Given that police in this state are notorious for being unfriendly towards gun owners, I wouldn't risk using hollowpoints except for target shooting. This is very much a "guilty until proven innocent" state, and you'll have one hell of a time explaining away your use of HPs if you have to shoot somebody breaking in. *edit* Federal EFMJ is especially popular in NJ. Gun stores can't keep it on the shelves.
I'm fairly lucky. Many of the local cops in my area are shooters, some of them hunt- handgun permits and FOIDs tend to go through quickly here. It still takes anywhere from a month upwards to six months because the state police are involved in the process, and they are anything but gun-friendly. I almost got turned down on a hangun application because I was unemployed when I submitted it. If you can find me the section in NJ law that states unemployed persons can't buy firearms, I'd love to see it- but they tried anyway.
NJ is also the only state I'm aware of where the FFL can't call the FBI directly for a background check- they have to call the state police, who then call the FBI. The customer gets whacked with a $15.90 administrative fee for the privilege of having the state police make a toll-free phone call- or at least, that's what it cost last time I bought a gun in a store.
Also, another thing about the handgun purchase permits- there are four copies of the final permit. One must be retained by the seller (private citizen or FFL, doesn't matter), one must be retained by the buyer, one must be sent to the local chief of police, and the final copy goes to the state. They don't just have registration here, they have registration with multiple redundant backup copies. There is no expiration date on these forms; they are maintained indefinitely.
