New York City and your AP ,,,pistol?

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coker
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New York City and your AP ,,,pistol?

Post by coker »

Hi all,
Has anybody have had any experience driving in and around New York City (Manhattan) with your Olympic air pistol/rifle in the trunk of the car ( cased and everything).

say, you drive to an air pistol match (somewhere outside NYC) and then after the match decide to go into NYC with all your gear,, for lunch, dinner, shooping, etc.

is it a no, no....no.... any experiences or comments are appreciated,


thanks and regards,
coker.
Rover
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Post by Rover »

Do you worry about this at home?

Why the hell would you worry about it in a place where they care even less about you?

Rover (born in Brooklyn)
coker
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Post by coker »

Hi Rover,

I think I got your drift,,, but could you elaborate please?
Rover
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Post by Rover »

Sure. No one is going to look in your trunk.

In the U.S., police need your permission to search your vehicle unless you are arrested. Just say no.

This does not mean that the police won't search your vehicle anyway, but now you have a legal defense. (Not that you need one.)

But...no one is going to look in your trunk.

Does this happen to you often, that you are concerned?
coker
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Post by coker »

Rover,
thanks for your reply,

you are correct, nobody can search your car whithout a valid reason, I guess anybody can drive in NYC with whatever they want, air, fire etc and not get noticed by the police; after all, that is how the bad people do it all the times.

but I guess if anybody wants to be totally legal and avoid ruining a family trip, the answer would be no, no air pistols into New York City.

I mean, I dont want to tell my sister; hey do not worry, but I have an air pistol in the trunk along with your suitcase.. while looking for parking in Manhattan.

never happened to me before, but I don't like to drive my car with stuff hidden in the trunk.

the saying is, you can have a really bad time if you are out of luck,,, why bother and why risk it..

I take you like Arizona,,, as compared to Brooklyn (gun and shooting wise)

no,, I am not from NY,, I am from WA and I love my conceal carry permit and our WA gun laws.
Finprof
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Location: Princeton Junction, NJ

NYC

Post by Finprof »

I shoot regularly at Colonial Rifle and Pistol Club, which is in Staten Island, which is part of New York City. I go directly to the match and leave for home directly from the match. I don't even stop for gasoline or coffee on the way there or back. There is no way I would go into Manhattan after a match in Staten Island.
I live in new Jersey, which is about as bad as New York City. Here you are OK as long as you are going directly to a match or directly from a match. Side trips with a gun in your car can get you in trouble.
It is also a good policy to avoid being stopped by police even when you don't have a gun in the car.
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6string
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Post by 6string »

Hi Finprof,

Is this true even for airguns?
If so, I am aghast. I used to live in Canada and it wasn't that bad (but bad enough, that's one of the reasons I left).

Thanks for your post!

Jim
coker
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Post by coker »

Thanks Finprof for your reply, your accounts confirm my suspicion that all pistol shooters are willing to go in lenghts in order to enjoy the sport.

I just wanted to know that I am not the only nut doing this sort of things.

I live in Washington State 4 hours from Seattle, I use to drive for a match in Seattle and shoot (firearms), then go to the downtown Greyhound bus station and put my bags with guns in a paid locker ( 24 hours), then drive up to Vancouver Canada to visit family. then rush back to the Greyhound locker to retrieve my guns, then drive back home 4 hours away.

I did it more than a couple of times,,, then I said,,, I must be nuts and the only person doing that kind of things,,,, I said,,, too much effort and got tired of doing that.

c.
Finprof
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Post by Finprof »

6string wrote:Hi Finprof,
Is this true even for airguns?
If so, I am aghast. I used to live in Canada and it wasn't that bad (but bad enough, that's one of the reasons I left).
Jim
It is true for airguns. In New York City airguns (rifles or pistols) are prohibited unless you have a permit from the Comissioner. Most of the online airguns dealers won't ship to New York City as a result of that law.

In New Jersey, an airgun is classified as under the same laws as firearms, so the same permitting is needed for an LP10 as a Glock - apply to your local police department for a pistol purchase permit for each purchase after you have received your Firearms ID card. Air rifles must be transferred through a FFL just like cartridge arms. You need an FID card issued by your local police department in order to receive the transfer.

If you are stopped with an airgun in your trunk it is the same as being stopped with a cartridge gun.

Here is a personal anecdote: Two members of my gun club were rear-ended in an accident on the way back from shooting trap. The trunk was damaged and allowed the officer to see that there were unloaded and cased shotguns (in a takedown Perazzi case) in the trunk. They were arrested and detained until they could prove they had an FID card. Fortunately, they were going directly home from shooting trap when the accident happened.

Last summer a person was stopped with a Glock in his trunk. He bought the Glock in Colorado before moving to New Jersey and didn't have an FID card or purchase permit. The judge gave him 7 years, that was commuted by Governor Christie after he served about 6 months.

However I wouldn't let any of that deter me from attending a match in either New Jersey or New York, but I would not make any side trips and would have a match bulletin with me. As I said, I shoot in Staten Island about once a month and don't feel threatened as long as I don't do side trips.
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JoeG
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Location: New York

NYC - airguns

Post by JoeG »

A good habit that I have gotten into is to carry a printout (from website, etc) that covers the match I am attending to show why I would be transporting an airgun. For further support I also carry a copy of the Airgun Hobby magazine that has an article I wrote.

In addition to the above I would try to be as polite as possible.

Joe G
Rover
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Post by Rover »

I thought this was getting silly so I asked my brother, a retired NY cop and shooting instructor at the police academy.

"I sent you an email about a guy sweating an air pistol in NYC. Is there anything illegal or problematic about that?"

"Not that I know of, but it would have to be cased I'm sure!"

Now go worry some more!
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Richard H
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Post by Richard H »

When did he retire?
coker
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Post by coker »

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/ ... mplete.pdf

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/permi ... tion.shtml


Thanks all for your replies,,
I guess, I wanted to hear from people's experiences and anedotades; above are the links for the NYPD handgun (and rifle) permits, etc. curiously, they do not have the definition for the term "handgun".

but the matter can easily be solved, I should just call the NYPD handguns permits department and they probably gladly advice me if I need or not a air gun handgun permit for NYC.

as previously noted by members of this post, for NYC and NJ a permit is needed for airguns,,, although I could not confirm it nor find the information, as I said it,,, a simple phone call will do it.

I suspect, that if I call, they will tell me, that Yes, I do need a permit for airguns.
johny_r
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Post by johny_r »

Hi,
I can't stop wondering about what you are discussing here. I am from the Czech Republic, so I am not familiar with US gun laws. Do I understand that it is somehow limited or forbidden to transport a gun in New York city?

Here in Prague, I just take my gun or two along with the shooting licence (licence to own and shoot firearms, something like a driving licence, not required for air guns at all) and gun registration card (each gun has to be registered with the police), put it in my backpack and drive/ride a bus to the range. Completely legal here, no problem. If I had the licence category for self-defence, I could have the guns even loaded and ready-to-fire. It just has to be kept hidden.

This is why I wonder why there are some problems in the US as US gun laws are regarded very loose here (in the way that everyone has a gun and it's no problem to get it/use it). Or at least what we know about it.

Thanks for explanation :-).
coker
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Post by coker »

Hi Johny
I am glad you are enjoying shooting in your country. Gun laws here in the U.S. has become very confusing and complicated for the past 20 or so years. We have Constitutional laws, Federal (country), State and City laws.
every State is different and every city is different, in some States you do not need a permit at all, in others, you can not have any guns at all.
you can easily understand the laws in the place you live, such as my case in the State of Washington, but if you drive around and cross states or cities, laws change and you may get into trouble whithout not knowing it.

I know it is confusing, in your country you have laws, here in the U.S. you drive a few miles around and the law changes.

How do we do it? it is confusing, a lot of unknowns and a lot of anecdotal accounts, many of them false or inaccurate.

to put it this way so you can understand how crazy it is here.

You fly from your country and arrive in Buffallo New York, rent a car and drive to a Walmart store and purchase an air pistol ( as long as you are older than 18 years of age), go to a public shooting range and have lots of fun even with the Buffallo police team. Then you put the air pistol in a bag in the trunk of your rental car and drive to Manhattan (5 hours away) to have a fancy and expensive dinner. Leaving the restaurant a police in Manhattan notice your air pistol in your car and you will "probably" get arrested.

few people know the exact true, what will happen and things like that, but we pistol (fire or air) shooters ask a lot of questions like that and have to be very careful when traveling outside our home towns.

Most cities and towns in the U.S are still considered paradise for gun owners, the exceptions are in the big cities (like New York City) , where crime is rampant.


crazy? yes.
william
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Post by william »

How in the world is a cop going to "notice" the air pistol in your trunk? Unless you take it out to show it off (brandish)?

If it can be noticed by a casual observer I'd be far more worried about thieves than the police - and that would be in many other places as well as New York City.
johny_r
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Post by johny_r »

Coker: Thanks a lot for the explanation. You're right, it's crazy and really complicated. And particularly if this includes airguns too.
Just fyi, here in the Czech rep, you don' even need a range for shooting an airgun. You can shoot it anywhere with the only condition that you don't endanger anyone. It's no problem to build an airgun range at home id you have the 10m space. And you can purchase an airgun if you are 18 without any licence, that's the same as you said.There is however a power limit of the freely purchasable airgun and that' 16J. For stronger, you need a licence like for a firearm.
Well, but the important thing is that this is valid in the whole country and all cities. However, it's also a fact that there are about the same number of people here as in NY City alone :-).

Thanks again for the explanation.
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Freepistol
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Post by Freepistol »

I hate to transport my pistols in the trunk. My equipment deserves a better ride than what they are exposed to in the trunk. Here in Pa, I keep my pistols on the back seat or the front seat when in my truck. The ride there is much better and the seat cushions it, too, as well as being safer from a rearend collision. I have two pistol with electronic triggers and don't want to expose them to bouncing around in the trunk. If I have to leave the car, I'll stick the cases in the trunk to keep them from view or put them on the floor of the extended cab and cover them with a jacket or towel that I carry. I'll be shooting in NJ this fall, so I appreciate the warning and instructions I need to abide by when I go. I'll have to get a big hunk of foam for the trunk.
Ben
Pradeep
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Post by Pradeep »

coker wrote:Rover,
thanks for your reply,

you are correct, nobody can search your car whithout a valid reason, I guess anybody can drive in NYC with whatever they want, air, fire etc and not get noticed by the police; after all, that is how the bad people do it all the times.

but I guess if anybody wants to be totally legal and avoid ruining a family trip, the answer would be no, no air pistols into New York City.

I mean, I dont want to tell my sister; hey do not worry, but I have an air pistol in the trunk along with your suitcase.. while looking for parking in Manhattan.

never happened to me before, but I don't like to drive my car with stuff hidden in the trunk.

the saying is, you can have a really bad time if you are out of luck,,, why bother and why risk it..

I take you like Arizona,,, as compared to Brooklyn (gun and shooting wise)

no,, I am not from NY,, I am from WA and I love my conceal carry permit and our WA gun laws.
There are many reasons why the police may search your trunk. They may pull you over at a "sobriety checkpoint" on your way back after your fine meal, and say that they smell alcohol on your breath, your eyes are bloodshot, you get nervous during the physical field test and fail, bingo a DUI charge. There may be an escaped felon on the loose etc. Or as mentioned a rear end crash can pop it open and whoopsie daisy. Lots of things outside your control can cause the police to see into your trunk.

7 years in the big house at Rikers Island being Bubbas Bitch is not worth it at least IMO.
Pradeep
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Post by Pradeep »

coker wrote:http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/ ... mplete.pdf

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/permi ... tion.shtml


Thanks all for your replies,,
I guess, I wanted to hear from people's experiences and anedotades; above are the links for the NYPD handgun (and rifle) permits, etc. curiously, they do not have the definition for the term "handgun".

but the matter can easily be solved, I should just call the NYPD handguns permits department and they probably gladly advice me if I need or not a air gun handgun permit for NYC.

as previously noted by members of this post, for NYC and NJ a permit is needed for airguns,,, although I could not confirm it nor find the information, as I said it,,, a simple phone call will do it.

I suspect, that if I call, they will tell me, that Yes, I do need a permit for airguns.
The law is clear. You need a NYC pistol permit to possess an air pistol in NYC. Which is not possible to obtain as a non-resident (unless you have political connections). The only exemption from this is the Federal statute which applies if you are transitting NYC on the way to a registered shooting competition in say upstate NY or another state (otherwise any shooting competitors flying into JFK etc would be subject to arrest). Has to be kept in its case, keep a copy of your match registration etc. A sightseeing tour into the big Apple would not be eligible for such protection, as there is no competition involved.
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