Large Capacity Magazine Ban (10-Round Limit)

The Ten-Round Limit

Penal Law Section 265.00(23) defines a "large capacity ammunition feeding device" as a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition.^[1] New York first enacted a ten-round magazine limit in 2000, and the SAFE Act of 2013 retained this restriction while briefly attempting to impose an even stricter seven-round loading limit.^[2]

The Seven-Round Loading Limit and Its Invalidation

The SAFE Act originally prohibited gun owners from loading more than seven rounds of ammunition into a ten-round magazine, even though ten-round magazines themselves remained legal to possess. In December 2013, U.S. District Judge William Skretny struck down the seven-round loading limit in NYSRPA v. Cuomo, calling it "an arbitrary restriction" that "could result in pitting the criminal with a fully-loaded magazine against the law-abiding citizen limited to seven rounds."^[3]

The Second Circuit affirmed the invalidation of the seven-round loading limit in 2015. As a result, gun owners in New York may lawfully load up to ten rounds in any lawfully possessed ten-round magazine.^[4]

What Is Prohibited

Unless a statutory exclusion or exemption applies, current law prohibits:

• Possession of any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device capable of accepting more than ten rounds of ammunition
• Manufacture of large capacity ammunition feeding devices within the state
• Sale, transfer, or importation of large capacity ammunition feeding devices into the state, except as specifically authorized by law

For an ordinary magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds, the acquisition date does not create a general grandfathering right. Penal Law Section 265.00(23) does, however, exclude a narrow class of qualifying curio-or-relic feeding devices from the large-capacity definition. To qualify, the device must be at least fifty years old, work exclusively in a non-replica firearm at least fifty years old, be possessed by a person legally eligible to possess firearms, and be registered with the Division of State Police. A qualifying device transferred into New York must be registered within thirty days.^[5]

Exceptions

Penal Law Section 265.20 supplies limited exemptions for specified law-enforcement, military, dealer, gunsmith, and other authorized activity. Separately, the curio-or-relic exclusion in Section 265.00(23) can apply to a civilian device only when every age, firearm-use, eligibility, and registration condition is met. Transfers of qualifying curio-or-relic devices remain subject to Section 400.03.^[6][5]

Penalties

Possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device is criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree under PL 265.02(8), a Class D violent felony. Under the currently effective Section 70.02 rule, a determinate sentence is generally two to seven years. Section 70.02(2)(c) also permits a definite sentence of at least one year and, in specified cases, another sentence authorized by law after the court makes the required findings. The sentence is therefore fact-specific rather than an absolute two-year mandatory minimum in every case.^[7][8]

Interaction with Federal Law

There is no federal large capacity magazine ban currently in effect. However, New York's state law applies to all persons within the state, including visitors from states where large capacity magazines are legal. Travelers passing through New York with magazines exceeding ten rounds may be subject to prosecution under state law, even if the magazines are legal in their state of origin.^[2]