NH Court: Ammunition must be in gun for weapon to be loaded

In which will be paid by us.

Yes it's the lesser of two evils: I don't want to discourage people to push back against bullshit like this, so I'd rather us taxpayers cover his fees (and electable government officials getting the blame for it) than set a precedent of little people fighting the system alone.

It'd be better if the American people would rally to the cause and put the government in their place, but THAT hasn't happened yet.
 
Read the ruling again:

"Accordingly, we hold that in order for a pistol or revolver to be considered “loaded” within the meaning of RSA 159:4, the pistol or revolver must contain a cartridge in the chamber or must contain a magazine, cylinder, or clip inserted in or otherwise adjoined to the firearm such that the firearm can be discharged through normal operation."

A round in the chamber means "loaded" regardless of whether you have a mag safety.

That's a pretty clear-cut ruling.
 
But what's considered normal operation? Does that mean racking the slide? If it doesn't then you could carry with a magazine in the firearm witthout a cartridge in the chamber without a P&R.
 
But what's considered normal operation? Does that mean racking the slide? If it doesn't then you could carry with a magazine in the firearm witthout a cartridge in the chamber without a P&R.

See my above post, that was edited after you posted this. They didn't say, and your guess and interpretation is as good as mine or anyone else. It remains ambiguous.
 
"the pistol or revolver must contain a cartridge in the chamber or must contain a magazine, cylinder, or clip inserted in or otherwise adjoined to the firearm such that the firearm can be discharged through normal operation. " Looks to me that if you have a mag safety and pull the mag out but leave one in the chamber, you're good to go.

The best part about this is that for people like me who don't want to have another CCW license and won't be getting one. You can conceal carry unloaded, open carry loaded and only have to pop the mag out but not unholster the gun when getting into a vehicle.

And rack the round out of the chamber
 
Read the ruling again:

"Accordingly, we hold that in order for a pistol or revolver to be considered “loaded” within the meaning of RSA 159:4, the pistol or revolver must contain a cartridge in the chamber or must contain a magazine, cylinder, or clip inserted in or otherwise adjoined to the firearm such that the firearm can be discharged through normal operation."

A round in the chamber means "loaded" regardless of whether you have a mag safety.

That is exactly how I interpret that law as well. I would not want to be a test case just for the sake of keeping a round chambered. I'll just drop the mag (and spare round) if I'm in NH and not bother with a NR permit for the few times a year it would ever be needed.
 
But what's considered normal operation? Does that mean racking the slide? If it doesn't then you could carry with a magazine in the firearm witthout a cartridge in the chamber without a P&R.

I get what you are saying, but honestly, if you aren't keeping a round chambered, then having the mag out is not really going to matter that much as long as you keep it easily accessible and not buried in a pocket with a bunch of other crap. In this case, I would say a belt mag carrier, or Buck knife type case with a mag in it would make sense for ease of loading if it was actually needed.
 
And practice quick load/reloads to ensure you can load, lock, and rack it quickly and accurately every time. When a situation arises, you want/need muscle memory to take over and not to have to think about it.
 
"the pistol or revolver must contain a cartridge in the chamber or must contain a magazine, cylinder, or clip inserted in or otherwise adjoined to the firearm such that the firearm can be discharged through normal operation. " Looks to me that if you have a mag safety and pull the mag out but leave one in the chamber, you're good to go.

The best part about this is that for people like me who don't want to have another CCW license and won't be getting one. You can conceal carry unloaded, open carry loaded and only have to pop the mag out but not unholster the gun when getting into a vehicle.

I would get the permit ..it would to be a disadvantage to have a concealed firearm unloaded when you need it for its intended purposes.-IMHO
 
But what's considered normal operation? Does that mean racking the slide? If it doesn't then you could carry with a magazine in the firearm witthout a cartridge in the chamber without a P&R.

Of course racking the slide is normal operation. Is it normal operation to beat on it with a hammer or a rock? No!
Why is this so hard for you to understand?
 
Of course racking the slide is normal operation. Is it normal operation to beat on it with a hammer or a rock? No!
Why is this so hard for you to understand?

Take it easy Francis.

For those of you with a reading comprehension problem I'll repeat my question: If a magazine is not fully inserted into a magazine well, is the gun still considered loaded? My guess is that it is because that would mean "WITH".

Sure, it's a moot point since I have a P&R but I'm just thinking about the implications of the ruling.
 
Of course racking the slide is normal operation. Is it normal operation to beat on it with a hammer or a rock? No!
Why is this so hard for you to understand?

That might seem like common sense to us but I would bet that lawyers fan argue otherwise.
 
noxin said:
So, I can conceal carry in NH as long as the magazine is not in the pistol and the chamber is empty. That's cool.
I wouldn't bet on this if the only charge you with carrying a concealed handgun and not a loaded concealed handgun.
And exactly what RSA would that be charged under?
 
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Take it easy Francis.

For those of you with a reading comprehension problem I'll repeat my question: If a magazine is not fully inserted into a magazine well, is the gun still considered loaded? My guess is that it is because that would mean "WITH".

Sure, it's a moot point since I have a P&R but I'm just thinking about the implications of the ruling.


YES!

[rolleyes]
 
I wouldn't bet on this if the only charge you with carrying a concealed handgun and not a loaded concealed handgun.

You weren't paying attention.

Whether the gun is "loaded", and the definition of "loaded", is the only legal issue here. Because whether it's in a vehicle, or concealed on your person, there is no violation unless it is "loaded" and you don't have a license.
 
Ok, there is a lot of going around in circles over the past couple of pages, but one thing that just about everyone agrees on is that if you are carrying in NH without a NR permit (assuming you don't live there already) is that:
1) you either have to OC, or carry with the magazine out of the gun (as well as empty chamber) if CC, or in a vehicle.

2) according to most people's interpretation of the law, the gun would be considered "loaded" even if no round was chambered, but the mag was still in the magwell with cartridges in it. Obviously a revolver would be considered "loaded" no matter what if there were any cartridges in the cylinder at all.

Did I miss anything?
 
I first got the "no ammunition on your PERSON" idea from the NHSP FAQ. I hope that gets addressed and amended!
 
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