Discharge of bows and arrows; urban archery hunting.
Richmond, Va., City Code § 19-328
in effectSec. 19-328. - Discharge of bows and arrows; urban archery hunting.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the term "bow" includes all compound bows, crossbows, slingbows, longbows, and recurve bows having a peak draw weight of ten pounds or more. The term "bow" does not include bows that have a peak draw weight of less than ten pounds or that are designed or intended to be used principally as toys. The term "arrow" means a shaftlike projectile intended to be shot from a bow.
(b) No person shall discharge an arrow from a bow in a manner that can be reasonably expected to result in the impact of the arrow upon the property of another without the written permission from the owner or tenant of such property. The discharge of an arrow across or over the boundaries of a property for which no permission has been given by the property owner shall create a rebuttable presumption that the use of the bow was not conducted with reasonable care.
(c) No person shall discharge an arrow from a bow from, over, across or into any street, sidewalk, alley, roadway, public land or public place, or towards any building or dwelling in such a manner that the arrow may strike such building or dwelling.
(d) No person shall hunt with a bow within the city, except deer may be hunted with bows within the city in accordance with this subsection. Any such hunting activity shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) Hunting is permitted only during applicable hunting seasons designated by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
(2) Hunters shall abide by all applicable provisions of State law and State hunting regulations, including, but not limited to, licensing requirements.
(3) Hunting with bows is permitted only on parcels which are three acres or more of contiguous area. Hunting with bows is prohibited in all other areas within the city.
(4) Property owners must obtain an annual urban archery hunting permit from the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police shall issue annual urban archery hunting permits at no cost to property owners upon application by property owners meeting all requirements of this section.
(5) Property owners shall identify urban archery hunting permit property with signs approved by the Chief of Police.
(6) It is unlawful to hunt except from a stand elevated a minimum of ten feet above the ground.
(7) A hunter must obtain written permission from the owner or tenant of the property on which hunting activity is to take place before hunting and shall carry a copy of the written permission and a copy of the urban archery hunting permit issued to the property owner at all times while hunting.
(8) No person shall discharge an arrow from a bow within 100 yards of a building, dwelling, street, sidewalk, alley, roadway, public land, or public place.
(9) Hunters are responsible for the appropriate disposition of deer carcasses.
(10) If a deer which has been shot with an arrow leaves the property on which the hunter has permission to hunt, the hunter shall obtain permission from any property owner over which he or she must travel to pursue or retrieve the deer.
(11) No person shall hunt deer in the city by use of dogs.
(e) Any violation of this section shall be a Class 3 misdemeanor.
(Code 2020, § 19-328; Ord. No. 2021-230, § 2, 11-8-2021)
Source: City of Richmond, Virginia, Code (2026 recodification) and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH19OFMIPR_ARTVIIOFAGPUHESA_DIV2WE_S19-328DIBOARURARHUFetched: 11/8/2026