We have "drug free school zones", we have laws that say you can't open a liqueur store 500 - 1000 feet form a church, we even have laws about the distance a strip club needs to be from a school. Doesn't it make sense to establish a law that would make it unlawful to discharge a weapon within a mile or two from any school? There should be NO gun fire of any kind around schools. Regardless of the time of day or year, if school is open or not.

I walked through Oak Glen Park, and there were hunting signs posted all along the trails. HOW can they allow hunting (bow or bullet) so close to a park, where there are a number of ball fields, a dog park, basketball courts etc.?? I guess someone needs to get hurt for the township to rethink this stupidity! I will not go near there again.

It makes perfect sense, ridiculous that you even HAVE to have a gunfree zone by a school but unfortunately...we need it! We need to PREVENT these events...not just REACT. Laws are there but laws are broken...clearly. Just because someone has permission in hand...doesn't mean they are following the rules or being safe. I'm pro-hunting but take it to open land...get away from public areas...that's just absurd and 450 feet is not far away enough for my taste. When were these "safety" zones put into effect...when our state was full of trees and open space well, with the way we develop now...this is just not the case...they need updating!

How far from the school were these hunters actually?

Aparrantly, not far away enough!! Our children should not be able to hear gunshots at school!! Simple as that!!

i asked the author to confirm a report; on 12/5 during the 6 day buck season;hunters on rte.18 were arrested by fish & game & state police. supposedly;some of these guys were off duty howell cops! i got no response.that same week on 12/3.some off duty members came into my neighborhood& came in behind the house;s to put on a drive. when i tried to stop them ; they went ahead anyway! so before everybody gets on the local hunters; maybe we need to know if this rumer on rte 18 is true; they have a well known rep. on the street amongst local hunters who obey the law's of fish&game

This is unbelievable to me!!!! I don't want hunters near anyone's school! When I read that wma this morning thaty daughter was sitting in a bus this morning, not aloud to get out right away, makes me crazy!!!!! I was one that spoke with senator Singers office and Mayor Walsh's office and I will not forget about this! My friend lIves in development next to Griebling and as they were waiting for bus her beautiful 2nd grader asked, "mommy, are those gunshots?" School is supposed to be a safe haven!!! Not a place to be afraid of...those hunters should be ashamed of themselves for hunting bear the school, even if it is within legal limits!!! Have they not seen the news? Do they not know of the heart wrenching tragedy that just took place? Do they not have hearts??? Or consideration? Unreal!

"near"

Folks lets be realistic, how many injuries have hunters caused in the last 25 years? Most have been to themselves falling from trees, having heart attacks dragging a deer out of the woods. I'll bet more people are injured by hitting deer with cars then by hunters. On a calm day, the sound can travel very far, on a windy wet day it could be very close and you can't hear it. We already have a law that makes it a felony to be on school property with a gun. Lets face it that law is not going to deter a sick person. No law is going to deter a sick person. Unfortunatly there are sick people in the world and we can not live in a bubble.

There should never be an area that is of legal limits for hunters if gunshot sounds can be heard in a school. Common sense. Safety zones established in 1946.... A bit out dated. It's a whole new world. Time to join reality.

Zobra, true, no law would stop what happened in Sandy Hook, but what happened near Griebling is different and is an eye opener for everyone. Knowing full well you can't protect against crazy, laws CAN protect against stupidity. Plan and simple if the range a gun can shoot is 3 miles it should be unlawful to fire that gun within its range of a school. The problem with your line of thought is you don't want to do anything until something bad happened. Well as one that has kids in Griebling.... SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED. And the time to act is now.

Alieb, although I do understand your concerns , it helps to state facts as opposed to hyperbole when stating your case
1. The effective range of a "gun" - it would be getter for you qualify what gind of gun. Center fire rifle?. Shot gun? muzzloader ? Rimfire 22? "Plan and simple if the range a gun can shoot is 3 miles it should be unlawful to fire that gun within its range of a school. "

First of all , most common huting rounds for a centerfire rifle such as the 30-06 or 270 Winchester, do not have an effective range (meaning the abilty to retain energy and penetrate) much beyond 1000 yards, or slightly more than 1 half mile. The ballistc capability of a typical 150 grain 30-06 round at 800 yards will drop 8 feet from zero and drift @ 30 inches to the left or right with a 5mph cross wind. So if a hunter places the center of the cross hair on a deer at 800 yards and keeps it there, the round will hit the dirt well in front of the animal. To be continued.

Sorry for the gross spelling errors - here is a corrected post.
Alieb, although I do understand your concerns, it helps to state facts as opposed to hyperbole when stating your case
1. The effective range of a "gun" - it would be better for you qualify what kind of gun. Center fire rifle?. Shot gun? muzzle loader ? Rimfire 22? "Plan and simple if the range a gun can shoot is 3 miles it should be unlawful to fire that gun within its range of a school. "

First of all , most common hunting rounds for a centerfire rifle such as the 30-06 or 270 Winchester, do not have an effective range (meaning the ability to retain energy and penetrate) much beyond 1000 yards, or slightly more than 1 half mile. The ballistic capability of a typical 150 grain 30-06 round at 800 yards will drop 8 feet from zero and drift @ 30 inches to the left or right with a 5mph cross wind. So if a hunter places the center of the cross hair on a deer at 800 yards and keeps it there, the round will hit the dirt well in front of the animal.

Furthermore, this whole argument is moot since it is illegal to hunt any game in any season with a centerfire rifle in New Jersey. The only long rifle cartridge permitted is 22 Rimfire, which can have a ballistic range of up to a mile at most, but only effective within 150 yards. At a mile, most common 22 rimfire hunting loads will more likely ricochet or bounce off a target. The furthest sniper shot with a centerfire rifle is @ 2800 meters, or 1.5 miles.

Since Howell is in Deer Zone 16, deer season is closed until permit shotgun opens again in January 2013, so these hunters were most likely hunting small game. If they were after pheasant, for example, the effective range of birdshot is not much beyond 50 yards.
As far as the 450 rule is concerned, these boundaries are periodically reviewed based on analysis and level of incidents, not the anecdotal. I think it was prudent to ask the hunters to take a day off for now, but revisiting the 450 rule does not have any justification from empirical standpoint.

Also, the sound from the report of a shotgun slug can travel well over a few miles in an open area on a clear day, so basing boundaries based on sound could effectively outlaw hunting in most of the state.

To add another point, I do not see any practical need for an AR15 style weapon, unless you are a rancher keeping predators, such as coyotes, from killing livestock.

Not condoning just some facts:

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife law states No hunter may carry a loaded firearm or knocked bow and arrow within the Safety Zone of 450 feet from a building or school playground even if not occupied. The SAFETY ZONE was established by legislation in 1946 as an area to place some physical distance, a buffer, between hunters and homeowners. The ONLY rifle allowed in NJ for deer hunting is a muzzleloader...Firearms is strictly shotgun. Riffled slugs, rifled slug barrels are OK but no 'High-Powered Rifle'...The use of Firearm Season means shotguns... When fired level (barrel is parallel to ground) slug begins to fall as soon as it leaves the barrel. Assuming ABOUT 3 feet above ground, and that it takes ABOUT 1/10 of a second for a falling object to drop that far, and that slug is moving ABOUT 1900 fps when fired, it should hit the ground at ABOUT 190 ft. This will vary depending on slope of ground, velocity, and height above ground- and whether recoil caused the barrel to rise above level.

FACT IS SHOTS HAVE GONE MORE THAN A MILE IN HUNTING SEASON IN N J. A MILE. YOU CAN HEAR THE SHOTS MORE THAN A MILE SOMETIMES. I THINK THE CALL FOR HUNTERS TO BE FAR FAR AWAY FROM SCHOOLS MAKES ALOT OF SENSE AND IT IS TIME TO CALL FOR IT. THE 1/2 OF 1% OF HUNTERS IN NJ IS ENDANGERING US ALL. THEY FIRE ACROSS ROADS, ALMOST HITTING KIDS IN THEIR MOTHERS CAR. THEY FIRE INTO BEDROOMS IN READINGTON AND CLINTON NJ. DOCUMENTED IN POLICE REPORTS. THEY DONT ALWAYS FIRE INTO THE DEER. THEY KILL EACH OTHER ROUTINELY IN EVERY STATE. A HUNTER KILLED ANOTHER HUNTER IN READINGTON LAST YEAR. A HUNTER IN PA KILLED ANOTHER HUNTER IN PA LAST YEAR. THEY CANT SHOOT STRAIGHT. SO THEY COULD HIT IJNTO A SCHOOL. FACT.

Susan Hatkins Kehoe · Top Commenter
Last year a hunter (a cop) trespassed on my property and killed a bear. It was terrorizing to hear shots so close to my house. Children live in the area. NJ Fish & Wildlife were called and did NOTHING to the hunter. This has to change. Fish & Wildlife said they couldn't prove the hunter was within 450' of houses (and children live in the neighborhood, too). This YouTube video will prove how right I am and how DEP Spokesperson Larry Ragonese should get his facts straight before making statements. Now is the time to demand a safe living environment.
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrXL9ZH1NGs.

i am amazed; that not 1 person other than myself; has the curiosity that if true;some cops were arrested during the 6 day buck season ;by game wardens& state troopers on rte 18! we pay them with our taxdollars &yet not one confirmation if this is true! maybe nobody want;s to know.I have been a sportsman going on 50yrs,have lived here all my life;& i have never seen what i saw in my neighborhood this last opening day!

Anyone know where we can address these concerns and take some action, rather than write about it? Is Griebling having any type of meeting? A townhall anywhere? We can "comment" on this all day...not going to change anything.

This is straight from the Howell BOE Website.
The Howell Township Board of Education will be discussing school safety at its January meeting. If you would like to be part of the discussion, please join us at 8:00 pm on January 3, 2013, in the Cafetorium of Howell Middle School North.

PERFECT...IT'S A START! Thank you, Al! See you all there!