pattern orange does not count. As Hunting Smart notes, hats worn to meet the requirement may not be a camouflage color.
Public Land Basics
Virginia has plenty of public rabbit habitat. Wildlife Management Areas and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests offer public access, and Chickahominy WMA is listed as a small game spot with squirrels, rabbits, and doves in a mix of upland and wetland cover.
Public land can come with extra rules, including different dates, check-in requirements, or limits on dog use. Hunting Locator advises that WMAs can stipulate check-in or additional permitting. Read the property listing on the DWR website before each trip.
Planning a hunting trip across the state line? See our guides to deer hunting season in West Virginia and dove hunting season in Virginia to stack seasons together.
Virginia’s rabbit season rewards preparation more than gear. Know the October 31 to February 28 dates, stick to six per day, carry a base license plus any public land stamp, and put on orange during deer firearms weeks. For the final word on any rule, go straight to the DWR small game regulations page before you hunt.