SgtToadette

So I'm quite new to the world of firearms. In fact, I made my first purchase this past Tuesday (Walther PPQ for those curious). Inevitably my friends, family, co-workers, etc. begin to find out as I begin to take time off for range time or firearm related events. In what was probably a big mistake, in my excitement I posted a few pictures of my new prized possession on Facebook and it seems to have triggered (no pun intended) everyone's stupid button. I now have people making quick mentions about my owning a gun. Most of it isn't malicious, but I can only hear the "Remember I was nice to you!" crap a few dozen times before it gets under my skin. I've explained I plan on doing range-work and testing the water of competitions, but even eavesdroppers radiate a judgmental aura. I feel to a certain extent, hiding something I enjoy because I'm afraid of what people will think seems like I have something to be ashamed of. I also think that in a state where guns are a foreign concepts to most people I can be an instrument of education on the subject, or at least a catalyst for people to explore their curiosity. So how do you guys/gals go about this hobby when dealing with friends, family, and co-workers? Should I be less open about it?

Yeah it's in the same shopping center as the Stop n' Shop. Just remember to take the jug-handle if you're coming from the circle since you can't make a left at the light.

Sorry I'm a bit late to the thread here but I'm more than happy to join you guys! June 13th. Starbucks. 6:00pm. See you guys there!

1. Application type: Initial FID with 3 P2Ps. 2. Police Department where you applied: Hopewell Township 3. Name of the person you dealt with at the PD: Detective Dan McKeown 4. Time taken to issue FID and/or permit: Applied April 10th, 2012. Fingerprinted April 18th, 2012. Notified of completion on May 16th, 2012. FID and P2Ps acquired May 22, 2012. Time from application to acquisition 42 days. Time from fingerprinting to completion 28 days. Time from application to completion 36 days. 5. Documents required by the PD (aside from the standard application and the mental health release form): References each filled out this form. Was handed in along with STS- 033 and SPS- 66. 6. Notes - anything pertaining to the application process: Det. McKeown was easy to deal with and very professional. Had some slight trouble getting in contact with him after a message was left stating that my FID was completed, but nothing a follow-up call didn't fix. Information on the police website was out of date. Overall a good experience. Well...as good as government red tape can be, that is.

A big thank you to everybody for their input! I ended up going through TJ's Sporting Arms. Tony was great to deal with and the PPQ I ended up buying was at a very fair price. It was a bit of a hike for me but well worth it for the whole experience. +1 from me for TJ's!

Sorry I didn't specify what I was looking for. I'm interested in mostly Walther PPQs, HK P30s, and Sig Sauer P226s.

Cheyenne Outfitters. The guy behind the counter was great to work with. I shouldn't say that they had a limited selection overall, just not a lot of what I was looking for like Sigs and HKs.

I visited there a month or so ago. They were good people to deal with, I did find their selection to be a bit limited but it never hurts to check back!

I was thinking of skipping BH, too. I've read too many horror stories to think that they're simply isolated incidents. I'll google the others you mentioned! Thanks! -Zack B.

To my knowledge, the time it would take to wear the spring in a magazine at max capacity to a point where it will affect functionality is so long it isn't worth considering not doing it.

Hey guy and gals, I'm going to hit up some shops here in NJ tomorrow to try to get a lay of the land and possibly buy my first gun. I've looked around and decided on a few locations: Shore Shot Guns, Brick Armory, The Bullet Hole, Arms-n-Ammo, and... TJ Sporting Arms. Are there any other NJ locations I should take a look at? Do you guys have any experience with the shops above? Do some have better selection than others? I want to know whatcha' all think! I'm hoping that I get my permits tomorrow, presuming the reason the detective called my home last Wednesday was to let me know my permits were in (I'd know for sure if he returned my call back). Time will tell! Thanks! -Zack B.

Good read!

I've heard from hearsay that firearm ownership will increase your homeowner's insurance payments. Any truth to this? It seems kind of sketchy me. If it helps I'm insured under New Jersey Manufacturers.

I always suggest that people are polite, cordial, and professional when dealing with police. I certainly respect them as people and professionals. I don't recommend being abrasive or confrontational. I don't suggest having a know-it-all attitude. My advice is for the person who finds themselves in a situation where a law enforcement officer is accusing them of carrying a prohibited weapon and/or is trying to confiscate their knife. If an officer tries to make the claim that since my knife is spring-assisted it's switchblade, I will professionally correct them and demonstrate that I take the carrying of knives seriously. The sad truth of the matter is that when you have immature teenagers who carry around and play with cheap, $10 WalMart knives because they think it makes them cool, it creates the impression that all people who carry knives have that same juvenile attitude. As a responsible and law-abiding citizen I feel it's my duty to understand what the law allows me and to treat potentially dangerous items with the respect they deserve. If the police officer won't have any of it, then you're absolutely right and there's not going to be much I can do regardless of the impression I attempt to create. If I do come off as a pain in the a**, I'd rather have minor charges tacked on then face potentially more severe repercussions. The best advice would be simply to not be in that situation to begin with and the phrase "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" seems to ring very true, especially in the Garden State.

Yeah NJ law is funny like that. I try to commit to memory the definitions, particularly what a "switchblade" is legally defined as. A lot of people have a preconceived notion that anything that has a spring action is a switchblade, and under typical, non-legal vernacular they are correct. However, the law specifies that a switchblade is only a switchblade if it is released via a component on the handle, therefore assisted knives, such as the one I carry, are not legally considered switchblades under NJ law. If a cop accuses me of possessing one, and I can legally show/explain to him/her that they are not legally correct, they likely won't have much else to go off of. I also try to memorize the need to have an "explainable lawful purpose." It doesn't say it has to be a good reason, just a lawful one. What's lawful? Section 2C doesn't say, but I presume that since this is America, I can't be punished for laws not on the books, so lawful would mean anything not specified to be unlawful. If I claim I carry a knife to open packaging, cut my seatbelt in an event of a collision, and/or for work related purposes, since all of those all lawful purposes, I am not guilty of a crime (at least in a very nit-picky, technical kind of way). I'm not the kind of person who likes to split hairs or get hung up on semantics, but when I live in a state where I am guilty until proven innocent because intentionally vague laws were created because people " ," I feel it's a necessity to turn that vagueness in my favor to keep my bottom out of jail/court.

I recommend printing out 2 reference sheets with the knife laws laid out. Keep one in your vehicle, and the other folded away in your wallet. If you carry everyday, I recommend committing a few of the laws, including the numerical designations, to memory. If you can create the impression that you know the laws, and know them well, in an encounter with Law Enforcement your odds of coming out unscathed go up dramatically. If you are arrested and the encounter is being recorded, you have on record that you informed the officer of the laws and that they chose to ignore them. This will presumably give you a lot better advantage in court should it come to that. This is what I carry. IANAL. In response to the comment immediately above me, appearance shouldn't matter legally, but it can matter when officer discretion is in play. I no longer carry a "tactical" looking knife (black coated blade, black handle) and opted for one less menacing in appearance for that reason.

I suppose I'm lucky. I always thought shooting with both eyes open was easy and natural. Here's a related link: Eye dominance.

I've been watching more than my fair share of YouTube, believe me! My biggest worry is with this whole gun scare phenomena going on. I know the situations is bad now but I can only imagine what will happen once presidential debates, interviews, and ads start coming around on TV. Especially with this whole Trayvon/Zimmerman massive media attention going on.

I didn't but I know of him and a lot of people I work with do, too. Seems like a stand-up guy. I actually didn't catch the name of the Detective I spoke with when I handed in my paperwork. I'll wait a few more weeks and see what happens. Thanks!

Awesome! I'm located less than 2 miles from the high school. The Detective I spoke to was friendly and easy to talk to. The dispatcher, eh, not so much. I'm gonna give them a call today and see what the course of action is. Nice to have a few neighbors on the forum! EDIT: Won't call based off your post in my other thread. =)

Bummer. I'll give 'em a call tomorrow and politely ask them what the course of action is. Thanks for the info. I'd rather not have to be too persistent.

Oh yeah. I applied for 3.

Hey guy/gals. I'm going through the application process now for my FID card and will be sure to post a final report when everything resolves. I just had a question or two about the process. First I feel I should get some details out of the way: I handed in all the forms to my local PD on April 10th, 2012. I was fingerprinted on April 18th, 2012. I have not been contacted by my PD since April 10th, 2012. I was not requested to hand in certified checks for associated FID fees at the time forms were submitted. Since it is now the end of April and it's been about two weeks since I was fingerprinted, should my PD have contacted me by now? Should I call and check up? I understand that NJ FIDs can take upwards of several months to process, but my concern is that since they have not collected my certified checks, my application is just laying in a filing cabinet of a local detective collecting dust. I don't want to be obnoxious and call prematurely about what could be a non-issue. On a related note, I payed Safran (the third party company that fingerprinted me) a 57.50 fee via my credit card online. I assume that covers the fingerprinting fee that I had a certified check made out for and I would consequently no longer need the check (I'm still holding onto it to be safe). If you need clarification please tell me. It's hard enough for me to try to understand the process let alone explain what I don't know. Thanks! -Zack

Hello fellow NJ gun enthusiasts! My name's Zack. If you didn't gather from the title, I'm a resident of Hopewell. Hopewell's located about 30 minutes or so north of Trenton in Mercer County if that helps the more visually inclined out there. I'm rather new to guns. I'm only 21 and I'm going through the FID application process as I type. I applied on April 10th (the day after my 21st birthday) and was fingerprinted on April 18th. I am yet to hear anything from my PD, and I actually have a few questions regarding the subject that I'll try to find a more appropriate area of the forum for. If all goes as planned, I hope to be a proud FID card-carrying member of the forum. I recently completed the NRA First Steps program offered by Gun For Hire and had a total blast. Was worth every penny. I've spent at least the last two years researching various makes, models, and calibers in an attempt to find the perfect first pistol for me. I've narrowed it down to a few different firearms (ordered from most desired to "least"): H&K P30L V2 in 9mm, Walther PPQ in 9 mm, and... Sig Sauer P226 Enhanced Elite in (you guessed it) 9mm. I'm really excited to have found a gun community dedicated to New Jersey residents. I'm sure we can all understand our *ahem* "unique" situation compared to the more free states in the union. I'm a curious person by nature and will probably be asking a lot of questions. That said, I realize my place in the grand scheme and know that being relatively new inherently makes me very prone to error. If I say something wrong, use incorrect terminology, or make an incorrect inference please, by all means, LET ME KNOW! I'm here to learn, contribute, and observe. If anybody has experience with any of the firearms above let me know what your experience was! If you have any recommendations for a first pistol I also appreciate the input. As a disclaimer, however, I don't have much of an interest in Glocks. I was certified in the class mentioned above with a Glock 19 and have held a Glock 17 and didn't care for the grip angle or aesthetics. M&Ps felt a bit awkward in hand but they are by all reports very respectable firearms. The XD(M)s I tried fit my hand well, but were outclassed in the ergos department by H&K. I'm also curious about Gun Shops in the Central entire Jersey area. I'm willing to pay a little extra and drive a little further if it means supporting a good gun shop with newbie friendly staff. Thanks for going through my long-winded introduction. If there's one thing I've learned from my research, it's that gun owners hate it when new people assume too much, so I hope I'm starting off on a good foot. -Zack