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.

Me babies...

Yep... I wouldn't want to try that argument myself. I think you clarified how the law works best as it relates to how it is executed. I missed the clause regarding "a dealer shall not knowingly deliver more than one handgun to any person".

@Dr. Goodshot I agree you could look at it that way. However... what if I purchase from somewhere out of state and have it shipped to an FFL. I've "purchased" something from vendor X and had it shipped to FFL Y. At that point my financial transaction for a handgun has completed with vendor x once it's delivered to the FFL. The rest is legal paper pushing more or less to satisfy the feds and the state. I know I'm actually making an argument that makes the current law even worse, and I'm glad that isn't what we practice. I'm not expecting it to suddenly be handled differently, nor am I saying I want it to be. Is there a point to this? Mostly I'm trying to just understand how to follow the actual law, despite what is common practice. I feel like there must be some piece I'm missing. But I suspect there isn't. This is just how everyone does it. @45Doll I'm with you, and I've just gone with the flow. The thing that makes me feel uneasy is how clear as mud it is, yet how unfriendly the state is towards ownership. Mostly I was trying to see if I missed something and it was more clearly defined somewhere or the AG, or NJSP had provided some guidance or something.

@Mr.Stu Believe me I'm not under any misconception that politicians creating these laws have any level of logic. Complete and utter unlogical thinking goes into every one of these. @45Doll I appreciate that the transfer date on the permit is all that matters. But why? I'm not trying to argue here by any means or spread any misinformation. I'm legitimately asking where this is defined by law, because all I've read in regards to this is that you can only purchase a handgun every 30 days. Transfer date, or date of taking legal possession doesn't appear to be mentioned, although it may be implied.

I hear ya, and this seems to be the common practice, however where in the law does it say this? Back to my point, what is actually enforceable by law? The law says purchase every 30 days, but it doesn't say anything about date of transfer. I could be really, really wrong about this, but it seems like everyone has communally figured out a way to try to comply with the law in a way that seems sorta logical, but it doesn't really appear to be in line with what the law actually says. We do things like this: Purchase 2 handguns today, use one permit today, wait for NICS to come back, transfer 1 handgun. Wait 30 (or 31 days to be safe), go back to FFL and start NICS for handgun 2. But the law says "purchase" not transfer into possession. It would seem this would be more in line with the law: Buy one handgun today, wait 30 (or 31 days) to be safe, purchase another handgun, then process 2 permits for both handguns. Wait for NICS to come back clear, take 2 handguns home. As long as I have a permit for each handgun this would appear to be fine, but my guess is one or both permits would get denied in the NICS system because they weren't done 30 days apart. I know it sounds ridiculous, and I'm not advocating for the second one, but you see my point. The law says purchase every 30 days, it says nothing about transferring into possession. And neither one accomplishes anything better than the other. In fact my proposal around what I think may actually be legal according to how it's worded could be considered worse. I'm wondering if we just all go along with what the state has deemed acceptable to do, but that under the law, everyone is doing it wrong, to include us citizens, the FFLs and the authorities. Maybe the NJSP and attorney general have provided guidance to FFLs on what's kosher and what's not. Anyways, I'll shut up about this now. It's just so poorly written and not in line with all the other hoops and hurdles to even obtain a handgun in the first place, if it wasn't so bad it'd actually be funny.

Sorry to hear that RobCo, and I definitely don't know the answer. But situations like this is exactly why I asked the question. Also, it may be stated elsewhere in the law (I think it is, but it may also just be my assumption based on how we handle things here in NJ), but here's another question. What if it isn't a purchase? What if someone gifts you a gun. I'm not talking about family member transfers, etc.. I mean literally you get gifted a handgun. Or maybe you win a raffle, etc... That isn't a purchase, so setting aside whether you need a Handgun Purchase Permit or not aside (because that's even another layer of questions), what if you just purchased a handgun, then win a handgun in a raffle, or contest, etc... Do you need to wait 30 days? And I say "need to wait" but I should ask: By law, am I required to wait 30 days? Because it's not a purchase. We might make someone wait 30 days, and an FFL may not submit your paperwork, and / or the NJSP, might deny you... but by law, is it actually legal, since it's not a purchase. The law is pretty clear that the 30 days is for purchase.

This is what I see in practice, but this isn't what the law says. Also, there seems to be some discrepancy on when you can process your next NICS for handgun. Is it 30 days from your last NICS? Or is it 30 days from when you pick up the handgun?... which we all no nowadays is going to be at the earliest within 3 biz days from when you start NICS if you're lucky. Sorry, that's throwing even more gas on the fire with questions about practice and what's actually required by law.

I'm sure this has been discussed here thoroughly, but I keep getting conflicting information. My goal here is to act as a responsible legal citizen and avoid self imposing restrictions that don't really exist in the law. My questions are around the 30 days between handgun purchase requirement: Restriction on number of firearms person may purchase. Only one handgun shall be purchased or delivered on each permit and no more than one handgun shall be purchased within any 30-day period, but this limitation shall not apply to.... My interpretation (which is probably meaningless) is that the intent is to prevent the good people of NJ with handgun permits from taking possession of a new handgun every 30 days, because too much of a good thing will kill us all. However it says "purchase within any 30-day period", not take possession of. Purchasing indicates to me a financial transaction and has little to nothing to do with whether you have possession of an item. I purchase stuff on Amazon all the time, but I don't have possession until they deliver it. How has this law been applied in NJ? Do they really enforce the purchase within 30 days, or do they enforce the possession within 30 days? Is it legal to purchase a handgun on Feb 1st from LGS, and then purchase another one on Feb 2nd and wait until 30 days from Feb 1 to begin your paperwork at your FFL to then take "possession" of said handgun? For that matter can you purchase 2, 3, 4... 1000 handguns on a single day, and simply not take possession of each one until you have your a valid handgun permit and it's been 30 days between each? I'm not expecting legal advice, and I'm not going to take any comments or responses as such unless you are actually an attorney and I pay you for such advice. My assumption here is that this is one of those laws that is loosely defined and understood, and could be enforced on the whim of the DA but wondering how this is typically handled because I've been told different things by different people. This should be well understood I think by FFL's and no offense to any here, but that doesn't mean that FFL's even know for sure and don't impose restrictions on themselves doing transactions with customers to play it safe to stay within the law, which I totally understand. No one wants to be caught with their pants down while exercising their rights or providing the service to citizens choosing to do so. We don't need to get into the debate about any law being a roadblock to exercising a constitutional right should be considered an infringement. The law sounds simple and clear to the layman, but with the other requirements around handgun purchases, actual execution in the real world is another story. I'm interested to hear people's thoughts.

To answer the OPs question... Why is it 5+ days in NJ and still minutes to hours in other states doing NICS checks? I'm no expert and have zero first hand knowledge, but I've asked the same question at my FFL out of curiosity. I was told the difference in many other states is they do an instant NICS check (directly to NICS database). In NJ it goes to the State Police and they have a trained squirrel who reviews each NICS application by clicking a button for an acorn when it gets hungry, which then sends each NICS check out to the NICS system. I think they generally keep the squirrel overfed, so it doesn't click the "give me an acorn" button very often. Oh and the squirrel is a state employee, so of course it only works Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, minus at least 1 hour for lunch, and is off on holidays (usually getting fat and overfed) obviously. BTW... I'm only being half sarcastic. My understanding is that this is basically how NICS gets processed in NJ. Someone has to do something with each check before it actually gets processed through the federal NICS system. It ain't automated. Well it is, with a meat sack in the middle to slow it all to a crawl. Someone here probably knows better, but that's what I've been told.

You guys should get video up of the matches you shoot. When is the next one?