The following local ordinances apply in Isle of Wight County:
- Sec. 12-10. - Hunting with firearms. (reference)
(a) Hunting in the county, with a rifle of .22 caliber or larger, of groundhogs, between March 1 and August 31 of each year, and of all other game, bird and nuisance species shall be permitted as allowed by state law and regulations.
(b) Hunting in the county, with muzzle-loading rifles, is permitted during the prescribed open seasons for the hunting of game species as allowed by state law and regulations.
(c) Notwithstanding the above, deer and bear hunting with a rifle of a .23 caliber or larger during the prescribed open seasons, as allowed by state law and regulations, shall be allowed in the county only as follows:
(1) The person shall hunt only from an elevated stand located at least ten feet above the ground, except that such weapon may also be discharged on the ground when it is necessary to do so in order to dispatch the animal wounded from the elevated hunting platform.
(2) The rifle may have a round in its chamber only when it is on the elevated stand.
(3) The person first obtains written permission from the landowner.
(4) The provisions of Section 29.1-528.2 of the Code of Virginia shall exempt a permanently disabled hunter, as defined in Section 58.1-3217 of the Code of Virginia, from the requirements of this section regarding hunting from an elevated stand located at least ten feet above the ground.(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a landowner or lessee from killing a deer or bear that is damaging fruit trees, crops, livestock or personal property utilized for commercial agricultural production in accordance with Section 29.1-529 of the Code of Virginia and other applicable laws.
(e) The clerk of this board is ordered to notify the director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources by registered mail of the adoption of the ordinance codified in this section which is to take effect as soon thereafter as allowed by law.
(f) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. (4-21-22(1).)
Editor's note—An ordinance adopted April 21, 2022(1), repealed the former § 12-10, and enacted a new § 12-10 as set out herein. The former § 12-10 pertained to hunting with muzzle-loading rifles and derived from an ordinance adopted Jan. 3, 1991.
- Sec. 12-11. - Hunting near public schools or parks prohibited. (reference)
(a) No person shall shoot, hunt or attempt to hunt with a firearm within one hundred yards of any property line of any county public school or county park within the Newport Development Service District and the Hardy Magisterial District.
(b) No person shall transport, possess or carry a loaded firearm within one hundred yards of any property line of any county public school or county park within the Newport Development Service District and the Hardy Magisterial District, except as otherwise permitted by state law.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the discharge of a firearm for the killing of deer pursuant to Section 29.1-529 of the Code of Virginia (1950, as amended). This exemption shall apply on land of at least five acres that is zoned for rural agricultural use.
(d) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. (4-16-92; 2-21-08; 10-2-08; 11-20-08.)
- Sec. 12-11.1 - Discharging firearms. (reference)
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm:
(1) In such a way as will, or is likely to, result in the load thereof leaving the boundaries of the property or parcel upon which upon which the firearm is lawfully discharged, unless permission to do so has been granted by the adjacent landowner. A projectile leaving the boundaries of the property or parcel shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.
(2) Within one hundred yards a (i) dwelling of another; (ii) business establishment; (iii) public building; (iv) public gathering; or (v) public meeting place, except that the one hundred yard limitation shall not apply if the dwelling owner or occupant has given permission.
(3) In addition to the limitations set forth in subsection (b) above, any person target shooting with a firearm shall (i) only discharge such firearm into a natural or man-made berm or backstop so that it prevents projectiles from entering the property of another. A backstop is defined as a device to stop, redirect, and .....or contain bullets fired on a range. A berm is defined as an embankment used for restricting bullets to a given area, or as a protective or dividing wall between ranges; (ii) shall not target shoot between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.
(4) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(5) This section shall not apply to a (i) law-enforcement officer in the performance of his official duties; (ii) any person whose discharge of a firearm is justifiable or excusable at law in the protection of life or property; (iii) the discharge, on land zoned for agricultural use, of a firearm for the killing of deer pursuant to Section 29.1-529 of the Code of Virginia (1950, as amended); (iv) the discharge of a firearm that is otherwise specifically authorized by law; (v) the discharge of black powder firearms using blanks as part of historical re-enactments, historical living history programs and historical demonstrations; (vi) the discharge of starter blank weapons to initiate athletic competitions; or (vii) ceremonial and patriotic displays using blanks. (10-2-08; 2-15-24.)For state law as to authority of the county to regulate the discharge of firearms, see Code of Va., §§ 15.2-1209, 18.2-280 and 29.1-527.