I am playing the Devils advocate here.

 

My dad had legally inherited a bunch of longarms, pistols, and air rifles/pistols years back. Him and I both of FID's currently, I was probably 17 at the time.

 

A few of the air pistols are of 1950's/1960's vintage. I am kind of annoyed that I legally cant take any of the pistols and shoot in the woods, because one of them is a really nice Crosman .22 air pistol.

 

Anyway, how would he transfer an air pistol to me legally, one that was never made with a serial number? Because of the PRNJ, I really dont want to "own" it anyway.

 

Also, if someone has a good linky on what NJ's home defense laws are, that would be great. 'Cause I am pretty sure if I pick up the .45 (which is my dads) and shoot somebody who is attempting to murder me inside my home, I still go to the Jersey Gulag.

You would need a pistol permit for each air pistol for it to be legal. Also self defense, especially with a firearm, is a tricky subject in NJ and has been covered numerous times on this forum. Search function is your friend.

I am not sure how you would transfer an air pistol without a serial number. If you have no desire to take them outside and shoot, your best bet would probably be to sell them to someone out of state and forget about em.

 

As for a home defense type situation, that topic has been beaten to death here. The only thing that should concern you is this...

 

If someone FORCES you to shoot them, when there is no other option, then shoot them, and worry about the consequences afterward. Do not go looking to shoot someone even if they force entry into your home. Even if a shoot is ruled 100% legit, you will spend upwards of 20k to defend yourself from criminal prosecution and in the resulting civil suit. Only use deadly force if there is no other option.

Too many missing variables here:

Are you a NJ resident? (please edit your preferences location)

Is your father a NJ resident? (makes a difference)

I'll assume that he owns everything and you want to take permanent possession.

No serial number does not matter unless it had one to start with.

If you don't want the firearm, why ask?

"Shooting in the woods" legality is determined by your local jurisdiction.