Wilkes County Hunting

Wilkes County Northwestern CWD Management Area deer calendar

Under the Northwestern CWD Management Area dates, archery runs Sep 12 to Oct 30, 2026, blackpowder Oct 31 to Nov 13, 2026 and gun Nov 14, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027. There are no either-sex day limits here: each open day allows antlerless deer. Sep 26 to Sep 27, 2026 are youth deer hunting days across the state. The Northwest CWD Management Area covers Wilkes County; its special early season (Aug 22 to Aug 23, 2026) is for antlered deer only.

The testing chart updated Oct 15, 2026 lists 39 not-detected results from Wilkes County and 2 confirmed cases since detection.

The Northwestern CWD Management Area group · Zones statewide · CWD areas

Zone groups, dates and antlerless days from the 2026-2027 Season Dates at a Glance and the digest deer seasons; youth, CWD early and urban seasons from the digest deer regulations; CWD areas from the NCWRC CWD special regulations; tests from the NCWRC CWD testing chart (updated Oct 15, 2026); light rule from 15A NCAC 10B .0115. Checked October 25, 2026.

Public hunting land in Wilkes County

Game lands, refuges, Corps lakes and forest districts with ground in Wilkes County total 6 on our list. Game land day types here: 3 open 6 days a week and 2 open 7 days a week. The ten-mile ring around Wilkesboro holds near 524 acres of public land.

• Game lands in Wilkes (5)Buffalo Cove Game Land (7,030 ac*, 7 days), Thurmond Chatham Game Land (6,542 ac*, 7 days), Kings Creek Game Land (2,361 ac*, 6 days), Little Fork State Forest Game Land (1,270 ac, 6 days), Kerr Scott Game Land (521 ac, 6 days)
• Corps of Engineers lakes: 1W. Kerr Scott Reservoir (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) (521 ac)

* Total for the whole property, not just this county.

Over the county line, nearest first: Mitchell River Game Land 2,432 ac, 22 miles out; Three Top Mountain Game Land 3,460 ac, 28 miles out; Elk Knob Game Land 721 ac, 31 miles out; Pond Mountain Game Land 3,701 ac, 38 miles out; Johns River Game Land 6,483 ac, 40 miles out.

Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina portion): closed to every kind of hunting. Every state park is closed to hunting too.

All 130 land pages · Game lands statewide · Game land days

Tracts from our North Carolina land list (NCWRC regional game land tables, game land rules, USFS, USFWS, NPS and Corps records); game land acres from the NCWRC boundary layer and national forest acres from the USFS ownership layer, both GIS measures; acres within 10 miles of the seat from the same layers. Checked October 25, 2026.

Wilkes County bear and gobbler numbers

Bear numbers

Wilkes County is in the Mountain BMU, open for bear Oct 3 to Nov 21, 2026 and Dec 12, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027. The game land layer marks Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Basin Creek), Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Blackburn), Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Little Grandfather Mountain), Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Morrison), Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Russell) and Thurmond Chatham Game Land (Selma Ray) as bear management areas. Wilkes County hunters registered 26 bears in 2025. By land type, 26 of the 2025 bears were off game lands. Hound hunters took 5 and still hunters 21 in 2025.

Gobblers

Turkey hunting in Wilkes County is spring only: youth Apr 10 to Apr 11, 2027, everyone Apr 17 to May 15, 2027. Wilkes County gave up 393 birds in spring 2026, against 350 in 2025. 1982 is the first year with a reported bird. Of every hundred 2026 birds, about 3 came from game lands.

Wilkes ducks and geese

The I-95 line leaves Wilkes County on the Inland side. Geese follow the Resident Population Zone dates.

Mountain BMU details · Bear management areas · Duck and goose zones

Bear units and dates from the 2026-2027 Season Dates at a Glance and the digest bear seasons; bear harvest from the NCWRC BMU county table, 2025 sex and land split from the 2025 county detail, method from the 2025 method table; turkey dates from the digest and harvest from the spring 2026 county table; waterfowl zones from the migratory bird digest page and the digest zone maps. Checked October 25, 2026.

Wilkes County hunting services and NCWRC staff

Processors marked as CWD cooperators or Hunters for the Hungry partners come from NCWRC and charity lists; the rest are directory listings.

Phone list for Wilkes

Call Jason Smith, District 7 biologist, about deer, bear or habitat in Wilkes County. The nearest NCWRC office is NCWRC Wilkesboro Depot in Traphill, about 16 miles away; depots are work centres, so call ahead.

Deer processors

Mounts

Guided hunts

Outdoor stores

Biologists and supervisors from the NCWRC district biologist sheet (updated Aug. 17, 2026); offices from the NCWRC facilities layer; processors and taxidermists from the NCWRC Cervid Health Cooperator list, NC Hunters for the Hungry and directory listings; shops from directory listings and store locators. Checked October 25, 2026; call ahead. All North Carolina hunting services.

Wilkes County on the North Carolina events calendar

DU banquet and hunter education course: 1 upcoming event and 4 NCWRC classes. Read October 25, 2026.

Still to come

NCWRC classes

Running a banquet or trial near here? List the date.

Four counties ringing Wilkes County

The four closest county guides, then three statewide pages.

Double-check before Wilkes County

NCWRC can change dates and rules between seasons. The digest and 15A NCAC 10B are the legal reference.

Sources: 2026-27 NCWRC regulations digest, Season Dates at a Glance, NCWRC hunting, Census and the agencies linked in each section. Checked October 25, 2026.