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SPORTING NEWS
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
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posted 8/17/07
NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - 2007-2008 Game Code Amendments
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2007-2008 Game Code Amendments
May 17, 2007
The Fish and Game Council adopted amendments to the 2007-2008 Game Code at
their May 8, 2007 meeting. The amendments become effective five days after
they are published in the NJ Register which should occur in August, 2007.
The following changes will be in effect for upcoming seasons. Please refer
to the 2007 hunting edition of the Fish and Wildlife Digest, due out in
August, for specific season dates and other information.
BEAVER & OTTER: The late check-in for pelts is extended from seven to 20
days.
FALCONRY: Kestrels are eliminated from apprentice possession.
WOODCHUCK HUNTING: The use of rifles is excluded from all State Parks,
Forests, and Recreation Areas.
OPOSSUM & RACCOON HUNTING: Hunting season dates which were omitted in Code
have been restored (October 1 to March 1).
DEER HUNTING:
1 - Antler point restrictions are removed from Deer Management Zone 6
only.
2 - The Earn-A-buck regulation is reduced in Regulation Set 8 (Zones 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 36, 41, 49, 50 and 51) to the first three weeks
of the Fall Bow season only. Bank-A-Doe is thereby eliminated.
3 - Regulation Set 8's (Zones 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 36, 41, 49,
50 and 51) early, antlerless-only days of the Permit Shotgun and Permit
Muzzleloader seasons are moved from Thanksgiving week to the Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving; the Permit Bow season is added to
the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week.
4 - Antlered Bag Limit/ Permit Season Changes
The total legal antlered deer bag limit per individual remains the same,
at six deer. The number of antlered deer a hunter is allowed to harvest
with each hunting license remains the same. Bow license holders are
allowed to harvest an antlered deer in both the Fall Bow and Winter Bow
seasons; firearm license holders are still allowed to harvest two antlered
deer during the Six-day Firearm season or harvest one antlered deer during
Six-day Firearm and one antlered deer during the Permit Shotgun season
beginning the Wednesday after the Six-day Firearm Season. If a second
antlered deer is not taken during the Six-day Firearm Season, a Shotgun
Permit holder may purchase a Bonus Shotgun Permit to harvest an antlered
deer during the shotgun permit season following the Six-day Firearm
season. A supplemental tag to allow a hunter to bag a second antlered deer
during the Six-day Firearm season will be issued at the deer check station
when a hunter checks in the first deer. This supplemental tag will be
valid only for the Six-day Firearm season.
Bow, Muzzleloader, and Shotgun zone-specific permits are now for the
harvest of antlerless deer only. If a hunter wishes to pursue and harvest
an antlered deer during any of these permit seasons, they must purchase an
additional Bonus Bow, Bonus Muzzleloader, or Bonus Shotgun permit (cost
$28). Hunters may only purchase a Bonus Shotgun permit for an antlered
deer if they did not harvest two antlered deer during the Six-day Firearm
season. These Bonus permits are not zone specific and can be used in any
zone for which the hunter already has an antlerless zone permit. The Bonus
permit may NOT be used in a zone in which the hunter does not already
possess an antlerless zone permit. Hunters may only purchase one Bonus
permit per season.
5 - Special Areas Information
A new special area zone is added (Zone 68) in Woodland Township,
Burlington County for the Franklin Parker Preserve, a property co-owned
and managed by the NJ Conservation Foundation and the NJ Div. of Parks and
Forestry.
The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge's Zone 58 is split into two
separate zones. The existing Zone 58, north of Route 72 will keep its
designation; south of Route 72 is now Zone 70. Zone 57's season structure
is changed.
Monmouth Battlefield State Park (Zone 64) adds the Six-day Firearm and
Winter Bow seasons; the Permit Shotgun season is moved to coincide with
the Six-day season.
Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (Zone 59) is incorporated into
the surrounding Zone 63; Supawna Meadows will be open only during all bow
seasons and is closed to firearm deer hunting.
Lakehurst Naval Engineering Station (Zone 53), and Earle Naval Weapons
Station (Zone 40), have season format changes.
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Copyright © State of New Jersey, 1996-2007
Department of Environmental Protection
P. O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
Last Updated: May 17, 2007
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Posted 8/17/07
NJ 2007-2008 Deer Regulation Sets
REGULATION SET # 1: ZONE -4
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless permit for more than one
zone in a season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season. Properly licensed
hunters are still limited to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (24-days): September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
Permit Bow (25-days): October 27 - November 24, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck bow permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not to
purchase the bonus buck bow permit then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for qualified youth hunters only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth hunter accompanied by a
similar licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm season.
Permit Muzzleloader (12-days): November 26, 27 and December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not
to purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to harvest an antlered
deer during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (1-day): December 12, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer. It may be antlered if the bonus buck shotgun permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not to
purchase the bonus buck shotgun permit, or harvested two antlered deer during the Six-day Firearm season, then the bag limit is one
antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Winter Bow (27-days): January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
REGULATION SET # 2: ZONES - 1, 3*, 21, 23, 24, 43, 45, 46
* Any antlered deer taken in Zone 3 must have at least three antler points on one side of the rack.
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless permit for more than one zone in
season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season. Properly licensed hunters are still limited to
ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (24-days): September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
Permit Bow (25-days): October 27 - November 24, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck bow permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not to purchase the
bonus buck bow permit then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for qualified youth hunters only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth hunter accompanied by a similar
licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm season.
Permit Muzzleloader (21-days): November 26, 27; December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 26 - 31, 2007; and January 1 - 4, 2008
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not to
purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit, then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to harvest an antlered deer
during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (1-day): December 12, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer. It may be antlered if the bonus buck shotgun permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses not to purchase the
bonus buck shotgun permit or harvested two antlered deer during the Six-day firearm season, then the bag limit is one antlerless deer only. (See
note above).
Winter Bow (27-days): January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
REGULATION SET # 3: ZONES - 6, 18, 30, 34, 55, 65 5
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless permit for more than one zone in
a season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season. Properly licensed hunters are still
limited to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (24-days): September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
Permit Bow (25-days): October 27 - November 24, 2007
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck bow permit is purchased. However, if the hunter chooses
not to purchase
the bonus buck bow permit then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for qualified youth hunters only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth hunter
accompanied by a
similar licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm season.
Permit Muzzleloader (21-days): November 26, 27; December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 26 - 31, 2007; and January 1 - 4, 2008
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit is purchased. However, if the
hunter chooses not to
purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit, then the bag limit is two antlerless deer only. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to
harvest an antlered deer
during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (3-days): December 12 - 14 2007
Season bag limit is two deer. ONE may be antlered if the bonus buck shotgun permit is purchased. However, if the hunter
chooses not to
purchase the bonus buck shotgun permit or harvested two antlered deer during the Six-day firearm season, then the bag
limit is two antlerless
deer only. (See note above).
Winter Bow (27-days): January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is two deer - only ONE may be antlered.
REGULATION SET # 4: ZONES - 2, 16, 22, 26, 27*, 28, 29*, 31, 35*, 47, 63*
* Any antlered deer taken in Zone 27, 29, 35 or 63 must have at least three antler points on one side of the rack.
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless
permit for more than one zone in
season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season.
Properly licensed hunters are still limited
to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (42-days):
First deer must be antlerless: September 8 - 28, 2007
First deer may be antlered or antlerless: September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
Permit Bow (55-days): October 27 - December 24, 26 - 31, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck bow permit is
purchased. (See note above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for any qualified youth hunter only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth
hunter accompanied by a
similar licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm
season.
Permit Muzzleloader (21-days): November 26, 27; December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 26 - 31, 2007; and January 1 - 4, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit
is purchased. However,
if the hunter chooses not to purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit , then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer
only. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to
harvest an antlered deer
during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (10-days): December 12 - 14, 2007; and January 5 - 12, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck shotgun permit is
purchased. However, if the
hunter harvests two antlered deer during the Six-day firearm season, then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer only.
(See note above).
Winter Bow (27-days): January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
REGULATION SET # 6: ZONES - 5, 17, 19, 25, 42, 48 REGULATION SET # 6: ZONES - 5, 17, 19, 25, 42, 48
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless
permit for more than one zone
in a season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season.
Properly licensed hunters are
still limited to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (42-days):
First deer must be antlerless: September 8 - 28, 2007
First deer may be antlered or antlerless: September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
Permit Bow (55-days): October 27 - December 24, 26 - 31, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck bow permit is
purchased. (See note
above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for any qualified youth hunter only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth
hunter accompanied by
a similar licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm
season.
Permit Muzzleloader (50-days):
Antlerless deer only: December 3 - 8, 2007
Antlered or Antlerless: November 26, 27; December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 26 - 31, 2007; and January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit
is purchased.
However, if the hunterchooses not to purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit , then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless
deer only. Two
deer may be taken at a time. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to
harvest an antlered
deer during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (32-days):
Antlerless deer only:December 3 - 8, 2007
Antlered or Antlerless: December 12 - 14, 2007; and January 5 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck shotgun permit is
purchased. However, if
the hunter harvests two antlered deer during the Six-day firearm season, then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer only.
Two deer may be
taken at a time. (See note above).
Winter Bow (27-days): January 1 - 31, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
REGULATION SET # 8: ZONES - 7, 8, 9*, 10, 11, 12, 13*, 14, 15, 36, 41, 49, 50, 51
* Any antlered deer taken in Zones 9 or 13 must have at least three antler points on one side of the rack.
.. Legal hunting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
.. No deer hunting on Sundays.
.. Note: Only one antlerless permit, per zone, may be purchased in each permit season. If a hunter purchases an antlerless
permit for more than one zone
in a season, the bonus buck permit is valid for a ONE TIME USE in only ONE of the corresponding zones for that season.
Properly licensed hunters are still
limited to ONE antlered buck per season, regardless of the number of antlerless permits purchased.
Fall Bow (42-days):
First deer must be antlerless: September 8 - 28, 2007
First deer may be antlered or antlerless: September 29 - October 26, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
Permit Bow (55-days): October 27 - December 24, 26 - 31, 2007
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck bow permit is purchased.
(See note
above).
Youth Day - Bow (1-day): September 22, 2007
Youth Day - Firearm (1-day): November 17, 2007
Season bag limit is one deer of either sex for any qualified youth hunter only. Any deer harvested by a qualified youth hunter
accompanied by
a similar licensed, non-shooting adult mentor is NOT included as part of the bag limit for the Fall Bow or Six-day Firearm season.
Permit Muzzleloader (61-days):
Antlerless deer only: November 28 - 30 and December 3 - 8, 2007
Antlered or Antlerless: November 26, 27; December 10, 11, 15 - 24, 26 - 31, 2007; and January 1 - February 9, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck muzzleloader permit is
purchased.
However, if the hunter chooses not to purchase the bonus buck muzzleloader permit , then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless
deer only. Two
deer may be taken at a time. (See note above).
Six-day Firearm (6-days): December 3 - 8, 2007
Season bag limit is two antlered deer. However, If a hunter harvests two antlered deer, he/she forfeits the opportunity to harvest
an antlered
deer during the Permit Shotgun Season. Only one buck may be taken at a time.
Permit Shotgun Season (43-days):
Antlerless deer only: November 28 - 30 and December 3 - 8, 2007
Antlered or Antlerless: December 12 - 14, 2007; and January 5 - February 9, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer. ONE antlered deer may be harvested if the bonus buck shotgun permit is purchased.
However,
if the hunter harvests two antlered deer during the Six-day firearm season, then the bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer only.
Two deer may
be taken at a time. (See note above).
Winter Bow (41-days): January 1 - Feb. 16, 2008
Season bag limit is unlimited antlerless deer and ONE antlered deer.
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Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 8:06 AM
Subject: New Jersey State Police Seeking to Enact Further Firearms
Restrictions by Regulation
New Jersey State Police Seeking to Enact Further Firearms Restrictions by Regulation
Please Mail Your Comments in Today!
The New Jersey State Police recently issued new rule proposals for the regulation of firearms, magazines, and retailers in the Garden State. If approved, these regulations will have the rule of law without ever being debated by our legislators in Trenton, turning thousands of unsuspecting citizens into felons!
The proposal would do the following: It would require law-abiding gun owners to surrender or pay to render their "large capacity" magazines permanently blocked. Possession of a temporarily blocked "large capacity" magazine would be a crime. Certain semi-automatic shotguns and handguns would be classified as "assault firearms" because of cosmetic features, which have not been named in any statute enacted by the New Jersey Legislature. Another proposal seeks to harass lawful owners and retailers of "assault firearms" by requiring that licensed
dealers who accept an "assault firearm" and/or machine gun from a citizen for transfer, resale, or repair must notify the Superintendent of the State Police within 48 hours. Also, all firearms sold by retailers would be mandated to be secured by steel cable. Finally, the proposal forces those placing handguns on consignment to produce a new permit to retake possession of the handgun.
Law-abiding firearm owners have until Friday, August 17 to voice their opposition to the new rules and the Superintendent needs to hear from you today! Public comments will only be accepted by mail.
STAND UP AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
PLEASE MAIL YOUR COMMENTS IN TODAY!
Please cut and paste the below letter onto a new page, date, sign, and mail to the listed address:
Date:
Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes, Superintendent
New Jersey State Police
PO Box 7068
West Trenton, New Jersey 08638
Attn: Firearms Investigation Unit
Re: Comments to PRN 2007-199
Dear Colonel Fuentes:
As a law-abiding New Jersey firearm owner, I respectfully object to, and urge you to not to implement certain proposed changes to the New Jersey Administrative Code set forth in your Rule Proposal dated June 18, 2007. These proposed changes would unilaterally turn thousands of honest citizens into criminals. Furthermore, it would impose this legal jeopardy in the complete absence of legislative intent, debate, and open discussion.
For many years, numerous state authorities have issued formal written advice to law abiding citizens, licensed firearm dealers, and police officers around the state permitting temporary blocking of magazines. Thousands of people have relied upon that advice by purchasing, possessing, transferring, transporting, and selling temporarily blocked magazines. These people would be forced to either surrender their private property with no compensation or pay to render their magazines permanently blocked. Rule proposal 13:54-1.2 will make thousands of
unsuspecting, law-abiding firearm owners who are unaware of this dramatic reversal into felons by classifying a temporarily blocked magazine as a "large capacity magazine.
Also, under 13:54-1.2, certain semi-automatic shotguns, the most "commonly used firearm" by New Jersey sportsmen and semi-automatic pistols with common features, would be classified as "assault firearms" even though some of the supposedly undesirable shotgun features are particularly helpful to disabled shooters. Many of the supposedly undesirable features listed have not been identified in any statute passed by the New Jersey Legislature and are tantamount to new legislation even though legislating is beyond the scope of the executive branch.
Rule proposal 13:54-5.1 Section (c) assumes illegal activity without probable cause upon the firearm owner and forces the retailer to delay sometimes needed repair by mandating that licensed dealers who accept an "assault firearm" and/or machine gun from a citizen for transfer, resale, or repair notify the Superintendent within 48 hours. Delaying repairs pending approval by the Superintendent of Police will only add to greater expense and unjustified inconvenience for the firearm owner and lost business for the retailer.
New Jersey already mandates some of the toughest security measures for firearm retailers in the country. Additions to rule 13:54-6.5 would impose significant financial impacts upon retail firearm dealers by requiring dealers whose firearms are on display to secure firearms by a steel cable. Cabled firearms are more likely to "dry-fire" as the cable rests on the triggers of the firearms. Dry-firing can be particularly harmful to shotguns and antique firearms causing damage to the firing pins and actions of the firearms. Securing firearms by steel cables could also result in deep scrapes and permanent damage of those firearms and force retailers to sell the items for significantly less than the suggested retail value.
Rule proposal 13:54-3.20 forces those who place firearms on consignment to produce a new permit to purchase a handgun even though they may have dropped off the firearm as early as one day previously. This will place a new unnecessary burden on licensing authorities to reissue permits. This proposed regulation could redirect what is currently a safe and legal commerce to the black market.
Again, I respectfully object to these proposals
and urge you not to implement them.
Sincerely,
Address:
www.NRAILA.org
Write Your Representative
Write The Media
Get Involved Locally
Register To Vote
Contribute
Please do not reply to this email as you will not
receive a response. This email is a broadcast
email generated by an automated system. To contact
NRA-ILA call 800-392-8683.
Address: 11250 Waples Mill Road Fairfax, Virginia
22030
*********************************************
F&G isn't sending out rifle permit renewals anymore. The permits expired on 6/30/07, so if you want to muzzleloader hunt you'll need to purchase a new permit online or at a license agent. Price: $10.50
*********************************************
Date:Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:30:58 -0700 (PDT)
Mobile Alert Subject: Fwd: [Nj_federation_alert] A3275 Position Statement
Date:Sat, 07 Jul 2007 08:14:39 -0400
Subject:[Nj_federation_alert] A3275 Position Statement
To:nj_federation_alert@njsfsc.org
A3275 – changes the composition and revises the authority of the Fish &
Game Council. Sponsors – Asym. Michael J. Panter – (D) District #12 /
Asyw. Linda R. Greenstein (D) #14
The New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs (NJSFSC) is opposed
to this animal-rights supported bill, which would totally politicize the
composition of the Fish & Game Council and change they way New Jersey
Wildlife has been successfully managed for the past 100 years. With the
enactment of this legislation the Fish & Game Council would become a mere
political entity totally controlled by the Governor and the administration
in power. A3275 would also do away with the provisions of the State Fish
Game codes which provide for the public’s use and development of New
Jersey’s wildlife for recreational and food supply purposes.
A3275 is a direct attack on sport hunting, sport fishing and the public’s
use of wildlife by New Jersey’s anti-fishing, anti-hunting, anti-animal
use zealots. If enacted it would have a disastrous impact on New Jersey’s
fish and wildlife resources, and particularly on the millions of New
Jersey citizens who presently value the resource and its use for
recreational, economic, and esthetic benefits.
The New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs requests a “NO” vote
on A3275.
Respectfully submitted
George P. Howard, Conservation Director
NJSFSC
6/14/07
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Subject:History of the NRA
by John G. Mitchell
“GOD GUNS & GUTS MADE AMERICA FREE”
The National Rifle Association and the Right to
Bear Arms
Among the most common mechanical possessions in
the households of America, outnumbering even the
motor vehicle and possibly outnumbered itself only
by the flush toilet and the television set, is a
device which, having won the West and championed
liberty over the years, some householders would
now proscribe as the instrument of our collective
undoing. In short, the gun. I mean rifles,
shotguns, pistols, and revolvers, at least
150,000,000 of them tucked away in bureau drawers
and attic cupboards or racked splendidly above
mantel-pieces. There are big ones and little ones;
Krags and Enfields, Springfields and Mausers,
Mannlicher-Carcanos and M-1 Garands, Remingtons
and Winchesters and Brownings and Berettas and
Rugers and Lugers and Colts; guns for all seasons
and reasons; guns to punch holes in targets and
tin cans, coots and Kodiak bears; guns for their
own sake, guns never used; guns as last line of
defense against burglars and rapists, looters and
lunatics; guns to be stolen by burglars and
lunatics; guns for irate lovers, quiet patriots,
raving assassins, earnest sportsmen, feisty
poachers, gentle collectors; guns for the people
who passionately believe that the U.S.
Constitution gives them a personal right to keep
and bear arms.
A number of institutions operate in behalf of the
gun owners of America. These include the arms
industry, the hook-and-bullet press, hunters’
groups functioning at the state level, and some
half dozen national membership organizations whose
involvement in the preservation of personal
weaponry is often secondary to some other
interest, such as the propagation of game species
in order that hunters might have something better
than tin cans on which to exercise their right to
bear arms. In addition, gun owners are staunchly
represented on Capitol Hill, in most statehouses,
and generally throughout those rural jurisdictions
where sheriffs still prevail along with rocking
chairs and Bull Durham tobacco. It is a diverse
constituency, this gunnery. With overlapping
subgroups, it embraces 16,000,000 licensed
hunters, most of the nation’s farmers and
ranchers, countless edgy urban shopkeepers, and,
by some estimates, as many as four of every ten
heads-of-household in the land. No one institution
could possibly speak for every Tom, Dick, and
Harriet of them. And only one tries—the National
Rifle Association of America, better known as the
NRA to friend and foe alike, of which there are
plenty.
The National Rifle Association was chartered in
New York State in 1871, just over nine years after
regiments of raw Union recruits were marched to
the fields of Shiloh to match their marksmanship
with General P.G.T. Beauregard’s finest
Confederate squirrel shooters. The Northerners
were armed for the most part with new,
muzzle-loading Springfields. In the Union’s haste
to bring the war to a speedy end, there had not
been time enough to instruct the rank and file in
the rifle’s proper use. As a result, some of the
Springfields at Shiloh were recovered by
Beauregard’s men in mint condition: dropped in the
field and never fired. Similar humiliations
occurred at Gettysburg and other Union shrines.
After the war, commands not otherwise engaged in
Southern reconstruction or Indian removal in the
West promptly reverted to antebellum type, with
much emphasis on close-order drill and nary a
round at the rifle range. Some retired officers,
however, remembered the lesson of Shiloh and began
to speak of America’s need for straight shooters.
These officers were the founders of the National
Rifle Association.
Over the past century, pursuing its charter
mandate, the NRA has served with distinction as
the undisputed alma mater of American marksmen. It
has nurtured affiliate rifle clubs in every state,
elevated competitive shooting to the level of true
sport, encouraged excellence at arms in the
military services, and prepared many a peacetime
citizen for the difficult role of wartime
rifleman. It has swelled from a modest cadre of
Union veterans reminiscing in wall tents to an
organizational colossus of 1,200,000 dues-paying
members, 300 employees, $26,400,000 in securities,
a multimillion-dollar headquarters building in
Washington, D.C., 37,707 acres of New Mexican real
estate, and (in 1976) an expense budget of more
than $16,500,000, of which almost a quarter was
spent by the NRA’s aggressive lobbying arm, the
Institute for Legislative Action. The priorities
of the NRA are reflected in this budget, and they
are quite different from the pressing martial
concerns of a century ago. For every dollar spent
directly in 1976 on such placid programs as hunter
safety education and competitive shooting matches,
two were shelled out in the volatile arena where
gun-owner “rights” and NRA goals are under
constant attack by proponents of gun control.
The gun controllers compose a diverse constituency
themselves. They include tough big-city chiefs of
police, Eastern liberals and assorted do-gooders
with college degrees, most respondents to Harris
surveys and Gallup polls, some psychiatrists,
widows of slain cops, and the anonymous authors of
august reports by the President’s Commission on
Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice,
the National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders, the National Commission on the Causes
and Prevention of Violence, and the National
Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards
and Goals. They also include U.S. Representative
John Conyers, Jr., the Detroit Democrat who, as
chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime in the
Ninety-fourth Congress, held extensive hearings
across the country in hopes of gathering support
for a law that would have prohibited the
manufacture and sale of “substandard” handguns,
the so-called Saturday Night Specials.
In opening the first of those hearings in
February, 1975, Chairman Conyers reflected on past
frustrated efforts to enact effective legislation.
The greatest obstacles, he dourly observed, were
the “politically devastating lobbying activities
of hunters and sportsmen, spearheaded by the
National Rifle Association. … Today, there are
more than 200 million Americans, 139 million of
whom are of voting age. On the issue of gun
control, the one million or so members of the
National Rifle Association have had a staggeringly
disproportionate amount of influence over the
course of our federal policy.” And that influence
prevailed right down to the bitter end of the
Ninety-fourth Congress, at which time John
Conyers’ firearms bill of 1976 was quietly buried
without a floor vote in the yellow duff of
election-year politics.
Meanwhile, internal rumblings were heard within
the corporate body of the NRA. Despite its recent
tactical victory in the Congress, there were
curious rumors that certain NRA executives were
“going soft” on the gut issue of gun control. It
was said that the NRA brass was preparing to sell
out to bird watchers and bleeding hearts. And
finally there was talk of a palace revolt, if need
be, to oust the offenders from office at the next
annual meeting.
A singular image looms large within the national
subconscious—a lone man with a rifle snugged in
the crook of his arm, or a pistol in his fist. It
is the Minuteman at Concord Bridge, Daniel Boone
at Cumberland Gap, Jeremiah Johnson in the Shining
Mountains, G’fcster at the Little BigHorn, Teddy
Roosevelt at San Juan Hill, Alvin York in the
Argonne Forest, and GI Joe on the beachhead at
Anzio. The weapons change, but not the nature of
the man—alone, fearless, confident, doing what has
to be done in a world in which ambiguity is not
allowed. And out of the past he whispers a
rifleman’s verity: “God, guns, and guts made
America free.”
But there are other voices, darker images: Lee
Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, James Earl Ray,
young Charles Whitman perched in his tower at the
University of Texas with three rifles, two
pistols, one shotgun, seven hundred rounds of
ammunition, and fourteen perforated human bodies
on the campus lawns below him. For many Americans,
the enchanted vision of the solitary gunner is
shrinking fast. Yet scratch the subconscious of an
NRA member and the chances are you will find
yourself not in Dallas or Los Angeles or Memphis
but in some place more absolute between the bridge
at Concord and the bulkheads at Anzio Beach.
There was a time not long ago when I believed we
had pretty much had it with guns. I mean, as a
nation. Guns were getting a bad press in the
sixties. And so were hunters. A friend who edited
a hunting-and-fishing magazine said he was
thinking of changing the magazine’s tone by
eschewing traditional bag-limit lore, the
literature of vicarious slaughter. Hunters are
“going out less,” he explained, quoting the title
of a piece by novelist Vance Bourjaily which my
friend had commissioned but declined to publish
for fear of antagonizing his advertisers. He
needn’t have worried. For despite all the adverse
publicity, the antigun sentiment, the legislative
efforts to make owning a gun as difficult as
possible—and however less often Bourjaily himself
may be going out to hunt—the fact of the matter is
that Americans are going out as often as they ever
did in postwar times. Each year there are more of
them, and more of their guns.
Between 1960 and 1976, the number of licensed
hunters in this country increased more than 14 per
cent (to 16,300,000). This is only three points
off the per cent of increase for the U.S.
population as a whole during the same period. Not
a bad record for the enduring Nimrod tradition,
especially if one considers that, during those
sixteen years, America witnessed its greatest loss
of huntable land (to “Posted” signs and
suburbanization). Moreover, dollar-volume sales of
arms and ammunition continue to increase.
Inflation accounts for much of this, but not
enough to indicate any slackening in the number of
units sold; not when rifle and shotgun sales of
$269,700,000 in 1975 showed a 27 per cent
improvement over sales in 1972, and surely not
when handgun sales of $125,500,000 showed a 39 per
cent gain in the same three-year period. These
figures, of course, reflect only legal
over-the-counter transactions. They do not include
back-alley sales of Saturday Night Specials and
contraband military weapons which no
self-respecting urban guerrilla can afford to be
without. Thus it would seem that quite a few
Americans are not yet as fed up with guns as I had
previously believed.
Statistically, it would be impossible to construct
an accurate profile of the gun owners of this
country. They simply refuse to be placed into neat
little squares. It does seem feasible, however, to
arrive at some general categorical conclusions
about them. One might divide the lawful gun owners
of this country into four parts. There are (1)
hunters, (2) competitive shooters, (3) collectors,
and (4) defenders. By weight of numbers,
competitive shooters and collectors do not count
for much, nor do they particularly trouble the
sensibilities of the antigunners. This leaves the
hunters and the defenders.
According to NRA executives, at least half their
members are hunters; yet hunting, apparently, is
not always the motive for a hunter to join the
NRA. A member opinion survey last year, with more
than 130,000 responding, showed that “the most
important single reason I first joined NRA” was
not “Hunting” (at 14.7 per cent, the second
highest response) but “Protecting My Gun Rights”
(at 47.7 per cent). Therefore, it seems that
anyone who joins the NRA mainly to protect gun
rights can be classified as a defender, whether he
or she hunts or not.
Defenders no doubt constitute the largest sector
of the NRA membership and the largest of the
entire gun-owning public as well. This is not to
say that all defenders are equally concerned first
and foremost with protecting their gun rights.
Some are. But others are more concerned with
protecting themselves, their spouses, their
children, their homes, their businesses, their
land. They see themselves as decent, law-abiding
citizens. But the System has failed them. They
feel helpless. On the farm, where a rifle or
shotgun can be as valid and valued a tool as any
other, varmints prey on crops and livestock. In
the city, there is crime in the streets and fear
behind every double-locked door. Some people begin
to suspect that even the police have failed them.
They pick up a copy of NRA’s official publication,
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