[Yosemitest]

New Jersey can be bypassed, and you can mail your firearm ahead from Stroudburgh, Pennsylvania to Port Jervis, New York.
Also Brian Aitken "confided in his mother during a moment of emotional distress at home that life wasn't worth living."
He was caught with two HAND GUNS, not rifles.
But if New Jersey doesn't want hikers' money, we can always MOVE the Appalachian Trail, bypassing New Jersy by keeping it in Pennsylvania until Port Jervis, New York.

[Errant]

Another possiblilty, IMO, would be the savage model 24 over & under in 20 gauge and 22 LR. It breaks down into a small package and you could look around for a synthetic stock and foregrip.