Bird Hunting

General Hunting and Safety Rules

The proper blaze orange clothing will be worn whenever in the field during hunting season. In addition to the 200 square inch minimum blaze orange NJ state requirement, a blaze orange hunting cap must also be worn while field hunting. AVC has the following additional blaze orange requirements: Hunters must wear a cap made of daylight fluorescent orange and an outer garment containing at least 200 square inches of fluorescent orange material above the waist visible from all sides, at all times, when in the field or engaged in hunting during the bird hunting season or hunting from a tree stand during the firearm season. This applies to all persons in a hunting party. Fox and coyote hunting are permitted by active members only following State regulations and from tree stands only, but the Club Manager must be notified in advance. Exceptions: This rule does not apply to waterfowl, side hill duck shoots, crow, spring wild turkey, or bow hunters except that a bow hunter using a deer decoy must wear blaze orange clothing, as described above, while transporting the decoy into and out of the woods and fields

All guns must be unloaded in the Clubhouse parking lot, within marked safety zones, and within 450 feet of a building. A broken gun with live shells in the chamber is not an unloaded gun. NJ hunting regulations forbid shooting into a safety zone. Neither firearms nor dogs are permitted in the Clubhouse.

For upland bird hunting:

For duck releases:

Alcoholic beverages or use of any other impairing substances - Reminder

The consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of any impairing substance before or during any shooting activity by the person shooting or anyone involved in the shooting activity is forbidden. Anyone who consumes alcoholic beverages or is under the influence of any impairing substance will not be allowed into AVC fields. Alcoholic beverages are allowed ONLY after all shooting is completed. This rule applies especially during prepaid and larger private shoots where increased numbers of guests are likely and a lunch is often served between activities. Members are entirely responsible for their guests’ conduct.

The following rules are for your benefit and safety. You and your guest must abide by them

Know the mechanical and firing characteristics of the firearm you use.
Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
Unload firearm when not in use.
Be sure that the barrel is clear of obstruction before using.
Wear shooting glasses and hearing protection when in the field.
Never climb a tree or cross a fence with a loaded gun.
Do not shoot at hard surfaces or water.
Never transport a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
The maximum number of guns in a hunting party is limited to three.
The maximum number of persons in a hunting party is limited to four.
All club roads have a speed limit of 10 mph for the safety of hunters and their dogs.
All guns in transit on AVC property or adjacent roads must be cased and unloaded.

Stocking Practices & Hunting Zones

Stocking practices are the responsibility of the Shooting Chairman and the Manager. Stocking is contingent upon activity, weather, and bird availability. The objective is to provide shooting opportunities for the Members when at the club. Hunting zones may be assigned by the Manager as the manager interprets the hunting pressure.

Private/Prepaid Shoots

Private hunts will be posted at the Clubhouse. Do not hunt or cross the indicated areas during the posted hours of the hunt. Members should notify the manager at least 24 hours in advance to request a field for a private hunt. When done, the member is to return to the Clubhouse and report what was harvested and that the member is finished with the prepaid shoot. The Member may then hunt elsewhere and pay for what he harvests.

Field Etiquette

Never intentionally cross the forward path of another hunting party. Circle behind or wait for the individual or party to pass. This can be an issue when returning to the Clubhouse on a busy day. Please make a special effort to pick up all your spent shells and any other shells or wads you encounter afield. This enhances our surroundings and we all benefit from your example. Follow all State and Federal Game Laws. We have no exemptions except for hunting dates, limits and sex for game birds that are stocked. In the parking lot and in the vicinity of the Clubhouse, all dogs must be on a lead, tied to one of the posts at the edge of the parking lot, contained in a dog carrier or in your vehicle. While in the field, all dogs must remain under control and within a reasonable distance of its owner

Dogs MUST remain in the field being hunted and shall not encroach upon adjacent fields or hunters and run out of control causing birds to flush out of shot range. If the owner is not present “Lost” dogs such as this shall be leashed if possible, a staff member contacted to retrieve, and subsequently held in the club kennel for the owner to immediately collect. If a member requires assistance to develop a closer working dog, the Club Manager or a member of the shooting committee will be available to make a referral. Violations will be addressed via a verbal discussion with a member of the shooting committee. Repeated violations will be addressed under the Disciplinary Procedures herein.

How Fields are Allocated in the Morning

The intent is to provide all members a level playing field regarding the opportunity to hunt the field of their choice. Our clubhouse opens at 7:00 AM and remains so until the last bird hunting party returns from the field. You and your party are welcome to use the clubhouse after your hunt when the staff have left for the day. However, it is necessary for you to let the manager know when you are leaving the premises so the clubhouse fire & alarm system may be remotely activated by him. Fields may be reserved in advance only if the member is hosting a prepaid hunt as described above. Otherwise, it’s first come, first served according to member preference and hunting pressure perceived by the manager.

When multiple members are present in the cabin at 7:00AM, the following protocol for field assignment will be followed. The staff person manning the front desk writes the names of those members in attendance on separate slips of paper and places them in a hat. Names are pulled sequentially in a blinded fashion with each drawn member selecting the field of his choice from those still available. In the interests of fairness, if two or more members are planning to hunt together, both names are placed in said hat. When the first name is drawn, the second name goes to the bottom of the list of those in attendance.

The manager will determine the order in which fields will be stocked as this is influenced by the numbers and types of birds requested and the number of staff on hand that day for doing so.

Extended Hours & Responsibilities for Late Afternoon Bird Hunting

For those members wishing to bird hunt later in the day, you may do so 7 days per week until one-half hour after sunset as per NJ hunting regulations. Since all staff will leave AVC property by 3:30PM these privileges are available only to those who are comfortable hunting in an unsupported fashion. In addition, you must:

1: Call by 2:00PM of the day you plan to hunt to notify the Manager of your intentions and if you will have any guests. He will also let you know in which fields other Members are currently hunting to avoid encroachment on another party. Check the outside bulletin board too for any last-minute postings.
2: If you have guests, the hosting member is responsible to ensure that each guest is properly licensed and signs the appropriate guest release. Adult and Minor Guest Releases are at the bottom of this page and can be downloaded for your convenience. If anyone in your party requires a one-day license, the requisite form must be completed by the licensee prior to going afield. One day NJ firearm licenses can only be obtained inside the clubhouse. Note that members are responsible for the behavior and actions of their guests.
3: Arrive at the club by 3:00PM if you wish to have a field stocked
4: Except for the birds you take home in feather, all your harvested birds must be placed in the bird hanger behind the cleaning room building. No birds are to be left overnight in the field hangers nor on the table by the clubhouse.
5: After placing your birds in this hanger, and before leaving AVC property, you must text or email the Manager with the number and type of birds harvested (and feathered) and the total number you are leaving for processing so the appropriate invoice can be generated the next morning and sent to you via email or debited from your House Account.
6: If you wish to take home cleaned and frozen birds that you previously paid for on a prior trip, inform the Manager when you call. State the number and types of birds desired and they will be placed in an AVC cooler for you to transfer into your own personal cooler as mentioned in #4 above.

How to Access the Bowne Station Road Fields

To access the Bowne Station Road Fields, take the main gravel road out to the macadam road at the Club entrance. Turn left onto Bowne Station Road (BSR), head west to the BSR gate and enter through that newly refurbished and hung double-wide grand portal. Remember to lock the gate when leaving the field.

Please note: neither members nor their guests should drive on the dirt road between the Point Field and Dam #2 enroute to the BSR Fields. It can be a muddy slippery mess that worsens with excess travel making it almost impassable. No one is to use this two-track as a shortcut. The only traffic permitted to traverse this section are those vehicles and equipment used by AVC staff while conducting club business. Thank you for your cooperation.

How to Access the Frontage Road Fields

To access the Frontage Road Fields, follow the same directions as above, but continue past the BSR gate to the stop sign at the T intersection. Turn left onto Queen Road. Just after passing Dam #1 on your left, turn left onto Frontage Road. Please note that there is no sign visible at that crossroad. Take the left fork continuing on Frontage Road for 2.2 miles. Route 202 will be on your right side. On the left, you will pass several houses, a double gate, and the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center. The road will take several turns after that but at the last and sharpest right turn you will see the double-wide green gates on your left side with a pull-in that will accommodate one vehicle while you open the gate. Park on the stone area immediately after the gate entrance and walk to the field once you are ready. Do not drive to the field! If the ground is wet, you will get stuck. Please remember to lock the gate when leaving the field.

How to Access the Rail Road Field

To access the Rail Road Field, take the main gravel road out to the macadam road at the Club entrance. Turn right onto Bowne Station Road (BSR), head north. Just before reaching the stone trestle railroad bridge, on your right is a dirt drive incline that leads to a metal double gate. After passing through, drive uphill and park by the bird hanger. Please remember to lock the gate when leaving the field.

How to Access the Barn & East Fields

To access the Barn Fields and East Fields, please exit the Club as mentioned above.Turn right onto Bowne Station Road, pass under the stone trestle railroad bridge, shortly afterwards make the first right onto Garboski Road, navigate the “S” turn, make a right turn at the stop sign onto Boss Road, cross the RR tracks, and turn right into the Boss Road Gate entrance.

No through traffic is allowed past the Pine Tree parking lot. With the improved navigability of the thoroughfare some feel this serves as a useful short cut. It is not. Riders put themselves at risk from hunters in the adjacent fields. The tall cover and hillside slopes can hinder visibility and increase the likelihood of an adverse interaction between dogs, pellets, vehicles and/or the occupants thereof. Be smart. Be safe. Take the scenic route outlined above and kindly remember to lock the newly painted and rehung double wide green gate when leaving the field.

Safety Rules for All Club Shooting Events: Pheasant Tower Releases & Hillside Duck Shoots

Eye & ear protection are required at all times. Members holding private shoots may opt to fill vacancies by requesting a blast email be sent to the general membership. If you experience a misfire, keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction and wait 60 seconds before opening a breach type gun or cycling the action on an automatic or pump action gun. If your firearm has a primer only discharge and the wad has not cleared the barrel DO NOT attempt to reload or fire another round. IN EITHER CASE, CALL THE AVC MANAGER OR THE AVC SHOOT SUPERVISOR/STAFF MEMBER IMMEDIATELY FOR ASSISTANCE TO ENSURE YOUR FIREARM IS CLEARED AND PLACED BACK INTO SAFE OPERATION.

All Pheasant Tower Release shoot participants shall wear the proper Hunter safety orange clothing and use break open guns only; Hillside Duck Shoot participants may wear camouflage clothing and can use pump or semi-automatic as well as break open shotguns. Maximum of two persons per peg including non-shooters. All shots are to be taken from the peg only. Pairs of shooters shall maintain no more than one arm’s length distance apart. Guns shall be discharged at a minimum of a 45-degree angle only or higher.

NO LOW BIRDS ARE TO BE SHOT AT, be they pheasants or ducks. No shots are to be taken over or behind the peg or line of fire. No birds are to be shot at between rounds.

For Pheasant Tower Releases, only club provided shells are allowed. Use of personal shells are prohibited.

Personal shells are acceptable for duck shoots. As for all waterfowl, all shot shall be NONTOXIC only – no lead shot is permitted. Guns are to be broken open/action open and fully unloaded at the end of each round.

Guns must remain unloaded and broken/action open when moving between pegs and are reloaded only at the sound to reload.

Lakeside Duck Shoot participants may wear camouflage clothing and use pump or semiautomatic as well as break open shotguns. There is a maximum of two persons per blind including non-shooters.

All shots are to be taken from inside the blind only. Pairs of shooters shall maintain no more than one arm’s length distance apart.

No shots are to be taken over or behind the blind or line of fire. No ducks are to be shot at between rounds. All shot shall be NON-TOXIC only. Shot size shall be no larger than #2 and shell length no longer than 3 inches.

Guns must be fully unloaded and breaches open when moving between blinds and are to be reloaded only at the sound to reload.

PERSONS VIOLATING THESE SAFTY RULES WILL BE REMOVED FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE SHOOT WITH THE FORFEITURE OF THEIR ENTRY FEE.

Guest Policies for Bird Hunting

All guests must sign the appropriate Bird Hunting Release located in the Clubhouse. A copy of this release can be found at the end of this section. A hunting guest is defined as a person intending to accompany an Active, Provisional, Provisional Junior Member, Preview, Senior, Limited, Honorary, or Nonresident member into AVC fields for purpose of field bird hunting.

Members are permitted to bring guests for field bird hunting and will pay a fee of $25 per visit day, per guest. Guests under the age of 18 will not be charged the guest fee. Any one individual guest (including a Limited Member or Nonresident Member) is limited to 5 visits for field bird hunting per season. Those individuals on the top ten of the wait list can hunt and fish as a guest of an AVC Member for 10 visits per season.

Visits by guests attending tower shoots, release shoots, social functions, and professional dog trainers who accompany the Member for the sole purpose of dog training shall not count against the 5- visit limit. Adult children 25 years old and over are considered “guests,” subject to the guest fee but without limitation on the number of visits when accompanied by a Member.

All hunters, both members and guests, are required to have a valid NJ hunting license and a way to display it on their fluorescent orange vest per the NJ State Game Code. Anyone lacking a current NJ hunting license will need to purchase a special one-day firearm license at the club in order to hunt AVC property. NJ DEP Fish & Wildlife was contacted to ascertain the requirements to do so.

“To hunt on a Commercial Preserve in New Jersey and purchase the Special One-Day Firearm License, it is required that the hunter has completed a Hunter Education course, including live fire, or has a prior resident hunting license from another state. The hunting license does not need to be from the current state of residence. The purchaser needs to show the physical hunting license or hunter education card”, and they must be at least 16 years old. Photocopies of licenses or jpeg images on a phone are not acceptable.

For guests between 10 and 15 years of age, they cannot purchase a one-day license at the club. They must go online and obtain a NJ Youth Hunting License that expires on their 16th birthday or December 31st of the current year, whichever comes first. The youth must have proof of having successfully completed a hunter education course available to upload as part of the application process. Go to https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/. Select NJDEP-NJFishandWildlife. At the top right of the page, see the search icon shown here. Enter “Youth Hunting License”. Select the first result, “Youth Hunting License”, and follow the trail. These youth licenses are FREE! Even for non-resident youths. There is a help phone line posted, but it is only answered Monday through Friday during business hours. This entire process may take up to 3 business days so plan ahead. Remember to bring the physical Youth License to the club as photocopies of youth licenses or jpeg images on a phone are not acceptable.

State rules may change from year to year so it is best to contact the Club Manager when bringing guests to the Club to avoid any licensing problems.

A guest must be 18 years old to sign an AVC Release agreement. Any guest under 18 must have their parent or legal guardian sign the Minors Release indicating the specific date said minor guest will be participating in any bird hunting/shooting activity on AVC grounds. This release is also found below in this section for your convenience.

An Active or Provisional Member’s spouse, who has signed the Members Release, may use the Club at any time and may invite properly licensed guests for field bird hunting unaccompanied by the Member provided said guests have signed an AVC Release agreement.

Children and legal dependents of AVC Members, ages 18 through 24, holding a valid NJ Hunting License, may hunt alone with the Member’s consent. Such dependents may also bring guests unaccompanied by the Member, provided such guests are at least 21 years old, properly licensed, and have signed an AVC Release agreement. If your dependents want to bring guests under age 21, the Member or Member’s spouse must be a part of that hunting party (not to exceed 4 people / 3 guns).

Guest fees for guests under 18 years old will be waived but such minor guests are subject to the 5 visits per year limit. Such minor guests must have the Minors Release signed by their parent or legal guardian. There will be no guest fee charged for a non-hunting member of a hunting party. Such a nonhunting guest must still be of age to personally sign an AVC Release agreement or have a parent or legal guardian sign for him or her before accompanying the hunting party afield. A non-hunting guest will count towards the 4-person maximum in a hunting party and the non-hunting guest visit will accrue towards the 5 times per year individual guest limit.

Any Member failing to obtain the signature of a guest on an AVC Release agreement, should the Manager not be present, will assume all responsibility to protect the Club against any legal actions resulting from the guest’s use of the Club.

Adult Agreement & Registration Form

(18 years and older)

Minor Guest Release Form

(17 years and younger)

Amwell Valley Conservancy

Amwell Valley Conservancy

Bird Hunting

General Hunting and Safety Rules

Alcoholic beverages or use of any other impairing substances - Reminder

Stocking Practices & Hunting Zones

How Fields are Allocated in the Morning

Extended Hours & Responsibilities for Late Afternoon Bird Hunting

How to Access the Bowne Station Road Fields

How to Access the Frontage Road Fields

How to Access the Rail Road Field

How to Access the Barn & East Fields

Safety Rules for All Club Shooting Events: Pheasant Tower Releases & Hillside Duck Shoots

Guest Policies for Bird Hunting

Amwell Valley Conservancy

User Links

Contact Information