Wildlife management area · McDowell County
Panther Wildlife Management Area
11,389 acres · 37.423, -81.901 ↗
Live · updatedWhitetail Deer
Legal light: 6:49 AM – 7:47 PM ET · 30 min before sunrise to 30 min after sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Good day to hunt Whitetail Deer.
GOOD conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- Rising barometer (1019.7 mb) Cold, clear high pressure behind a front; often still good
- 9 mph wind A steady breeze covers your movement and noise; deer stay on their feet
- Wind out of the NW Pick a stand that keeps your scent off the bedding and approach
- Bright moon Heavy nighttime feeding under a full moon can slow midday movement
- Ground Deciduous Forest · 1751 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Wild Turkey
Legal light: 6:49 AM – 7:17 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset (all day)
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Wild Turkey season is closed at this spot today.
PRIME conditions
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- High pressure building (1019.7 mb) Stable, rising pressure; calm clear mornings and hard-gobbling toms
- 9 mph (light) Calm, quiet air; gobbles carry and birds relax
- Wind out of the NW Set up so a called bird approaches without the wind in your face
- Clear morning Bluebird calm mornings are classic gobbling weather
- Full moon Birds feed at night and fly down late; mornings can start slow
- Ground Deciduous Forest · 1751 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Squirrel
Legal light: 6:49 AM – 7:17 PM ET · ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · source
Prime day to hunt Squirrel.
PRIME conditions
- Mast dropping Squirrels are cutting nuts hard; the best weeks, and you can hear them working
- 46°F Right in the comfortable activity band
- 9 mph (light) Calm and quiet; you can hear them cutting and spot the shaking limbs
- Clear & calm Bright, still mornings; squirrels move and you can spot them
- Ground Deciduous Forest · 1751 ft (NLCD land cover / USGS elevation)
Conditions at the pin
Dawn/dusk low
46°F
the cool hunt window the score uses
Daytime high
70°F
today
Wind
9 mph NW
plan your scent
Barometer
1019.7 mb
rising · 0.7 hPa/3h
Moon
100%
full
Patchy Fog then Mostly Sunny
The ground
County herd density
1.64 deer/sq mi
McDowell County took 876 deer last season
Habitat
Deciduous Forest
sampled across the tract
Elevation
1751 ft
USGS surface elevation
Access: Steep southern-coalfield forest in McDowell County; public deer & turkey.
Where it is
Scout a different spot → All West Virginia land How this score works
Public-land data: WVDNR — Public Land (verified 2026-07-27). Conditions from the NWS, USGS and NLCD, recomputed each rebuild.