Assault Weapon Definition - Round Count

[Yankee Clipper]

My friend was telling me that on the state run site for all of our laws that the description of an "assault weapon" was changed from 10 rounds to 5:

Chapter 140, Section 121[FONT=Raleway, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] "(vi) any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition; or (vii) any semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable magazine."[/FONT]

[FONT=Raleway, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Does anyone know when this changed happened as to my recollection that it was always 10 rounds for rifles. Does this really effect us in anyway? Sorry for is this was already discussed as I may just be late to the update. [/FONT]

 

[Another_David]

that's been there for a while and the section you quoted are EXEMPTIONS from the definition

however, that the term assault weapon shall not include: (i) any of the weapons, or replicas or duplicates of such weapons, specified in appendix A to 18 U.S.C. section 922 as appearing in such appendix on September 13, 1994, as such weapons were manufactured on October 1, 1993; (ii) any weapon that is operated by manual bolt, pump, lever or slide action; (iii) any weapon that has been rendered permanently inoperable or otherwise rendered permanently unable to be designated a semiautomatic assault weapon; (iv) any weapon that was manufactured prior to the year 1899; (v) any weapon that is an antique or relic, theatrical prop or other weapon that is not capable of firing a projectile and which is not intended for use as a functional weapon and cannot be readily modified through a combination of available parts into an operable assault weapon; (vi) any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition; or (vii) any semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable magazine.

 

[soam]

So yeah, basically if it's a semiautomatic rifle that only accepts detachable magazines that hold 5 rounds or less, then it's not an assault weapon. I'm having a hard time thinking of any semiautomatic rifle in existence that doesn't accept magazines over 5 round capacity, so it's a pretty meaningless exception.

 

[Yankee Clipper]

Woops our bad. He sent that to me while filing in Sharon for his LTC and was confused why the town and the state's definition did not line up.

 

[noddaduma]

So yeah, basically if it's a semiautomatic rifle that only accepts detachable magazines that hold 5 rounds or less, then it's not an assault weapon. I'm having a hard time thinking of any semiautomatic rifle in existence that doesn't accept magazines over 5 round capacity, so it's a pretty meaningless exception.

A Springfield 1903 with Peterson attachment, but those are flipping rare.

 

[Coyote33]

Could this have anything to do with HUNTING laws or regulations?

 

[Frizzle Fry]

So yeah, basically if it's a semiautomatic rifle that only accepts detachable magazines that hold 5 rounds or less, then it's not an assault weapon. I'm having a hard time thinking of any semiautomatic rifle in existence that doesn't accept magazines over 5 round capacity, so it's a pretty meaningless exception.

My BAR .308 has a detachable magazine in a trapdoor. The magazine well is part of the trapdoor assembly, and the whole thing swings the magazine out on a hinge. No way to fit a detachable magazine over 5 rounds without serious modifications and the replacement of many, many parts - the magazine retention is reliant on the trap door not the magazine itself. Definitely not a standard/typical design, though.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Woops our bad. He sent that to me while filing in Sharon and was like the town and the state did not line up.

I'm not sure what you are saying here, but I can tell you that if anyone thinks that police officers know what the gun laws are, they are sadly being mislead. Almost all LEOs are clueless and those that know some accurate info on the laws tend to almost always be "gun people" like the folks on here.

There have been no actual gun law changes since 8/14/2014. AG "re-writes" in her head abound however. And if there had been a new law passed, I'm certain that GOAL would have told us about it. Jim keeps on top of legislation, so it's not going to "slip by" without notice.

 

[ksimons]

And when if ever was someone sentenced to the mandatory one year behind bars for carrying a unlicensed handgun

 

[MisterHappy]

A Springfield 1903 with Peterson attachment, but those are flipping rare.

Spelling counts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedersen_device

 

[MisterHappy]

Could this have anything to do with HUNTING laws or regulations?

AFAIK the only hunting-specific regs WRT mag capacity are for migratory waterfowl: no more than 3 rounds.

Going after pheasant? A tacticool 870 is lawful....but weird.

 

[Yankee Clipper]

Fixed what I meant bad spelling

 

[JAD]

AFAIK the only hunting-specific regs WRT mag capacity are for migratory waterfowl: no more than 3 rounds.

Going after pheasant? A tacticool 870 is lawful....but weird.

Not as weird as it sounds. I've used my 500 (20"/8 shot; not in Mass) for hunting various small game and upland birds. It makes sense in particularly thick habitats.