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Is It Illegal To Pickup Arrowheads In Texas?

September 9, 2024

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You can keep arrowheads you find on private land

Although different places have different laws, anything you find on public land (national parks, for example) is off-limits. What you find on private land that you have permission to look for arrowheads on is legal. Different laws apply in different places, but that is the general rule.

If arrowheads are on the surface, can you pick them up on public land?

No. Even if you don’t dig for the arrowheads, picking up arrowheads on public land is not allowed. There is always a fine per artifact if you collect arrowheads on public land.

It is not usually a felony to take arrowheads illegally, but you should look for arrowheads respectfully and legally. Look for arrowheads on private land with the owner’s permission.

A large majority of the land in Texas and elsewhere is privately owned, and a large majority of arrowheads can be found on this land. You aren’t missing out on anything special if you don’t look for arrowheads on public land.

In most states, you can’t dig up an archeological site even on private land that you have permission to use. There are laws against digging up archeological sites.

However, it can be legal to dig for artifacts in Texas because of property rights. The property owner gets to decide what happens to an archeological site on their land.

Any of the following are public land:

National parks
National forests
Bureau of land management land
National monuments

There are privately owned lakes that the public is allowed to use, where you may find arrowheads. It is usually legal to find arrowheads at these locations.

See also What Is the Difference Between a Longbow and a Recurve Bow? Blog 01 Feb, 2021 Posted By: Patrick Long Longbows and recurves have been used for a long time and they are both very effective weapons. Both weapons also look fairly similar, especially to a beginner. Are there really any major differences between the two that makes one of them better than the other? Let’s dive into the construction of these bows and see how that affects their performance. ConstructionThe major difference between a longbow and a recurve bow is the construction of the limbs. A longbow will look like one “long” piece of wood that is bent from the force of the string, while a recurve bow has curvy limbs, which makes it look like the string fits to the bow and not the other way around. Longbows are made this way out of simplicity and ease of manufacturing, but like anything else, the easy way is not always the most effective. The extra curves allow a recurve bow to store much more energy than a longbow, making recurve bows more powerful than longbows in general. Keep in mind, though, that some special longbow builds will rival recurves.Longbows are also much longer than a recurve, hence the name. Due to the recurve's better design, it can afford to be smaller than the longbow. So if the size is something you care about, recurve may be the way to go. Speed & PowerIn general, these two types of bows are not all that different in terms of speed. Some of the top-performing longbows can shoot upwards of 200 fps . A recurve can shoot upwards of 225 fps. While it does not sound like a huge advantage, shooting slightly faster can make recurves a tad more accurate and forgiving in poor conditions. AccuracyLike I mentioned before, a recurve bow shoots a little bit faster on average than a longbow. So with a faster-moving arrow, we are less prone to see the effects of wind on each shot. Plus with a longbow, 20 yards is a long shot if you want to be accurate. With a recurve bow, that effective distance is nearly doubled to 35 yards. Some archers can easily shoot farther than this but for the average archer, this is about as far as we can expect to shoot with one of these bows. Draw Back SmoothnessA longbow’s draw weight depends on how far you are able to pull it back. In general, it is easy to pull back at the start but it gets harder and harder the farther you pull it. Compare this to other types of bows that are “smooth” meaning that the effort required to pull it back is uniform throughout its draw length. In comparison, a recurve bow has a much smoother and evenly dispersed draw than a longbow. Most recurve bows have a draw weight of around 40 pounds. This may sound like a lot to a new archer, but it is not all that heavy once you try it. QuietnessFor once the longbow wins. Longbows are in general quieter than recurves. The twang that comes from the string can be noticed in both bows, but we can use string silencers to try and alleviate that noise. Which Is Best for Hunting?When it comes to hunting, a recurve bow can kill most types of game in North America. Plus with an effective range of 35 yards, we can get close enough to most animals without much of a problem. Longbows are still very effective for killing. This was the type of bow the Native Americans used and they were able to kill whitetail deer, bison, and each other with it on a regular basis. You will have to practice a lot with a longbow to get your accuracy where it needs to be, but if you are looking for a challenge, try out a longbow in the woods.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

Are public waterways off-limits?

It depends on what state you are in. For example, it is legal in Missouri but illegal in Florida. Riverbeds are a good place to find arrowheads, but make sure it is legal.

Often, anything you find in a river is the property of the state, so it may be illegal to take anything you find. It can be illegal to dive for arrowheads without a permit.

Trespassing laws usually do not cover rivers. If the river is big enough to take a canoe down easily, it is usually legal to use the river. Check the laws in your state.

Is it legal to dig for arrowheads?

It is not legal to dig up archeological sites. Digging for artifacts on Federal land or Indian reservations is illegal under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979.

The act is there to protect sites valuable to archeologists from being dug up by amateurs who will not learn valuable archeological information. The laws also protect native cultural heritage sites. It is considered looting to dig up a burial mound.

Oddly, the laws do not apply to natural artifacts, such as dinosaur fossils. You can dig for fossils on public land. Fossils are considered paleontological rather than archeological, so the act does not apply.

Digging up burial mounds is disrespectful and illegal. You cannot dig up an area where you find human remains or assume you are likely to find them even on your own property.

It is not necessary to illegally dig up burial sites to find good arrowheads. One of the best places to find arrowheads is near rivers, where it is usually legal to look for arrowheads.

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You can also find arrowheads after a flood, even a small flood that does not damage any property. When a river floods, it disturbs the ground and can uncover artifacts.

The 1979 act does not apply to private land, so it is legal to dig for arrowheads. The owner of the property must be willing to let you dig, or else you could be charged with damaging their property. You cannot dig up human burial sites even on private property.

How do the laws in Texas compare to laws in other states?

In Texas, property owners decide what happens to artifacts on their land. This reinforces the legality of digging up sites without having an archeological permit.

If you find artifacts on someone else’s property and you have permission from the owner to keep what you find, you can take and sell the arrowheads. Texas property rights mean that the owner can decide to do what they want with archeological sites on their property.

Do a lot of people look for artifacts illegally?

Yes, some antique dealers illegally dig up sites on private property to find artifacts to sell. Some even hire people to dig up sites at night. This is illegal and unethical for many reasons, including because it damages the owner’s property.

Artifacts found by archeologists are taken out of the ground carefully while collecting as much information as possible. They take detailed notes and photograph everything as it is removed from the ground.

If someone digs up a burial mound without notes and photographs, it stops being possible to learn as much about the site as archeologists could have.

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Campsites are not quite the same as burial mounds. It may be more ethical or legal to dig up campsites. The best place to find arrowheads is on or near the surface.

How old are the oldest arrowheads in Texas?

Projectile points as much as 16000 years old have been found in Texas. These spear or dart points are some of the oldest tools ever found in the Americas.

This surprised the discoverers, who did not expect to find anything that old in Texas. The points are more than 2000 years older than anything previously found in the area.

How long ago people came to the Americas is not known for sure. A conservative estimate is still only about 16000 years, roughly as old as the recent finds in Texas. Most archeologists believe 20,000 years is the best estimate.

However, evidence is building up in favor of much earlier dates. There may have been people in the Americas for about twice that long.

Even how people reached the Americas is disputed. Arguably, some people reached South America from Australia and Melanesia at a very early date. Many people came from Siberia to Alaska, but other people may have reached the Americans in other ways.