Les Jones

Guns > Which Four Guns in New York?

From a threadon The High Road, Which four guns?

Ok, here's the situation. I've relinquished my New Jersey residency to claim residency in NYC. For now my guns stay in NJ at my father's. I also get to keep the firearm's permit in NJ so I can still shoot there but I can't buy anymore guns without that state's driver license

Here's where the fun begins: I'm applying for the gun permit in NYC (which costs an outrageous amount of money and 6 months time) which allows me only 4, FOUR, guns total, unless I wish to fork over even more money and lots of time and try to convince the chief why I need more than four guns.

So which four guns???

• They need to be multi use
• No magnums at the NYC range and upto 44mag in the NJ range
• nothing over 10 rounds
• conversions are fine (.22lr kit for 1911, etc.)
• I'm thinking of hunting or not: need the possibility, if I change my mind
• NY State, I believe allows semi-auto rifle hunting
• do believe in the right to protect myself

Additional info:

• he's applying for a Florida CCW, so he will be able to carry in a number of states, but not in NYC unless he gets extraordinarily lucky
• he really likes his Browning Hi-Power and his 1911s
• he also owns a Glock 17, S&W 340pd, and Ruger gp100

My picks would be:

• S&W 340PD - snubnose revolvers are amazingly handy for CCW. Because magnums aren't allowed at his range, he'd have to practice with .38s, but that's what most people do with these ultralight guns anyway.
• A 1911. Under NY law, he can add a .22 conversion kit for it and he'll get a .22 without counting against his four gun limit.
• A gun for hunting. I'm leaving this open since he's not sure if or what he wants to hunt, and where he hunts in NY will affect what kind of gun he can use (see below).
• Finally, it's a tossup between a shotgun and a .22 rifle. The shotgun could work into his hunting plans, and he might have a chance to shoot skeet. The .22 is just a lot of fun, and he could shoot it at the indoor range.

More info about NY laws below, posted by members at The High Road.

NY hunting laws:

As far as hunting with a long gun in NY, it depends which zone you will be hunting in. In the Southern Zone you are not allowed to use a centerfire rifle for big game hunting, although you can use a handgun that is chambered for a rifle cartridge (T/C Encore), a shotgun with slugs or a muzzleloader. An Encore handgun would give you the multi caliber option. I would also check to see if the "four gun only" limitation applies to muzzleloaders, as they are generally considered a primitive arm.

About NY gun laws in general:

I moved out of NYC almost seven years ago, so what I know is dated. I recall there being some sort of limit on number of pistols unless you belonged to a club or something and needed a different pistol for a different type of shooting. I don't know about rifles, never had one there. There is an assault weapon ban that makes the recently-expired national one look like it was written by Thomas Jefferson. IIRC correctly the determination of what was and wasn't an "assault weapon" was made pretty much arbitrarily, I'm pretty certain the Garand was on the list UNLESS you removed the bayonet lug, and at one point the 1903 Springfield (bolt action) was also classified as an AW because of the bayonet lug.