USMC1341

I did both my Archery and Firearms this past Sunday as well. It was super smooth and easy. @Mrs. Peel You definitely don't have anything to worry about regarding the shotgun. I used the shotgun provided, which was a very nice semi-auto 20 gauge. The way the one I attended rolled, everyone just walked up to get checked in upon arrival, then got in line. (Seems you could arrive early even as long as you're registered). For those using the provided shotgun, they explained the operation entirely. Everyone I saw only had to fire two rounds, one round loaded at a time at a clay on your call your pull. One woman in front of me was very nervous, and the instructor gave her some guidance on how to better shoulder the gun after her first shot, along with a few other pointers on how to aim, etc... Then she hit her second clay and boom she was done. But then, low and behold the gentleman in front of me appeared fairly competent and yet missed both clays. He still passed. Easy peazy. Mostly they seem to be observing that you understand how to load and operate the shotgun safely. After what others here said I was not really nervous about the firearms test, and can confirm it was super easy, and overall I suspect everyone in attendance passed. I had a lot more anxiety about the archery qualification since it actually measured skill. After not having practiced much since the winter, I was pleasantly surprised that was not too difficult either. I was scheduled for shotgun at 10:00am and archery at 11:00am. I arrived at 9:36 and was out of there by 10:07 with both of my "competency cards?". All in all it was an easy experience, and then after picking up my license later in the day it made the entire process feel almost uneventful. Oh and I think other's asked above. I got my yellow cards from each table. Then I just stopped by Dick's later out of convenience and got my license.

I'm taking mine at the end of April. I'll let you know how it goes! I'm going almost completely unprepared for the firearms portion. Maybe I'll have regrets.

Forget revolvers. That's old school boomer land. Get a pistol that can accept a red dot. The optic can be used to make it easier to rack the slide and makes accuracy feel like cheating. No for reals, a revolver is not a bad option. If you find some to try out, you can probably find one that the double action isn't too bad, but not too bad to me, might be horrible to you. At any rate, definitely shy away from anything snub nosed and light for a first gun. A full size 4 incher will be heavy enough to soak up recoil, and you can get perfectly adequate 38 special defensive loads. That said, if you are confident you can run a semi-auto pistol, and plan to train and practice with it. It's the route I'd recommend. And don't forget the dot! Welcome... guns... even one gun... gets expensive fast!

You guys crack me up thinking Republicans want to protect your rights.

I'm down for one if you do another class. I missed the last one. I got to shoot a few IDPA matches years ago, but I'd love to get schooled. Another thing to add for @Cheflife15, if you are having trouble reaching the safety during draw. On a DA/SA like a typical CZ 75, it is not out of the question to carry off safe with it decocked. It depends on your comfort level of course. Some people just prefer to carry on safe. (I know some CZ shadows come in single action only and in that case this would not apply). On a DA/SA with a safety you can decock / put the pistol on safe, then unsafe. The heavy double action is considered heavy enough a trigger pull to be safe enough to carry in a holster with the safety off. Single action is NOT. When holstering with the pistol decocked and safety off you can thumb the hammer while holstering carefully. Never be in a hurry to holster. If you feel any resistance or the hammer start to move stop holstering. Pretty much every DA/SA I know of also has the option to change over to be a decocker only so it springs back after activating the decock mechanism, so that is something you could look into as well.

It may have been mentioned in another topic, but I wanted to make sure this was made publicly aware. For those in the 4th district. Chris Smith was one of the few Republicans who voted yes on both H.R. 8: Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 and H.R. 1446: Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h75 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h77 Hurray for NJ. I think either are not too likely to pass in the Senate myself. But these are two of the more "palatable" and "reasonable" gun control measures, and they've made it to the Senate, and with the help of one of the few Republican reps from our state.

It probably has to do with how Sig sends them out or labels them to dealers? Also, there is no 320 FCU rifle it could technically turn into that I'm aware of, so maybe it is assumed it's a pistol. I also was thinking that 320 FCUs were something you can just buy stand alone and then add frame, slide, etc... later, but a few people I know just told me they haven't seen that yet. I think they're typically packaged with at least a frame, if not frame + slide + barrel. So that is clearly a pistol. Anyways... Back to PDPs. I'm intrigued and hope to see them showing up in shops.

An AR lower is also serialized, but it's not a pistol and it's not a rifle. It's "other". So how can the state of NJ require a P2P for something that's not a pistol? Just saying...

Dumb question. Does a 320 FCG count as a pistol in NJ? Sorry to detract from the OP, but that just occurred to me. Hmmmm...

I haven't seen any in the wild yet, but it did peak my interest. As I understand it at some point they're going to offer frames and slides separately.... quasai similar concept as the P320 FCG and customize the gun to you're liking. I'd be down for a compact frame and long slide PDP.

Thanks. I already completed the course online and have a voucher for the live fire from this past September. I think they may be conducting it mostly remotely this way now due to Covid. I went ahead and registered for both on the same date an hour apart, since it looks like spots are already scarce.. My guess is the in person portion for the live fire must allow you to complete one in an hour and move on to the other, knock on wood.

I'm looking to complete the live fire qualification to finally get my NJ hunting license. I'd like to get both my archery and firearms completed. For those who have done this in the past, is it feasible to do both on the same morning? For instance they'll have Archery at 9:00am, and then Firearm at 10:00am. Will I need to visit on two separate days to get both? I'm just not sure how the class / qual is run and if there would be too much overlap, or if they are scheduled an hour apart to allow people to complete both on the same visit. I missed getting into an open slot for the fall/winter, trying to figure out when I can make it out before they all fill up for the spring. Thanks in advance!

Nice... I have an RDO slide. I've been trying to get my hands on an SRO, but every time I get notified of one in stock I miss out. Eventually I'll get one. I did shoot a couple of boxes with an optic I got for another pistol, but can't wait to get something permanent for the Beretta.

I'm not a new gun owner. However, I am new (as of 2020) to purchasing guns (and ammo) as a NJ resident. I moved to NJ in 2016 knowing the gun laws in NJ sucked. I had to go through the painful process of verifying everything I owned and was brining with me into NJ was legal to own in NJ. This included me whittling a few pistols out of my collection that in their natural unadulterated state used magazines with more than 15 rounds, just because you know... eh... regrets. Now of course all the remaining15 rounders have been neutered to 10. It hurts so much more when things get even worse. I kinda put my shooting hobby on the back burner for a bit. Being a NJ resident in reality sorta demotivated me towards it. But damn, it's kinda one of my "things". Well F* you NJ. I'm back into it. I'm one of the lucky ones. My town seems pretty 2A friendly. The local PD has never given me any trouble with FID or pistol permits. However, the process is painful, and sad. Oh, how I do miss the days of walking into an LGS and seeing something I liked and just buying it there and walking out 20 minutes later. The fact that anyone can be grateful it only takes 30 days to be allowed to exercise a constitutionally protected right is a sad state of affairs indeed.

I'm too far away too, or I would totally take you up on this.