New Jersey surprises visitors who know it only from the turnpike. Beyond the exits lies a green and varied state of horse-country farmland, the vast pine-and-cedar wilderness of the Pine Barrens, and a coastline of salt marsh and barrier beach. Tucked into that landscape is a genuine clay shooting scene, one made all the more appealing by its proximity: many grounds sit within an easy drive of New York City and Philadelphia, making the Garden State a rewarding stop for the traveling shotgunner.
The Garden State also carries real shooting heritage. Legendary exhibition marksman Annie Oakley, the Ohio-born star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West, made her home in the Essex County town of Nutley from 1892 until 1904, at the very height of her fame. That a shooter of her stature chose New Jersey for a dozen years is a fitting bit of history for anyone shouldering a shotgun here today.
The disciplines are all well represented. Sporting clays courses thread through wooded farm country, offering the crossing and driven presentations that reward a smooth swing. Trap and skeet fields provide the structured, repeatable targets that build fundamentals, and five-stand turns up for those wanting variety in a compact footprint. Autumn is a particularly fine season, when the Pine Barrens and the northern hills glow with color and the shore crowds have thinned.
A shooting trip pairs beautifully with the state's other pleasures: a seafood lunch along the shore, a paddle through the tea-colored waters of the Pinelands, or an afternoon in the rolling horse country of Hunterdon and Somerset. Because New Jersey grounds can be busy on weekends given the dense population nearby, reserving your slot ahead of time is strongly advised. Book early, and you can shoot a relaxed morning round and still be back among the bright lights by evening.