Hi-Cap Mags in NY

High capacity magazines are illegal in New York - excluding pre-ban mags.
I've been thinking of trying to get my hands on some pre-ban mags for an AK or AR-15. However, somebody mentioned something to me the other day that I figure is worth considering - there's usually no way to tell a pre-ban mag from a banned magazine. (Obviously, you could buy a banned magazine without anybody ever figuring it out - but that's not what I'm getting at.) If I go and legally obtain pre-ban high capacity magazines, if law enforcement finds them, am I going to wind up having problems with them because they can't tell if they're legal?

That is a tough situation. Regarding preban M16 magazines, I had some that had the date stamped on the mag body. I can't recall off hand what manufacturer that was. I already sold those to people in NY.

The few prebans I still own have the date on the packaging, but once you open the package that is not going to do anybody much good.

I think black followers would be a good indication that the mag is a preban.

I wanted to buy one of the new GSG-5's that came out recently. I decided not to. It will look stupid with the max-capacity 10-round mag instead of the 22-round mag its supposed to be with, and theres no pre-ban mags in existence since it's a new gun.

Very frustrating.

In general:

*All metal AK mags are pre-ban (ie, they were manufactured in the 1970s-1980s).

*Chinese drums are ALL pre-ban. Some Russian and Romanian drums are pre-ban as well.

*There were very few PLASTIC mags imported before the ban. So avoid those.

*For AK-74s, the orange bake-lite mags are almost all pre-ban (they were often converted into .223 AK mags during the ban with the addition of a new follower).

Yes you will have legal problems, because you've purchased/obtained them in a banned era.

None of my prebans are date stamped. I haven't had issues yet at any ranges where LEO were present.

Prince Yamato and ckay, thanks for the very informative posts.
CountGlockula, you can still purchase/obtain them - they just must have been manufactured before they were banned. I was just worried about LEOs claiming that magazines that actually are legal are not.

Understood.

Personally, I wouldn't push the envelope. Do what I do: just pick up 30+ 10 round mags.

Are you near Syracuse?

Camillus Gun and Bait has them in stock usually.

Look for mags in the govt wrappers - I bought a 1/2 doz AR15s & M92 mags that were wrapper dated pre-94 (on-line). I SAVED the wrappers of those I opened just in case. Look around - they are out there.

AKs as already mentioned should not be an issue - my "new" WASR came with 2 of them, buying more was no concern.