Pistol Permit Question

[MrShotShot]

I moved to New York in 1995 and applied for my pistol permit in Tompkins County. The permit was issued with the following restrictions - hunting and target shooting. I have since learned that the restrictions are completely up to the issuing county and that some counties issue without restrictions.

I now live in Cortland County and was wondering if anyone knew if Cortland County issues permits w/o restrictions and, if so, how woudl I go about removing the existing restrictions from my permit?

Thanks.

 

[cgny]

you would most likely just have a new permit printed from that county with whatever restrictions(if any) they impose. i know every county minus the 5 boroughs and li accept any others permits. im in saratoga county, just north of us is warren county where permits issued are unrestricted. in the nra course i just took the instructor pretty much said that if you are within an area or near (on your way, etc.) where target shooting/ hunting is safe (500 ft. rule) than you are justiified to have your firearm on you. so most rural counties you are within right whether unrestricted or not...

 

[willyNH]

Hey MrShot

I am a Cortland County resident and work in Tompkins. I got my pistol license in Cortland County almost a year ago without restrictions. Cortland County does issue unrestricted, but I am unsure if it is a rule or an exception. The reason I stated on my application for having a pistol license was "all lawful purposes". During the proess, I had a NYS Police Detective interview me and he seemed entertained by that response. I explained that I plink, hunt, would like to compete, and might want to carry a gun. Honestly, before I received my license I did not know whether or not I would carry if "allowed", but I knew I would think long and hard about it.

I received my license in 3 months, almost to the day, with no restrictions. The Cortland County Pistol Permit Clerk is a wonderful lady who will answer any of your questions. At a concealed carry seminar I went to some months back, a student asked why his license had restrictions of "Hunting and Target only". The instructor then asked the student what reasons he had put on the application. When he responded that he had put hunting and target shooting, the instructed replied "you got exactly what you asked for". His recommendation was to get some training to show he had proper knowledge of safe gun handling and to write a letter to the issuing officer (a judge in Cortland County) asking for him to remove the restrictions on his license.

I would talk to the Pistol Permit Clerk and ask her opinion and then contact the judge if necessary. If you want their contact information, it should be on the county website, Link Removed. Change the "X" to a "w".

If you need a place to shoot, I will recomment the Cortland Pistol Club in Groton NY. They are a great group of folks and they hold shoots monthly. The range is open at almost any other time, and their website can be found by searching the name.

Good luck.

-Matt

 

[MrShotShot]

Matt,
Thanks for the reply. Very helpful.

When I applied for my permit in Tompkins county back in 1995 I put "self defense" on the application and was told that they don't issue permits for self defense - huh? What was really funny was that my PA carry permit had self defense PRE-PRINTED on it.

I'll go talk to the clerk and see what she has to say.

Thanks for the tip about the shooting club. I've been looking for a good one.

 

[JimPage]

The restrictions have no legal limitation according to NYS court precedent. The court found that carrying a pistol anywhere when there is a restriction on the license is not a violation of state law and cannot result in penalty.

In other words, a license to carry is a license to carry under the penal code no matter what an issuing agent stamps on the license. If the issuing agency finds out you are carrying in blatant violation of the restriction he can rescind your license (which he can do at will anyway), but no penal code has been violated.