Four Guns Only: For Real

[Paco]

Hey gang,

Ok, here's the situation. I've relinquished my New Jersey residency to claim residency in NYC. For now my guns stay in NJ at my father's. I also get to keep the firearm's permit in NJ so I can still shoot there but I can't buy anymore guns without that state's driver license

-Here's where the fun begins: I'm applying for the gun permit in NYC (which costs an outrageous amount of money and 6 months time) which allows me only 4, FOUR, guns total, unless I wish to fork over even more money and lots of time and try to convince the chief why I need more than four guns.

So which four guns???
-They need to be multi use
-No magnums at the NYC range and upto 44mag in the NJ range
-nothing over 10 rounds
-conversions are fine (.22lr kit for 1911, etc.)
-I'm thinking of hunting or not: need the possibility, if I change my mind
-NY State, I believe allows semi-auto rifle hunting
-I do believe in the right to protect myself

I'll fill you in on any more info. as needed.

-The ultimate gunnie's test: which FOUR guns!

[Wakal]

STI frame. Limited and Open uppers, along with a Marvel .22 upper.

AR receiver. 'nuff said.

870. Just because.

The fourth gun? Your favorite out of your own collection.





AlexJustMy2CentsOr4PicksWakal

[Lee Lapin]

Ultimate gunnies would move somewhere else and not have to worry about "just" four guns.

Sorry,

lpl/nc (will never so much as set foot in NY, NJ or Taxachusetts...)

[Paco]

Wakal,

AR won't fly in NYC, other ideas such as STI sound plausible.

Lee Lapin,

Hey bro, I wasn't saying I'm the ultimate gunnie, and I hope my brothers and sisters out there don't have a defeatist attitute about the North East as though it's far too gone, and not worth fighting for. That's how one losses ground. Some solutions please, or at least a vote of confidence. My career doesn't allow me to live in the sticks where I could own anything. I have to stay in the city or at least near it. Let's not have the whole city vs. country talk pollute this thread.

-Paco

[Red Tornado]

I think a 1911 with the .22 conversion is your obvious first choice.

The other kind of depend on what you are considering hunting. Rabbits, squirrel, deer?

12 GA pump shotgun with short barrel for HD and 26" or 28" barrel and a slug barrel for hunting is a versatile second choice. Rodents, birds, and slugs for deer or pigs if close range.

Do you love rifles of pistols more? Milsurps?

Perhaps a .357 rifle and revolver combo which allows .38 as well for numbers 3 and 4. However,

I'd take an M1 Garand third, and your favorite .22 rifle, fourth. I like my 10/22, you've probably got your own favorite.

In summary
1911
12GA
.357 Wheelgun
.357 lever

or (my choice)

1911
12GA
M1
.22 Rifle

Either way, I feel for you.
RT

[Brian Williams]

1911
S&W 13 3" or something similar for carry/HD
Win 1300 HD gun or any of the big 4
S&W 35-1 plinker

[Paco]

Thank you for all your replies thus far. Very thought provoking! I forgot to add: I'm applying for my Florida CCW so I would be able to carry when visiting other states, so I would want something in that nture. I think I'm tall enough to carry the 1911 concealed, not sure...

-Keep 'em coming!

-Paco

[benEzra]

Ruger mini-14 (or mini-30)?

[cslinger]

1911 or Beretta or Glock or any handgun model that suits your fancy that has a good quality .22 conversion available. This covers your main semi auto and .22 pistol in one slot. Incidentally I though NY allowed Pre-Ban magazines. Something to look into.

Marlin lever gun in .357 magnum. Gives you a decent hunting gun, defensive gun, plinker and all in a nice PC friendly package. Again multiple guns in one package.

SP101 .357 2-3 inch snubby revolver. This once again allows two calibers in one, makes a great carry gun is small enough to be an all the time gun yet beefy enough to soak up .357 recoil and abuse for as many rounds as you can put through it.

Ruger 10/22 .22LR Rifle. You need a .22 rifle plain and simple. The Ruger gives you the aftermarket accessories to build what you want on a whim. So instead of buying a new gun just make the Ruger into something new when you get the itch.

My two cents.

Chris

[griz]

So much depends on what you plan to do with them. My bias is hunting and plinking, so:

1911 with 22 conversion
308 bolt action rifle, scoped
357 rifle (You made me give up cowboy shooting with the 4 gun rule, but I LIKE this gun)
22 rifle

A 12 gauge would be more practical and versitle than the lever action or maybe the 22 rifle, but again it depends.

[Trigger]

2 1911's
Rem. 700 .308 win. heavy, scoped.
Rem 870, 12 ga.

[Brass Balls]

No magnums!

1. rifle - Springfield M1A, suitable for defense and hunting N. American game.

2. shotgun - 12 gauge of your choice, can serve as a bird gun and HD gun.

3. .44 wheelgun and shoot .44 special at the range

4. Commander sized 1911 for carry


If I had no use for a large revolver I'd get a gov't and an officer's 1911.

[cookekdjr]

Paco,
What's your lifestyle right now? How often do you leave the city? monthly? weekly? How often do you hunt, and what do you hunt? How often do you go to the range?
I don't think I can offer any meaningful input until I know a little more about how you live.
Thanks,
David

[Lee Lapin]

Paco,

That was why the apology ending the post. NYC may be THE CITY but it isn't THE ONLY CITY in the US of A. City vs. country has nothing to do with anything that I can see. Problem I have is the attitude of the goobermental authorities in THE CITY and many of the states in the northeast. And since it suits enough of the people who live there to be treated like cattle, politics is not going to change it either. Not a case of giving up on the region, people there have pretty much what they want so there is nothing to give up on. The majority has spoken, remember this IS a democracy and all that republic stuff, well, we don't worry too much about that any more. Your rights must be limited so everyone in the majority "feels" better, after all.

It's just a matter of choices, like so many things in life. Believe me I am not throwing off on you here, just saying that I differ in my choices. And BTW, I am by no means an ultimate gunnie either. I don't know what it is you have chosen to do, but unless your career choice is to be mayor of New York City, you should be able to do it elsewhere.

I really am sorry you find yourself in a situation where you have to limit yourself to four choices. But in the spirit of your question I will offer this:

1) Since you can't have an AR-- a Scout type bolt gun in .308 would be a reasonable substitute. I built one on a Mauser action that still allows the use of stripper clips for loading, it is reasonably fast to reload. And it works well for hunting too if you decide to try that.

2) Remington 870 12 ga. Any variation that suits you would do, Wingmaster, Express or Police, a standard 2 3/4" gun is fine, find a 3" magnum receiver if you want to go waterfowling, I'd stay away from the 3.5" or the Special Field variants tho. One 26" VR RemChoked barrel for wingshooting or clay games, one 18" bead sighted barrel for HD, current issue short barrels are factory ImpCyl choked and are fine for HD use as is, with a cylinder bore I'd have RemChoke tubes installed. A two-shot magazine extension, a SideSaddle (4-round or 6-round, depending on the fore-end you use) and a mountable white light source plus provisions to mount a sling would complete the HD package. Or if I were going to use the shotgun for deer hunting too I'd get a 20" barrel with factory rifle sights, and get a 3-shot magazine extension for that one. Given the modular nature of the 870 it is easy to change out parts to set up the gun for specific purposes.

3) Several good centerfire autopistols have .22 rimfire conversion kits available for them nowadays. I would hate to have to give up my old Beretta Model 70 .22 and settle for one pistol for two purposes, but it might have to happen under these circumstances. A good concealable sidearm would trump having a great .22 plinker if I could only get one handgun. So, pick a combo based on your favorite pistol and carry on.

4) A good .22 rifle. Probably the most used gun of all the choices, your choice of action type on this one. I like a good bolt action but YMMV. Good glass, a good trigger and finding ammo the gun likes are the tricks to getting the most out of a .22. They are a great deal of fun for all ages to shoot, inexpensive to feed (unless yours demands premium ammo) and utilitarian for small game hunting and pest control too.

Hope this helps,

lpl/nc (WAY out in the sticks, too)

[RCL]

As far as hunting with a long gun in NY, it depends which zone you will be hunting in. In the Southern Zone you are not allowed to use a centerfire rifle for big game hunting, although you can use a handgun that is chambered for a rifle cartridge (T/C Encore), a shotgun with slugs or a muzzleloader. An Encore handgun would give you the multi caliber option.
I would also check to see if the "four gun only" limitation applies to muzzleloaders, as they are generally considered a primitive arm.
Just a few thoughts, FWIW.

[Paco]

Cooked,

I get out to the range about once a month. I'm an avid hiker and camper having gone around to multiple national parks, and state parks.

Despite the law and the fear/danger of me typing this on the board, I ALWAYS carry when in the woods, at least when I'm deep in the woods which costitutes more than a mile in or if I'm camping even if it's by the road. I won't let an unfair law usurp a right. But I'd like to do it as legally as possible when possible.

I'm an opera singer (no, I'm not a fat dude with a horned helmet on my head) so when I'm not temping between gigs, I travel the country.

I rarely leave the States on a gig, but even then I carry a knife on me. I'm a practitionaer of martial arts and used to compete extensively so I approach all things in my life as a martial art, thus my love affair with Browning High powers and 1911, as they are the martial artist's gun, though I own a g17 as it satisfies the pragmatist in me. I also love SAAs as I see them as the rapiers/martial weapons of a by-gone era. I'm thinking of hunting.

Thanks for all the insightful responses.

-paco

[one-shot-one]

.308 Bolt Action Rifle
12 Ga. Pump Shotgun
Lever Action .22 Lr
.45 Acp 1911

[TheEgg]

An opera singer???

C'mon, give us a rousing chorus of "KILL THE WABBIT, KILL THE WABBIT!"

[Model520Fan]

A good 1911, a small .38 that you can shoot well and carry on your ankle or in your pocket, a target .22 pitol or revolver, and an autoloading shotgun. Substitute autoloading .308 if you like hunting and that is suited thereto.

The NY/NYC vs. country thing doesn't exist because someone mentions it here. It just exists, and pollutes whatever it pollutes.

MA isn't as bad on a day-to-day basis as some think, but it should not be confused with living in a free country, even though it borders on a couple.

[cookekdjr]

Thanks for the added info, Paco.
Looks like you have two primary shooting needs:

1. Personal security; and
2. Occasional plinking.

The glock 17 could remain as your primary security piece.
The taurus total titanium tracker in .357 would be a good light hiking companion.
Really, that's all you need. If you want, you could buy a .22 rifle and a 12 gauge pump shotgun. Between the two of those, you could legally hunt any game animal in NY (I'm assuming, as that would be the case in most places).
If you want, you could trade the glock for a 1911 with a .22 conversion kit.
Good luck to you. I have a couple friends who sing opera (Do you know Cynthia Watters?). Happy singing!
David

[45R]

Pistol: Sig 220
Rifle: M1A
Shotgun: M1Super90
Extra gun: Ruger MkII with 8" Barrel

[RaggedClaws]

I recently moved from NYC to Westchester County... Maybe you could consider a similar move? The commute isn't that long (mine's about 45 minutes) and you don't have to register rifles or shotguns at all (I don't know about the handgun laws, but I'm positive they are considerably more lax than in NYC). It's a different world up here, that's for darn sure (I lived in Manhattan for over 11 years)...

[GTKrockeTT]

SIG P229 so you can get the .357SIG and .40SW barrels, and then add a 9mm Bar-sto barrel....now you'll have 7 guns instead of just 4.

[Paco]

model520fan,

That's sounding about what I've been thinking:

-my Kimber 1911
-my 340pd
maybe my gp100

and a good scattergun.

Cooked (David),

Don't know Cynthia but she must be doing well for herself if she's singing at the Lyric. I'm still climbing the latter.

Paco

[hso]

http://czusa.com/product.detail.php?id=39

2 handguns 5 calibers at the price of one caliber STI!

Competition CZ 75 with interchangable .40, 9mm, and .22 uppers/barrels

CZ 85 with interchangable .45 and 10mm uppers/barrels

Add the compact uppers in .40 and .45 and you've got 7 guns in 2.

Oh yeah, any guns you want to buy and store at my place until you can visit them you're more than welcome to put in a safe (of yours) in the garage.