New Jersey ? Hunters pushed past suburbia’s picket fences and killed at least 54 black bears Monday, enjoying a rare shot at big game after wildlife officials deemed New Jersey’s bruin population too big for one of the nation’s smallest states.

The first day of the six-day black bear season opened with a thin glaze of snow covering the 1,600-square-mile hunting zone in the northwestern corridor of the state, conditions that made it easy for hunters to track the bruins. By 2:30 p.m. Monday, hunters had registered the 54 kills, with many more expected at check stations as night fell and a winter storm approached.

Martin J. McHugh, director of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, said the first-day kill was “on pace” with opening day in 2003, when 123 bears were taken. The state had not compiled the gender breakdown of the bears killed by late Monday. That information, plus the final first-day tally, will be updated today.