Most guns that are used for hunting are not assault weapons. Typical shotguns and hunting rifles are exempt as the law specifies military style assault weapons by design characteristics. For example, any pump, lever, or bolt action rifle or shotgun cannot be an assault weapon.
Most handguns are not assault weapons. A traditionally designed handgun is not an assault weapon. For example a single shot pistol or a revolver cannot be an assault weapon.
Most guns are not assault weapons. There are different military characteristics of guns that determine whether they qualify as assault weapons.
To help you know whether or not your gun is affected by state laws, please see gun types below:
The ban on selling assault weapons mainly affects dealers and manufacturers. Newly banned assault weapons may not be sold in New York and dealers and manufacturers will know what weapons can and cannot be sold.
Since 1994, magazines sold in New York could contain up to 10 rounds. This continues to be true today. You may buy, sell, and possess any magazine that can hold up to 10 rounds, regardless of when it was manufactured. If you have a magazine that can contain more than 10 rounds, you had until January 15, 2014 to permanently modify the magazine so that it holds no more than ten rounds, responsibly discard it, transfer it to a law enforcement agency or officer, or sell it to a dealer or an out of state purchaser.
Hunters should remember that for many years there have been round limitations when it comes to guns used during hunting. In New York you may not hunt with a semi-automatic gun that can contain more than 6 rounds unless it uses .22 or .17 caliber rimfire ammunition, is an autoloading pistol with a barrel length of less than eight inches, or has been altered to reduce its capacity to no more than 6 rounds in the magazine and chamber combined.
New York is one of the premiere hunting destinations in the United States. New York's gun laws have no impact on most hunters in New York , nor will it detract in any way from the state’s rich tradition of hunting. Learn more about hunting in New York State .
Generally, no. Other than limiting the magazine capacity to ten rounds, New York's laws place no additional burdens on hunters.
No. A plug reducing the capacity of some shotguns to 3 rounds is required by federal and state migratory fowl hunting requirements and was not imposed by the SAFE Act . You might need to register your semi-automatic shotgun as an Assault Weapon — check to see if your shotgun needs to be registered. (Most commercially available semi-automatic shotguns are not Assault Weapons.)
There are only limitations in your magazine capacity. You may not load more than ten rounds in any rifle magazine. This applies to all manually-operated rifles, including bolt action, lever action and pump action rifles.
Before the SAFE Act , hunters were limited to having 5 rounds in a magazine and 1 round in the chamber when it came to certain guns. The 5-round restriction [under the state’s Environmental Conservation Law] only applies to center-fire, semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic shotguns, and semi-automatic pistols having 8 inch or longer barrels. This was not altered by the SAFE Act .
You may load up to a capacity of 10.
Yes. You can continue to buy the 10/22 and the replacement magazines.
Most hunting handguns are not affected by New York's gun laws. However, you can check to see if your pistol is an assault weapon.
Yes, and there are no restrictions on their use on manually-operated rifles or semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines. However, if you have a muzzle compensator on a semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine, you may need to register it as an Assault Weapon if it can accept a detachable magazine capable of holding more than 5 rounds.
If the unaltered magazine capacity is 10 rounds or fewer, yes. However, any magazine that has a capacity greater than 10 rounds must be permanently modified so that it may only contain 10 rounds.
Yes, they are exempt from the prohibition against transfer, but if the gun qualifies as an assault weapon or the magazine holds over ten rounds it must be registered.
Any magazine or gun manufactured more than 50 years ago.
Yes. As long as the gun is registered as an assault weapon by the new owner upon taking possession, it can be freely transferred to anyone that is not otherwise prohibited from gun possession.
Yes, provided that you register both the gun and magazine using the same simple registration process that is used for assault weapons.
All private handgun, rifle or shotgun sales or transfers (with the exception of those sales or transfers to and between certain family members) require a background check of the buyer.
Sales or transfers to and between spouses, domestic partners, children and step-children, are exempt from the private sale/transfer provision.
The background check must be performed by a dealer. Federal law and guidelines govern the process that dealers must follow if they choose to conduct a background check for a private sale.
You, the seller/transferor, bring the weapon to any dealer that agrees to facilitate the sale or transfer. The dealer conducts an instant background check of the buyer/transferee—the same check run for all retail firearm sales. The dealer may not charge more than $10 for this service.
You may visit the dealer along with the buyer/transferee and complete the sale or transfer together, or you may leave your firearm with the dealer to complete the sale or transfer on your behalf.
No background check is required for sales or transfers to spouses, domestic partners, children and step-children.
No, dealers in New York are not required to facilitate private firearm sales or transfers. However, if they do, they may not charge more than $10 per firearm to complete the sale or transfer. It is up to the private parties to decide who is responsible for paying the dealer.
Failure to comply with the provision is punishable as a class A misdemeanor.
Effective September 1, 2022, if you leave your gun unattended in a vehicle, it must be unloaded and locked in a fire, impact, and tamper resistant storage depository that is hidden from view. Glove compartments and glove boxes are not appropriate safe storage depositories. A plastic or aluminum, lockable, hard-sided, gun case or safe will suffice for this purpose.
If an adult remains with the vehicle to ensure security, a case or safe is not required. To prevent theft and ensure safety, it is always recommended that firearms be secured during transport. Local rules for traveling with firearms also apply and may be more restrictive. For example, New York City requires that all guns be unloaded, in a case, and out of sight, even when you are with the vehicle ( Penal Law § 265.45 ).
If anyone younger than 18 years old or anyone who is prohibited from possessing a gun resides in the home, all firearms, rifles, and shotguns not in your immediate control must either be:
New York State protects the privacy of pistol license holders by permitting them to notify a County Clerk that they do not wish for their information to be released publicly. Under the law, current licensees and new applicants may make this notification to their licensing officer using a form approved by the Superintendent of the New York State Police.
The form is available here, or through your licensing office, either on paper or online. For more information, check with your county office.
In the first section, you will need to fill out your name, date of birth, address and the county in which you are applying. If you hold a firearms license, there is a space for you to provide the license number as well. In the second section, check the box that best describes the reason your information should not be publicly disclosed. To complete the form, sign and date it.
To submit your form, take it to your local licensing office.
The state Division of Criminal Justice Services and New York State Police have developed the required process for resolving appeals when a firearm license has been denied as authorized by Penal Law Section 400.00(4-a) and New York Codes, Rules and Regulations Part 6059.
This appeals process applies to the denial of a firearm license application, denial of a license renewal or recertification, or the revocation of a firearm license, only in counties where the firearm licensing officer is not a judge: Bronx, Kings, New York, Nassau, Queens, Richmond, and Suffolk. Non-judicial licensing officers must designate one or more persons to serve in the role of Firearms License Appeals Officer within their jurisdictions.
An individual seeking to appeal a denial must make the appeal in writing within 90 days of the denial. The appeal must be sent either to:
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
Firearms Appeals Board, Eight Floor
80 South Swan St., Albany, New York 12210
