Wild boar firearms season in West Virginia is scheduled to open Oct. 25 and run through Nov. 1, 2014. The season is open to West Virginia residents only.

To hunt wild boar, hunters must possess one of the following licenses: Class X, XJ, XS, AB-L, A-L or Class A+BG+CS or be exempt from purchasing a license. Hunting is restricted to Boone, Logan, Raleigh and Wyoming counties. Boar of either sex may be taken, but only one boar may be taken per year. Each animal that is harvested must be checked at an official game checking station in the county of kill within 24 hours. Concurrent hunting of deer and bear, where legal, is permitted.

The boar harvest has seen a slight increase in the past three years with an average of 49 boars being harvested during the firearm and archery seasons combined. Even though boar hunting is open to four counties, only Logan and Boone counties reported harvests in the past three years. In 2013, hunters took advantage of the spotty mast crop to locate the elusive boar and harvested 49. This year’s mast crop is abundant in the four boar counties, which could make boar hunting more challenging than the past two years. Preseason scouting will be crucial to finding an area where the boars are feeding.

More information about wild boar hunting seasons is available in the 2014-2015 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary brochure and online at www.wvdnr.gov.