A guide on how to own a firearm in NYC. Part 4

Continued from Part 3: http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/nw9qp/a_guide_on_how_to_own_a_firearm_in_nyc_part_3/

Storing a handgun:

It gets worse. In NYC, it is a felony to let someone without a permit, even handle the gun. You can also get in trouble for storing the gun without prevention features like a locked box/case, trigger lock or a safe. After your 4th handgun, you are required to have a safe. Under NYC regulations, a gun in considered loaded if the ammo is held near it, ready to be used. Loading a gun in the city limits (outside of a range) is also illegal. The NYPD does not conduct random searches without a damn good reason to do so, so if you want to store your gun in a loaded manner, you will be taking a legal risk. To add insult to injury, it is illegal to ship ammo to anywhere in the city. As stated before, transporting a gun within city limits requires a locked case, a trigger lock and ammo to be in a separate locked case. There is a lot of disagreement on what constitutes a locked case legally but as far as I know a backpack for ammo and a soft case for the gun with a travel lock through the zippers is OK. It doesn’t have to be thief proof, just legal proof.

When selling a handgun, you must get authorization first from NYPD so they can issue you another form. Have the FFL dealer fill it out. You can sell between NYC permit holders if you draw up an invoice for the transfer.

You are legally allowed to take your gun out of your house (on a premises permit) to take a direct route to and from a legal shooting range / hunting area. Make only necessary and as little stops as possible along the way. Use your common sense what is a reasonable stop (showing a gun off to your friends is not one of them). Finally, as per a federal law (whose name I don’t recall), if you start your trip under legal ownership and end it in an area of legal ownership you are good. Example: some states don’t require a license for long guns: start in NYC with your permit > take direct route to shooting range in that state > come back the same way and you’ll be fine legally. If you made a mistake with any of the above, you need to surrender your guns to your local NYPD precinct in 24 hours until you are good legally again. If you are worried about the NYPD playing around with your precious toys, remove key parts before you hand them in. There is no taking it out of the city option with handguns unless you plan to transfer it to another license.

Finally, here are some suggestions for owners. Do not buy ammo in the city since it is insanely overpriced. Drive upstate and buy there. Avoid John Jovino’s Gun Shop in Little Italy like the plaque. Worst shop I’ve ever been to. There is another shop called Ironworks right next to 1PP if you really need something fast. Buy everything out of the city if possible to avoid overpaying. There are no good ranges that I know of in the city (except Staten Island and the outskirts of Queens) that are reasonably priced or not overcrowded. Finally, I recommend you apply for another states license (like NJ or Conn.) to be able to use your handgun in their ranges. Be smart and stay safe.

Part 1: Long guns (Rifle / Shotgun): http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/nud1h/a_guide_on_how_to_own_a_firearm_in_nyc_part_1/ Part 2: Long guns (Rifle / Shotgun) Cont.: http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/nudh5/a_guide_on_how_to_own_a_firearm_in_nyc_part_2/

All of the previous can be found in the official set of rules that the NYPD follow. Located here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/permits/title38_rcny_rev2010_11.pdf

TL;DR: Owning a handgun in NYC is a pain. Do it only if you really want to. It is a broken and frustrating system meant to deter handgun ownership.