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SKS/Bayonet legality.
JohnQ
Member Posts: 4 ✭✭
Hi folks.
I recently purchased a Romanian SKS. When I picked it up and the dealer and I were doing the paperwork he mentioned that having a Bayonet and even the lug for it was illegal.
I've done some research, but I am a newbie and by far a layman in this field, it appears that this information he gave me might be dated or just plain wrong.
Any help would be much appreciated!
PS: I'm in Westchester County, New York.
I recently purchased a Romanian SKS. When I picked it up and the dealer and I were doing the paperwork he mentioned that having a Bayonet and even the lug for it was illegal.
I've done some research, but I am a newbie and by far a layman in this field, it appears that this information he gave me might be dated or just plain wrong.
Any help would be much appreciated!
PS: I'm in Westchester County, New York.
Comments
I wouldn't contact any local law enforcement. From what I've seen that only gets your gun confiscated. Or sets yourself up as a future target of harassment from various offices.
However, if you trust your gun dealers word, then he's probably right. He is a dealer, so he would hopefully be somewhat familiar with the laws. If your not totally sure, call around to some other gun shops and ask. Possibly find a gun shop that actually sells SKS's and see if they have the bayonets on them. If simply removing the bayonet makes the gun legal then thats a simple fix. And you can always take 2 minutes to re-attach it if you ever want to sell it out of state or whatever. However if you have to cut off the mount for the bayonet, that sucks, but if it keeps you out of jail, you might do it.
Me personally. I just wouldn't say anything to anyone, or show it to anyone. If the ATF comes knocking after reading the transferring dealers books, its time to report it stolen...
By FEDERAL law you can have a bayonet on them (and in fact, arguably should have such a bayonet to maintain "original configuration").
By NY State law, my understanding is that NY State law still mimics the Clinton Federal gun ban. In other words, there is a list of "evil" features, that if combined makes a gun an "assault" weapon that is prohibited.
I **THINK** a stock military SKS *STILL* doesn't qualify as an "assault weapon", because it lacks a detachable magazine:
quote:http://www.scribd.com/doc/13624979/New-York-State-Gun-Laws
It shall be unlawful to possess any "assault weapon" or "large capacity ammunition feeding device." So called assault weapons lawfully possessed prior to September 14, 1994 and large capacity ammunition feeding devices manufactured prior to such date can continue to be lawfully possessed..
"Assault weapon" is defned as:
A semiautomatic rife that has an ability to accept a detachable
magazine and has at least two of the following characteristics:
a folding or telescoping stock;
a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the ac-
tion of the weapon;
a bayonet mount;
a flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommo-
date a flash suppressor;
a grenade launcher
Edit: Note that its not the bayonet that matters here. . .its the bayonet MOUNT. So if that's the limiting feature (and my read is that it is NOT), then simply removing the bayonet wouldn't be enough. You'd actually have to grind off the mount.
For what its worth, IMO, SKS rifles are better handling and balanced without the bayonet, so if you just want a "shooter" (as opposed to a collectors piece), this won't hurt the guns function. (Still annoying, though).
Also, if I am reading the above statute correctly, since stock SKS rifles lack vertical pistol grips, and I believe the Romanian ones lack flash supressors, threaded barrels and grenade launchers, I think you'd be OK with a bayonet mount even WITH a detachable magazine.
You should only get into trouble if you're trying to "tacticalize" your SKS with aftermarket parts, but I'll defer to anyone more familiar with NY State law. As a generalization, its probably safe to assume that gun savvy individuals within NY State know if stock SKS rifles are legal there or not!
As a last consideration, apart from ANY any SKS rifle present in the State pre 1994 would be "pre-ban" and should still be legal there.
**EVERY** Romanian SKS rifle was manufactured prior to 1994, though its likely that many weren't imported until after then.
"If your not totally sure, call around to some other gun shops and ask. Possibly find a gun shop that actually sells SKS's and see if they have the bayonets on them. If simply removing the bayonet makes the gun legal then thats a simple fix"
I was told that I wouldn't be able to shoot it at a range, currently, which was my main concern. I think I'll call a few other dealers and ranges and see if they can lend a little insight.
Thanks for the help guys!
- JohnQ
You should not have to grind down that far to make it legal just get the ears off it.
Have fun!
This is just a bit of a guess since I'm in CA - perhaps the dealer is stating the gun as currently configured is legal, however if configured with a detachable magazine the bayonet lug becomes an "evil" 2nd feature and is an AW?
An SKS is not now, nor ever was, an assault weapon by the Federal or NYS definition, as long as evil features were not added.
You can alter any C&R from its original configuration; there is no law against that. However, you cannot transfer it directly to a C&R holder in another state using his C&R license, as it will no longer be in the C&R category; it would be an ordinary rifle, requiring transfer through a dealer.
Yes, your dealer was misinformed. A bayonet &/or lug for your rifle is perfectly legal. I haven't examined a Rommy SKS, but the other makes require special tools & parts to either install or remove the bayonet, so I wouldn't fool with it.
Neal
Beantown is correct, NYS simply copied the Federal so-called semi-automatic assault weapons list & features, but did not revoke the category when the federal ban expired.
An SKS is not now, nor ever was, an assault weapon by the Federal or NYS definition, as long as evil features were not added.
You can alter any C&R from its original configuration; there is no law against that. However, you cannot transfer it directly to a C&R holder in another state using his C&R license, as it will no longer be in the C&R category; it would be an ordinary rifle, requiring transfer through a dealer.
Yes, your dealer was misinformed. A bayonet &/or lug for your rifle is perfectly legal. I haven't examined a Rommy SKS, but the other makes require special tools & parts to either install or remove the bayonet, so I wouldn't fool with it.
Neal
Looks like I can put the grinder/hacksaw away for now. Thanks for the quick information everyone!
Also, I am hesitant to say which dealer it was who gave me this info, I don't want to contribute to giving him a bad name for a simple mistake, he was very helpful. If you have an idea who you think it might be and it's necessary, you can PM me.
- JohnQ