Virginia Fifth Elk Hunt Takes Six Bulls of 609 to 800 Pounds, First by Long Bow

Virginia’s fifth managed elk hunt sent all six licensed hunters home with bulls weighing 609 to 800 pounds live, the Department of Wildlife Resources said in a report posted Nov. 4, 2026 by its elk project leader, Jackie Rosenberger. The hunt ran Oct. 10 through 16 in the Elk Management Zone of Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise counties, and all six bulls came from Buchanan County, the department’s harvest data page shows.

Five of the hunters live in Virginia, in Timberville, Vinton, Salem, Grundy and Nokesville, and one came from Easton, Maryland. All six hunted with local volunteer guides on more than 17,000 acres of private land that landowners opened for the week. The bulls included one 7x6, three 6x6s, one 6x5 and one 5x5, and every one was at least 3.5 years old by tooth replacement, with cementum aging to follow in the coming months.

The highest-scoring bull was the 6x5, a 792-pound rifle kill with an unofficial Boone and Crockett typical gross score of 370 6/8 inches and a final score of 348 7/8. Heaviest of the six was a 7x6 at 800 pounds live and 616 dressed, which scored 311 6/8 gross. The lightest, a 609-pound 5x5, was the first elk taken in the zone with archery equipment since the managed hunts began during 2022. Its hunter used a long bow, and the bull scored 172 3/8 gross on the Pope and Young typical sheet. Any weapon legal for deer may be used except air rifles and sling bows, and he was the third hunter to try archery and the first to succeed.

Each year the department issues five antlered-elk licenses by lottery and a sixth conservation license that Southwest Virginia Sportsmen raffles. The Nokesville hunter held the 2026 raffle license, and net proceeds came to slightly more than $89,000 for habitat and access work in the zone. A lottery application costs $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents, and a winner pays $40 or $400 for the license. Only bulls with antlers visible above the hairline may be taken, one per license year, and all six licensed hunters have filled their tags in every hunt year since the first.

The sixth hunt is set for Oct. 9 through 15, 2027. Application details are due in January 2027, and the lottery application period opens in February 2027.