Is it legal to own an M and P15 Rifle from Smith and Wesson in New York if it has a 30 round magazine and a collapsible stock?

Answer 1

In order to be legal, the magazine must have been manufactured before September of 1994, prior to the passage of the Clinton ban. In order for the rifle itself to be legal, it may not have two or more of the following cosmetic features, unless it was manufactured prior to September of 1994 (the M&P15 was not in production at that time):

• Folding or collapsible buttstock
• Pronounced pistol grip
• Flash suppressor
• Grenade launcher attachment
• Bayonet lug

When the 1994 so-called "assault weapons ban" went into sunset in 1994, some states wrote the ban into their state legislature, to include New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Cook County, Illinois (California's ban on such rifles predates the Clinton ban, being written into the state legislature in 1989).

If you currently own such a rifle, and are considering (or in the process of) a move to NY, it's very easy to make it NY-legal. You can have ONE of the above listed features on a detachable magazine centrefire rifle in NY. If your move to NY is not going to be a permanent thing, you may want to keep your flash suppressor, unless you don't mind permanently pinning and welding a muzzle brake on in its place. You can do the following:

• Replace the collapsible buttstock with a fixed buttstock (such as the full length A1 or A2 style buttstock, or the RRA Tactical Entry stock if you want a short length of pull)
• Replace the gas block with one which does not have a bayonet lug
• Replace the pistol grip with something not determined to be a pistol grip (such as the California Rifles U15 buttstock or the grip offered by Exile Machine Tool)
• Replace the flash suppressor with a muzzle brake which is permanently pinned and welded to the barrel