As publishedSep 5-Oct 24, 2026; Nov 21-29, 2026; Dec 19, 2026-Jan 18, 2027
Bag limit composed of mourning doves and white-winged doves, singly or in combination.Permitted at all WMAs except Hog Island and Princess Anne; several waterfowl-managed WMAs additionally exclude dove hunting within impoundments only. Sep 5, 2026 opener is afternoon-only (noon-sunset); full shooting hours (half-hour before sunrise to sunset) begin Sep 6.
The only VA-specific dove survey found is a stale 1998-99 Mourning Dove Hunter Survey Report, not renewed since (per VA DWR's own survey-reports archive). Only the federal USFWS Mourning Dove Population Status report (Eastern Management Unit) applies for a current forecast, and it remains unpublished for 2026 -- re-confirmed via a direct fetch of fws.gov/media/mourning-dove-population-status-2026 (404) on 2026-08-19.