NJ Hunting Laws that have grey areas.

[Cousin Brown]

Decided to start a new thread for this.

Discussion was about having a license displayed on outer clothing or not.  

Gonna add to the pot......Solid Orange Cap...if it has a logo on it it is not compliant.

Guess it really depends on the CO on certain areas of the regulations.

What are your thoughts? Any other grey areas?

[Recurve hntr]

I was always told that New Jersey is a display state. License has to be on your clothes, not in back pack . I forget how many square inches of orange you have to have on when gun hunting. I wear as much hunter orange I can when gun hunting. I think it’s 200 square inches. I may be wrong. I wear a ton .

[archer36]

I believe the laws says: 200 sq inches OR a cap. 

[Devil Horns]

Solid orange cap or 200 sq inches of orange. 

[hammer4reel]

12 minutes ago, Devil Horns said:

Solid orange cap or 200 sq inches of orange. 

Thats deer hunting .

small game hunting on a WMA calls for solid orange hat , no camo or logo . And 200” of hunter orange .

 

Hunter orange requirements is def a gray area , depending on what and where you are hunting 

 

‘’same with hunter orange on a blind during consecutive seasons being required for bow hunters .

But what if your hunting a bow only area ?

 

license displayed on outer clothing , so if wearing a backpack it’s concealed if it’s on your actual clothing .

 

IMO  many of our laws are more based on keeping guys safe than they are to give you fines .

Treat a CO officer with the respect they deserve goes a long ways .

 

.

Edited December 24, 2024 by hammer4reel

[Roon]

A cap of solid orange is 200sq in

Bow hunting my license hangs on my backpack,  when I bird hunted my license was on my chest front left shoulder so in thick stuff always saw it and fishing license I keep in my wallet. I've been stopped for random checks with all three situations and was never hassled with any of them.

Funny side note many years ago as a kid so pushing 40 years back, my pop was hunting in Maine the week small game started and took the only orange hat we had, I was delivering the Easton Express on Sundays I had to put them in orange bags, I took two  bags and wrapped them around my hat. I was stopped by a CO behind my house private property but they have free reign. They had a good laugh and said technically I'm good but technically it's not right. I told my pop took my orange hat to Maine and this is all I got. They said enjoy your time but when you go home have your mom get you an orange hat.

The 80s were so much better, sure now I would have lost my license.

[mazzgolf]

Did you know it isn't just ANY ol' orange? There is actually a very technical scientific definition of what is "legal" hunter orange in NJ - it is based on the color wavelength, "exicitation purity" (whatever that is), and "luminance factor"... see NJ Statute § 23:4-13.1 :

Quote

 

"Hunter's orange" means a daylight fluorescent orange color with a dominant wave length between 595 and 605 nanometers, excitation purity not less than 85%, and luminance factor of not less than 40%.

 

As for orange, remember on WMAs where they stock pheasant, you must have an orange hat, even if you have 200" of orange on your body. That's actually in the NJ admin code, 7:25-5.33 - Pheasants and quail stamp designated areas

Quote

 Any person subject to this section, while engaged in hunting for small game with firearms on Wildlife Management Areas enumerated in this section, shall wear a cap of fluorescent hunter's orange meeting the specifications set forth in N.J.S.A. 23:4-13.1.

 

[hammer4reel]

3 minutes ago, Roon said:

A cap of solid orange is 200sq in

Bow hunting my license hangs on my backpack,  when I bird hunted my license was on my chest front left shoulder so in thick stuff always saw it and fishing license I keep in my wallet. I've been stopped for random checks with all three situations and was never hassled with any of them.

Funny side note many years ago as a kid so pushing 40 years back, my pop was hunting in Maine the week small game started and took the only orange hat we had, I was delivering the Easton Express on Sundays I had to put them in orange bags, I took two  bags and wrapped them around my hat. I was stopped by a CO behind my house private property but they have free reign. They had a good laugh and said technically I'm good but technically it's not right. I told my pop took my orange hat to Maine and this is all I got. They said enjoy your time but when you go home have your mom get you an orange hat.

The 80s were so much better, sure now I would have lost my license.

An orange hat is not 200” 
most orange hats fall between 100” and 150” 
Thats why a hat isn’t adequate when in an area requiring 200”

[Roon]

Just now, hammer4reel said:

An orange hat is not 200” 
most orange hats fall between 100” and 150” 
Thats why a hat isn’t adequate when in an area requiring 200”

I bird hunted heavy when I had my bird dog only EVER wore nothing orange but a  stocking hat checked multiple times by multiple COs and NEVER once was hassled for just wearing an orange hat 

[hammer4reel]

2 minutes ago, Roon said:

I bird hunted heavy when I had my bird dog only EVER wore nothing orange but a  stocking hat checked multiple times by multiple COs and NEVER once was hassled for just wearing an orange hat 

Things were little different .

you might get 200” out of this one 

Edited December 24, 2024 by hammer4reel

[mazzgolf]

5 minutes ago, Roon said:

I bird hunted heavy when I had my bird dog only EVER wore nothing orange but a  stocking hat checked multiple times by multiple COs and NEVER once was hassled for just wearing an orange hat 

Because that's all you need. As the NJ admin code shows, you HAVE to have a hat when on pheasant-stocked areas (actually, that law is fairly new, I think that requirement is maybe 5 years old now? Before it was either/or, but they changed it where you MUST have a hat on pheasant-stocked areas, regardless of you having 200" on your body).

But outside of that, the hunter-orange law is either-or - either a hat OR 200"... this is page 24 of the digest:

BTW: this is NJ statute 23:4-13.1. Clothing; outer garment of fluorescent hunter's orange

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-23/section-23-4-13-1/

"Any person while hunting deer, rabbit, hare, squirrel, fox, or game birds, other than waterfowl, with firearms in this State, shall wear a cap of fluorescent hunter's orange or some other outer garment containing at least 200 square inches of fluorescent hunter's orange material which shall be visible from all sides. "

Edited December 24, 2024 by mazzgolf

[Roon]

1 minute ago, mazzgolf said:

Because that's all you need. As the NJ admin code shows, you HAVE to have a hat when on pheasant-stocked areas (actually, that law is fairly new, I think that requirement is maybe 5 years old now? Before it was either/or, but they changed it where you MUST have a hat on pheasant-stocked areas, regardless of you having 200" on your body).

But outside of that, the hunter-orange law is either-or - either a hat OR 200"... this is page 24 of the digest:

Again I haven't bird hunted in 10+ years and as I don't really gun hunt at all not that I'm not allowed to but because I don't have the need to. Hunted Clinton and Pequest again 10 some years ago with only an orange hat with no problems. 

As laws and regs change like the wind if I ever got the itch to take it up again I will look at the regs before doing so.

However as I age I have a harder time of dealing with the cowboys running guns and dealing with people and dogs that don't have a clue of what's going on.

I only hunted public because never had the money or liked pheasants enough to waste the  money on a club

[Bonefreak]

26 minutes ago, mazzgolf said:

Did you know it isn't just ANY ol' orange? There is actually a very technical scientific definition of what is "legal" hunter orange in NJ - it is based on the color wavelength, "exicitation purity" (whatever that is), and "luminance factor"... see NJ Statute § 23:4-13.1 :

As for orange, remember on WMAs where they stock pheasant, you must have an orange hat, even if you have 200" of orange on your body. That's actually in the NJ admin code, 7:25-5.33 - Pheasants and quail stamp designated areas

 

Yep. Wardens have to have their nanometer at the ready at all times!  
 

My old pal tells a story that he was stopped by F n G deputies while rabbit huntin…his orange hat was declared too faded to be hunter orange n he was issued a summons…when he appeared at court the judge asked the deputy where the evidentiary hat was…& the deputy warden said he gave it back after writing the ticket. My pal presented a nice, flaming, fiery orange hat as his evidence and the judge threw out the case!  Lol

[Septicdude]

38 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Things were little different .

you might get 200” out of this one 

Literally ordered one of these sunday 🙃 

[thefirstndsecond]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

Thats deer hunting .

small game hunting on a WMA calls for solid orange hat , no camo or logo . And 200” of hunter orange .

 

Hunter orange requirements is def a gray area , depending on what and where you are hunting 

 

‘’same with hunter orange on a blind during consecutive seasons being required for bow hunters .

But what if your hunting a bow only area ?

 

license displayed on outer clothing , so if wearing a backpack it’s concealed if it’s on your actual clothing .

 

IMO  many of our laws are more based on keeping guys safe than they are to give you fines .

Treat a CO officer with the respect they deserve goes a long ways .

 

.

So I emailed the state and got back something different. Also depends on the warden. Had two different wardens tell me something at a WMA. (regarding solid orange hat)