I may be moving to the Upstate New York or Lower Vermont area and am just wondering about gun Laws in those areas. Could anyone fill me in with info. (I would like to bring my AR's and handguns)

New York gun laws suck, but it's not too bad you could probably live with them.  I think vermont has better laws, I also don't think you need a pistol permit to own pistols in vermont.

Zip -

If you have to move to NY, you have to get a NY pistol permit before you can again legally take possession of your already legally owned pistols in the state of NY, and they must go through a FFL. Go Vermont!

Where in upstate n.y.?.......you can own anything you want.....(short of class 3)...northern zone has extended deer season and rifles are legal...(as opposed to shotgun).....most northern counties are decent on handgun ownership......lots of room to play up there...just...DAMN COLD!.......

Yeah what they said.  If your choice is between Vermont and NY then I would assume your looking at the area just above NYC, which is bad news.  There are good counties in NY but it is hit or miss.

Well zipster223, there are many nice places to live in either upstate New York or lower Vermont.  What area of New York are you thinking of looking at?  I live near Albany and most places north of Albany are pretty nice.  The gun laws are really not all that bad, considering the reputation New York State as a whole has.  The city of Albany has some sort of restrictions on AR-15 type rifles, but as long as you're not living within the city limits, you can own all the AR-15's, pre-ban mags, etc. that you want or can afford.  Rifles and shotguns are not registered at all either, so there's no "assault weapon registration" or tracking of any kind.

Handguns on the other hand are a completely different situation.  You must have a valid New York State pistol permit to be in possession of a handgun at anytime in the state.  There is no grace period either.  If you're caught with a handgun (concealed, encased, taken apart, etc.) anywhere in the state without a permit, you'll lose the gun and probably go to jail.  Permits are not difficult to get, they just take a while, usually 3-9 months.  They are issued at the county level and are good for anywhere in the state aside from the 5 boroughs of NYC.  Once a permit is issued, it is quite easy from there.  You can own just about anything you want, just as long as it's legal at the federal level, but no state can avoid that issue (no class 3 though).

OK, now for Vermont.  Vermont has almost no restrictions on firearms by law.  This includes handguns, rifles, and shotguns.  There is no provision for concealed handgun permits versus open carry, automobile carry, etc. because these things are not required.  You can buy a handgun and carry it immediately.

Next thing, of which I might get flamed for.... aside from strong 2nd Amendment freedoms, Vermont isn't such a great place to live.  One major misconception people have about Vermont is that it is a very politically conservative state.  This is far from true.  Vermont is a fairly socialist-leaning state.  Personally, I think Vermont's gun freedoms are an anomoly.  They have high taxes, their Congressional representation is very left wing...Bernie Sanders is an openly socialist politician, and their state politicians are similar in position.

Anyway, although it might sound strange to say, I myself much rather live in upstate New York than any place in Vermont.  There is much more opportunity in New York, where I live taxes are lower, and most of upstate is far enough away from NYC to be quite strongly conservative.

In conclusion, IMHO, upstate New York is the better place to live, although the Vermonters have almost no gun restrictions.  There are just many more advantages to living in NYS.

Good luck with your decision.

I would be moving about an hour and a half North (I think) of Albany. (Pending Job)It's a town called Salem. It's a border town of Vermont so I would be commuting between both areas daily. I really want to bring My AR's and side arms to try out some "Green Mountain" hunting because theres not much else to do around that area. I have visited the place before but everyone seems to be more traditional type shooters and are offended by "Black Rifles". Anyone have any more pointers?

BMAN is correct.......and the closer you get to the adirondacks, the more lenient....I`d like to add that I believe the gamies are more agressive in vermont....at least on lake champlain....have fished there every summer for a long time....hunting in the n.y. north country is a good experience also.....can`t say about the green mts though...except for the strict enviros....most are now anyway......as long as you`re legal....I know there`s a lot of poachers up there....my brother lives in chazy.......there`s also a lot of poachers in my part of wny too....plenty of encon cops in the woods.........

Check on the time it takes to get a pistol permit in the NY county you're thinking of moving to. In Schenectady county I had to get four people to fill out references on me as part of the pistol permit process. If I'm not mistaken they had to know me for a year. If I had a choice (work would be too far) I'd live in Vermont

I live in Dutchess county which is about 70 miles south of Albany and 70 miles north of NYC. I can own any long gun that I want (no class 3). I just go to my FFL, pick it out, do the NICs check and I get to go home with it.

For a handgun, you need a pistol license. For Dutchess county, you need a notarized letter of reference from 3 people who have known you for at least a year. I think that those references must also be Dutchess county residents. If this is the case for the county that you are moving to, it may be hard to get a handgun license if you do not know anyone in the area.

New York really isn't that bad. There's no waiting periods or FOID cards. "assault weapons" are legal. Getting a pistol license is a bit of a pain, but it's still pretty east to acquire. You can get a concealed carry permit, but laws vary by county.

Don't forget the new assault weapon law of New York passed this past March, which includes DNA ballistic spent case “finger printing” on all new handguns sold in the state.

Don't forget the new assault weapon law of New York passed this past March, which includes DNA ballistic spent case “finger printing” on all new handguns sold in the state.

Can someone tell me about this assault weapon law of New York?

I live on windsor county, in the middle of Vermont. Our gun laws are decent, you can own whatever you want (short of class 3) with no license. Our job market really sucks as vermont is primarily a tourist state and dosen't encourage big businesses to move here, also our taxes are high, and wages reletively low. But having said that i would still rather live in Vermont than NY  

Text of New York Bill S8234
S. 8234 2 A. 11535

AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the general business law and
the penal law, in relation to assault weapons and large capacity ammu-
nition feeding devices, gun locking devices, creating a ballistic
identification databank, sales of firearms, rifles or shotguns at gun
shows and establishing a minimum age to possess a firearm; to amend
the executive law and the state finance law, in relation to establish-
ing a gun trafficking interdiction program and a gun tracer program;
to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring the report of a
stolen or lost weapon to a police agency; and to authorize a study
relating to the availability and effectiveness of existing technology
for use of smart guns.

details
http://www.scopeny.org/S8234.html

What does that mean in laymans terms?

Quoted: Text of New York Bill S8234 S. 8234 2 A. 11535 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the general business law and the penal law, in relation to assault weapons and large capacity ammu- nition feeding devices, gun locking devices, creating a ballistic identification databank, sales of firearms, rifles or shotguns at gun shows and establishing a minimum age to possess a firearm; to amend the executive law and the state finance law, in relation to establish- ing a gun trafficking interdiction program and a gun tracer program; to amend the penal law, in relation to requiring the report of a stolen or lost weapon to a police agency; and to authorize a study relating to the availability and effectiveness of existing technology for use of smart guns. details http://www.scopeny.org/S8234.html

Quoted: What does that mean in laymans terms?

It means that it is a mirror of the Federal Violent Act Law of 1994 with more of a twist.
If somehow the federal assault ban is lifted NYS will still have their ban.
Also some major new handgun laws. There is now talk about banning laser equipped sighting systems on any gun, including toy guns.

The handgun law really stinks if you want a new handgun that is out of state. You have to wait until your FFL gets it to the one of 4 NYS police barracks that does the ballistic case prints which could take up to 3 weeks, and dealers will charge you $25-$45 for this service, since they are the only ones by law who can bring the handgun to the police- not their employees.
If your over 18 but do not possess a NYS pistol permit you can shoot a licensed permit holders pistol in a club or organization if there is a NRA approver range master present.
Under 21 no license is granted. Under 18 no handgun shooting allowed unless it is for a organized junior sporting event with NRA approved instructor present.
Many people bitched about this new ruling, and amendments may have been made.
Do a web search for the whole law.