The following local ordinances apply in Salem City:
- Sec. 14-4. - Hunting deer during urban archery season. (reference)
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. Archery deer hunting is permitted within the city limits by licensed hunters during an approved state department of game and inland fisheries urban archery season. In addition to the urban archery season, archery deer hunting is also allowed during the early archery deer season, the general firearms deer season, and the late archery deer season. Licensed archery deer hunters must abide by all applicable sections of the state code and state hunting regulations (including bag limits and tagging/checking requirements). It shall be unlawful and a Class 4 misdemeanor for any person, while hunting deer during the city's archery season, to violate any of the following additional city restrictions:
2. For the purposes of this section, "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. "Bolt" means shaftlike projectile intended to be shot from a crossbow.
3. 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.
4. Discharge of an arrow is permitted only in order to take a deer. No discharge of an arrow shall be made toward any person, any animal other than a deer, and structure or any vehicle in such a manner as the arrow may strike such person, animal, structure, or vehicle.
5. 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.
6. Hunters shall abide by all applicable provisions of state law and state hunting regulations, including but not limited to licensing requirements.7.Hunting with bows is permitted only in areas within the city in accordance with the provisions of this section.8.It is unlawful to hunt except from an elevated position at a minimum of ten feet above the ground.
9. 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 hunting permit issued to the hunter at all times while hunting.
10. No person shall discharge an arrow from a bow within 100 feet of a building, dwelling, street, sidewalk, alley, roadway, public land, or public place.
11. No person shall discharge an arrow from a bow within 500 yards of the property line of a public school, church property, hospital, or registered daycare.
12. Hunters are responsible for the appropriate disposition of deer carcasses.
13. 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. No field dressing of deer shall be permitted without permission of the landowner.
14. No person shall hunt deer in the city by use of a dog or dogs.
15. No person shall hunt on city owned or leased property. Law enforcement agencies are exempt from this section while in the performance of their work-related duties.(Ord. of 8-28-2023(3))
- Sec. 58-141. - Discharging firearms. (reference)
It shall be unlawful for any person to fire any gun, pistol or other firearm in the city unless such firing is justified by law.
(Code 1969, § 31-1)
Charter reference— Power to regulate discharge of firearms (Code of Virginia, § 15.2-865) adopted, § 2.2.
State Law reference— Willfully discharging firearms in public places, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-280; shooting in or along road or in street, Code of Virginia, § 18.2-286.
- Sec. 58-142. - Discharge of air gun, gravel shooter, pneumatic gun, etc. (reference)
(a) Any person who shall, anywhere within the city, discharge shot, stones, gravel, bullets or any similar thing from a gravel shooter, air gun, pneumatic gun or other similar implement shall be guilty of a class 4 misdemeanor, unless otherwise permitted by this section.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not prohibit the use of pneumatic guns at facilities approved for shooting ranges, on other property where firearms may be discharged, or on or within private property with permission of the owner or legal possessor thereof when conducted with reasonable care to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the property.
(c) Subsection (a) shall not prohibit the establishment of commercial or private areas designated for use of pneumatic paintball guns for recreational use in accordance with all applicable requirements. Equipment designated to protect the face and ears shall be provided to participants at such recreational areas, and signs must be posted to warn against entry into the paintball area by persons who are unprotected or unaware that paintball guns are in use.
(d) As used in this section, "pneumatic gun" means any implement, designed as a gun, that will expel a BB or a pellet by action of pneumatic pressure. "Pneumatic gun" includes a paintball gun that expels by action of pneumatic pressure plastic balls filled with paint for the purpose of marking the point of impact.
(e) All uses of a pneumatic gun otherwise allowed under this section by a minor below the age of 16 years shall be under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or other adult supervision approved by the minor's parent or guardian.
(f) All minors, when permitted by a parent or guardian to use a pneumatic gun, shall be responsible for obeying all laws, regulations and restrictions governing such use.
(g) The training of minors in the use of pneumatic guns shall be done only under direct supervision of a parent, guardian, Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps instructor or a certified instructor. Training of minors above the age of 16 may also be done without direct supervision if approved by the minor's instructor, with the permission of and under the responsibility of a parent or guardian, and in compliance with all requirements of this section. Ranges and instructors may be certified by the National Rifle Association, a state or federal agency that has developed a certification program, any service of the Department of Defense, or any person authorized by these authorities to certify ranges and instructors.
(h) All training and shooting shall take place either indoors at a range deemed safe for such use by the minor's certified instructor or outdoors at a facility meeting the requirements of subsection (b) above.
(Code 1969, § 31-2; Ord. of 5-28-2019(1))
Editor's note— An ordinance adopted May 28, 2019 changed the title of § 58-142 from "discharging air rifles, gravel shooters, bows, etc."
State Law reference— Similar provisions, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-915.4.