PL 265.00:
New York Firearm and Weapon Definitions

New York Penal Law Section 265.00 supplies definitions used throughout Article 265. These state definitions do not always match everyday usage or federal terminology. Classification should begin with the current statutory text.^[1]

Firearm

For Article 265, firearm includes a pistol or revolver, a shotgun with one or more barrels under eighteen inches, a rifle with one or more barrels under sixteen inches, and a weapon made from a shotgun or rifle when the altered weapon has an overall length under twenty-six inches. It also includes an assault weapon and a weapon not otherwise defined in the section that contains a component providing housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate a fire-control component and that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by explosive action. The statute excludes an antique firearm from this definition.^[1]

Rifle and Shotgun

A rifle is a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder that uses the energy of an explosive to fire a single projectile through a rifled bore for each trigger pull. A shotgun is likewise intended to be fired from the shoulder, but the current definition permits firing through either a smooth or rifled bore and describes a fixed shotgun shell producing projectiles or a single projectile for each trigger pull.^[1]

Firearm Silencer

A firearm silencer is an instrument, attachment, weapon, or appliance for causing the firing of a gun to be silent or intended to lessen or muffle the noise of firing. A description limited to attachments that merely reduce noise omits parts of the statutory definition.^[1]

Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device

A large capacity ammunition feeding device is a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds. The statute excludes an attached tubular device designed to accept and capable of operating only with .22-caliber rimfire ammunition. It also contains a conditional registered curio-or-relic exception.^[1]

Assault Weapon

Subdivision 22 uses separate tests for semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns, plus specified listed weapons and revolving-cylinder shotguns. Each category has its own elements and exclusions. A generic statement about any semiautomatic firearm with one feature is not a substitute for the statutory test.^[1]

Why the Definitions Matter

Article 265 offenses depend on the item meeting the applicable definition and on the remaining elements of the offense. Barrel length, overall length, operating action, bore, magazine configuration, capacity, components, and statutory exclusions can change the classification. Federal registration or another state's terminology does not replace New York's definitions.