I know their is a reasonable answer but I couldnt find it. Anyone know why you cant use a centerfire bolt action rifle to hunt in NJ. It looks like you cant use it in certain areas of PA either.

Population.

I always heard that it is because we are densely populated in NJ. A rifle bullet can go for a few miles, whereas a shotgun slug will go around 3700 feet.

 

Whether or not that is true, it's what I heard.

 

But on the other hand, not being able to use buckshot except for certain areas of PA doesn't really make sense either.

 

I asked my friend why and he said "There's too many people hunting.. so if you multiply that by 9, someone's getting tagged"..

Thanks for the quick answer. Thats what I thought the reasoning was around Philly but didnt make sense it the less populated NJ areas.

lt seems like at least once a year you hear about some yahoo in NY taking a shot at a deer with a centerfire and it ends up killing some kid in a trailer a mile away.

 

I have to agree with the rules for NJ. Even in the least dense parts of the state, there are few areas where there aren't people living less than 2 miles in any direction.

I agree, you guys pretty much summed it up, but I would add...Is it just me, or is the shotgun just soooo much more fun to hunt with...You have such a diversity of ammo you can use on the same hunt, and the solid kick/crack of the shotgun...Maybe its just me, but I love hunting with my shotgun...