Is it legal to use a bow for target practice in my backyard?

Normally....the answer to a question similar to that would be -yes.

But when you added New Jersey....thats kinda moves it out of normal.

Probably not if you live in a town of 10,000 or more. If you actually live on acreage, than yes you can.

Not in my county. Hunters about two decades ago

found a pained Elk herd stuck with arrows so the

State Fish and Game Officers began a criminal

investigation. Use an authorized range and be a

permit-holding hunter during the correct season.

It depends on your back yard. If you've got the space like on a farm it's fine. If your neighbors land abuts yours then no.

You know who would be a super good person to ask about this? A local law enforcement officer. That's the guy that will be putting you in handcuffs if you come up with the wrong answer, so that's who I'd talk to.

I had the same question, and I talked to my LEOs, and to my neighbors. I have a wooden privacy fence, a backstop made of hay bales, and behind that is a cow pasture. The police gave me the go-ahead. Your local cops may feel differently if you are shooting toward somebody else's back yard. Getting the neighbors involved will greatly reduce the chances that somebody reports you, and it's a nice courtesy besides. Whether it's legally allowed or not, you can bet you'll have an officer at your door if a neighbor reports some strange guy shooting a bow near their house.

Talk to the police first. If they say it's okay, tell the neighbors. Otherwise, find somewhere else to shoot.

I'd be astonished if it were, but in the end, it depends on where in New Jersey you live.

Where I live, people in the limits of cities, towns, and villages cannot shoot a bow on their own property. But in rural areas, there are no laws stopping them, although of course they must exercise proper care that a missed target can't damage anything or anyone.

Lol... no