New York Penal Law Section 265.01-c makes knowing possession of a rapid-fire modification device a Class A misdemeanor. The device does not have to be installed on a weapon for the possession offense to apply, but the prosecution must prove knowing possession and any applicable statutory exemption must be considered.[1][4]
Devices Covered by the Definition
Section 265.00(26) defines a rapid-fire modification device as any bump stock, trigger crank, binary trigger system, burst trigger system, pistol converter, or other device designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm, rifle, or shotgun.[2]
- Bump stock: A device or instrument that uses recoil energy to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated trigger activation and increases the achievable rate of fire.
- Trigger crank: A device or instrument that repeatedly activates a semiautomatic weapon's trigger through a lever or another part turned in a circular motion. The definition excludes a weapon originally designed and manufactured to fire through a crank or lever.
- Binary trigger system: A device that causes a semiautomatic weapon to fire once when the trigger is pulled and again when it is released.
- Burst trigger system: A device that alters trigger reset and allows a semiautomatic weapon to discharge two or more shots with a single trigger pull.
- Pistol converter: Under the definition in effect through August 24, 2026, a device or instrument installed in or attached to a semiautomatic pistol's slide that interferes with the trigger mechanism and enables rapid or automatic discharge with one continuous trigger pull.
Possession and Distribution Offenses
Knowing possession under Section 265.01-c is a Class A misdemeanor. Section 265.10 separately makes manufacture, transport or shipment, and disposal of a rapid-fire modification device Class E felonies. These provisions describe distinct conduct, so the possession offense should not be described as a felony and the distribution offenses should not be reduced to possession alone.[1][3]
Limited Statutory Exemptions
Section 265.20 supplies conditional exemptions. Examples include New York military personnel when duly authorized by adjutant-general regulations, police and peace officers, federal military personnel acting in official duty or under federal authorization, specified defense-contract personnel when possession is necessary to the contract, qualifying correctional officials acting in official duty, and persons complying with the voluntary-surrender provision. The statute also contains a controlled manufacturer and transferee exemption for specified manufacture, repair, lawful distribution, research, development, shipment, and return activity. These are not blanket exemptions based only on a person's job title or dealer status.[4]
Federal Law Is Separate
In Garland v. Cargill, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with the nonmechanical bump stock at issue was not a machine gun under the federal statutory definition. Effective May 6, 2026, ATF removed the two bump-stock sentences from its three regulatory machine-gun definitions. That federal change did not repeal New York's independently enacted definition or Sections 265.01-c and 265.10.[5][6]
August 25, 2026 Changes
New York has enacted additional provisions effective August 25, 2026. Among them, the machine-gun definition will include a convertible pistol equipped with a pistol converter, and the pistol-converter definition will specify a device installed in or attached to the rear of the slide that replaces the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism. Those future-effective provisions do not change the present rule that knowing possession of a rapid-fire modification device is prohibited under Section 265.01-c.[2]