Small game hunting, airgun, felony

[lidave]

My friend would like to come hunting with me this season. He has a felony on his record. I know he cannot possess a firearm, but can he hunt small game with an airgun? Will the felony stop him from getting his hunting license if he completes the class? Is an airgun considered a firearm? I can't seem to find a clear answer on DEC site or anywhere else.

[lidave]

So this is what I found so far:

http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&[email protected]+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=BROWSER+&TOKEN=53916491+&TARGET=VIEW]NYS law:

3. "Firearm" means (a) any pistol or revolver; or ( a shotgun having

  one or more barrels less than eighteen inches in length; or © a  rifle

  having  one  or  more barrels less than sixteen inches in length; or (d)

  any  weapon  made  from  a  shotgun  or  rifle  whether  by  alteration,

  modification,  or  otherwise  if  such  weapon  as altered, modified, or

  otherwise has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches;  or  (e)

  an assault weapon. For the purpose of this subdivision the length of the

  barrel  on  a  shotgun  or  rifle  shall  be determined by measuring the

  distance between the muzzle  and  the  face  of  the  bolt,  breech,  or

  breechlock  when  closed  and  when  the shotgun or rifle is cocked; the

  overall length of a weapon made from a shotgun or rifle is the  distance

  between the extreme ends of the weapon measured along a line parallel to

  the  center  line  of  the  bore.  Firearm  does  not include an antique

  firearm.

So, NYS does not consider an airgun a firearm.  However, NYS and federal law prohibits felons from owning or using firearms. According to the definition above an airgun is not a firearm. My friend has a felony and would like to come hunting. DEC allows small game hunting with an air rifle, however, DEC considers (http://www.dec.ny.gov/regs/3934.html#13355), "FOR THE PURPOSES OF FISH AND WILDLIFE LAW" an airgun using .17 or larger, capable of 600 fps or more, a firearm. It seems that DEC and NYS don't agree. Which would be the relevant law determining whether or not an airgun is indeed a firearm and whether or not a felon can possess an airgun. I would think it's NYS law, since DEC only covers environmental law and DEC specifies that

(a) The terms "firearm" or "gun" shall mean any rifle, pistol, shotgun or muzzleloading firearm which by force of gunpowder, or an airgun as defined in subdivision (, that expels a missile or projectile capable of killing, wounding or otherwise inflicting physical damage upon fish, wildlife or other animals.

( The term "airgun" shall mean any implement which by the force of a spring, air or other non-ignited compressed gas expels a missile or projectile and has a rifled or smooth barrel, using ammunition no smaller than .17 caliber, producing projectile velocities of not less than 600 feet per second. For the purposes of the Fish and Wildlife Law, an implement meeting the above specifications shall be considered a firearm or gun, and may be used to take protected wildlife whenever such protected wildlife may legally be taken with a rimfire rifle.

which seems to imply that they only consider it a firearm in order to allow it to be used for hunting since you must use a firearm to hunt small game. Ugh, lawyers suck.

[Mr VJP]

He can get a hunting license for a bow and arrow, but I don't know about an airgun.  That's one of the problems with gun laws today.  You need a lawyer to answer just about any gun question.

[lidave]

Well, you can definitely hunt small game with an airgun and a small game license.  There doesn't seem to be any restrictions stopping a felon from obtaining a hunting license.  And NYS doesn't seem to consider an airgun a firearm, so there doesn't seem to be a reason why a felon can't hunt small game with airgun and a small game license. 

IN either case he's going to speak to a lawyer, but I think he should be good to go.

[covert]

I e-mailed the DEC a couple years ago (before they made airguns legal implements for small game and got this response.

    I am ECO Ric Warner and have been asked to respond to your question.

At the present time the quick answer to your question is, No,  a large caliber air rifle as you describe would not be a legal implement to hunt protected wildlife with in New York.  There is a statutory section contained in the NYS Environmental Conservation Law that states, protected game, such as small game, as well as big game, may only be taken by gun or longbow.  [glow=red,2,300]Under the Environmental Conservation Law the air rifle would meet the definition of a firearm, but does not meet the definition of a "gun" as it uses no explosive force to propel the projectile.[/glow]    These implements, although they may be very capable of taking larger type game animals, are currently not allowed to be used for hunting protected games species in New York.  This issue may be addressed sometime in the future for use in New York, however presently they may not be used.

  If you have additional questions feel free to contact me directly.

ECO Ric Warner

[email protected]

 

So judging from that it sounds like as far as [glow=red,2,300]the DEC[/glow] is concerned an air rifle is a firearm. 

[glow=red,2,300] HOWEVER...[/glow]YMMV, always take Interweb advice with a grain of salt because opinions are like touchholes.  With something as ticklish as this your best bet would be to contact someone with the Attorney General's office since they will be the ones putting you in the slam for violating the law. 

[Felonious_Monk]

Resurrecting this thread in case the OP has never gotten his answer.

Question: My friend is a convicted felon. Can a felon buy a hunting license and go hunting?

Answer: Yes, he/she may buy a license, but may only use a bow or an air rifle for hunting. The New York State Penal Law has been amended to prohibit a felon from possessing a rifle, shotgun, or a muzzleloader.

That's straight from the horse's mouth.

Link: http://www.eregulations.com/newyork/hunting/conservation-police-q-a/

[growalot]

Question: In the areas of the state where you can hunt deer only with a shotgun during the regular season, can I hunt for woodchucks with a centerfire rifle?

Answer: Yes, but only during the time of year when there is no open season for deer, including the archery season.

Question: Can I hunt for small game during the big game hunting season?

Answer: Yes, as long as you have a hunting license with a valid small game privilege.

I've read and re-read the above statements...what am I doing wrong?...for they seem to contradict each other

[Felonious_Monk]

I'm not sure I understand your question.

[Elmo]

#1. Lildave:

NYS does not consider airguns as a firearm. DEC does but only in regards towards hunting regulations. Not in regards toward felonies. If you commit a DEC crime (poaching for example) you're being trialled through DEC fines. If you shoot someone, DEC turns the case over to the state police because you have committed a state crime. In your case, DEC isn't concerned with the fact that you're a felon. The state police isn't concern with the fact hat you have a airgun. I'm basing this on my interpretation of the law. I advice going to a lawyer. Since a minor mistake here can mean years in the prison.

[Elmo]

#2. Growalot:

What they are saying is that areas such as Putnam county is shotgun only for big game due to proximity of houses. For small game and predator, you can use centerfire rifles but when deer season is in session, you may not use centerfire for anything. The reason they do this is because there are a lot of poachers were using centerfire rifles and when DEC bust them, they lie and say they were actually woodchuck hunting so DEC ban it altogether during deer season.

[growalot]

Well I just woke up and re read that and yours...Still not getting it..

Ok what I'm seeing is yes you you can small game hunt in shot gun only areas with a rifle..but not during deer season or archery...which is big game right?

Then next thing they say is yes you can hunt small game in big game season with a valid small game privilege

[growalot]

Isn't the only big game NY has being deer and bear and those run at the same time?

[growalot]

Ahh I get it now ...2 cups of coffee later....Thank God for coffee...you can use shot gun...air and rim fire...just not the center fire.

That law change was specific wasn't it?...in not allowing felons to have any weapon using blk powder

[Paula]

it was, look at the date of original post

[Felonious_Monk]

it was, look at the date of original post

Indeed. As I said I only resurrected it in case the OP had never found an answer. The link I posted is to the online guide to the DEC's 2012 - 2013 hunting regulations FAQ.

EDITED TO ADD: If the DEC felt the need to add that question to their FAQ, it would seem that it is a common enough question. NYS Penal Code 265 (pertaining to weapons and weapons violations) and 6 NYCRR 180.3 (pertaining to hunting with air rifles) seem almost to conflict with one another in their language. A convicted felon whom is looking to abide by the law would be justified in doing his due diligence to find out if he is legally allowed to hunt with an airgun, since by purpose of legislative language they magically transform into a firearm the instant they are carried afield.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Felonious_Monk