Hello Weasel. First off, good luck in your pursuits. If you have never obtained a hunting license in VA you will need to take a hunter safety course. After you have completed the course you will be eligible to get your hunting license. If you killed a couple of deer a year you could put anywhere from 75-125 pounds of meat towards feeding your animals.

Here is the state hunting/fishing website:

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/

Here is a portion of the website that deals with getting your hunters education class...

http://vahea.org/page12.html

GOOD luck

Brett

ps...I forgot to add...if you do not like the idea of picking up a firearm, you DO NOT have to. Learn how to bowhunt with a compound bow, a crossbow, etc. I started gun hunting many years ago and have since put them in favor of only bowhunting. That is just me though, you can hunt in any manner that makes you feel comfortable. Heck, you could hunt with a slingshot to obtain frogs, birds, and other things for your snakes.