What's happening
This bill allows hunting with air guns and air bows in New York, setting definitions and regulations for their legal use.
Why it matters
Expands legal hunting tools. By defining "air gun" and "air bow" and allowing their use for hunting certain game, the bill could make hunting more accessible for individuals who may find traditional firearms or bows difficult to use due to cost, recoil, or physical ability.
Sets minimum standards for air guns. The law requires air guns used for small game hunting to be at least .17 caliber, and for big game hunting at least .30 caliber, ensuring sufficient power for ethical kills and addressing potential concerns about animal welfare.
Regulates air bow use during archery seasons. Air bows (and crossbows) will only be allowed in the final days of archery-only hunting seasons, balancing the interests of traditional archers with those of hunters preferring newer technology, and preventing a major shift away from conventional archery.
May impact wildlife management and hunter participation. By broadening the types of legal hunting equipment, the bill could increase hunter participation rates, which may affect wildlife population control efforts and generate additional hunting license revenue for conservation programs.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Air Guns for Hunting
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1906
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 17, 2019
Introduced by Sen. FUNKE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to hunting by means of an air gun or air bow
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 11-0103 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding two new subdivisions 33 and 34 to read as follows:
33. "Air gun" means any implement which by the force of non-ignited compressed air or other gasses expels a missile or projectile capable of killing, wounding, or otherwise inflicting physical damage upon fish, wildlife, or other animals and which has a rifled or smooth barrel.
34. "Air bow" means any implement by which the force of non-ignited compressed air or other gasses expels bolts or arrows capable of killing, wounding, or otherwise inflicting physical damage upon fish, wildlife, or other animals.
§ 2. Section 11-0933 of the environmental conservation law, as added by section 22 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows: § 11-0933. Taking small game by crossbow, air gun or air bow.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, or any prior notwithstanding language in this article, the department may, by regulation, authorize the taking of small game and wild upland game birds by the use of a crossbow, air gun or air bow by any licensed person fourteen years of age or older, in any small game season, in any area designated in items (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (i), (k), and (l) of paragraph a of subdivision two of section 11-0907 of this title in which a shotgun or muzzle loader is permitted.
§ 3. The opening paragraph of paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section 11-0901 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 19
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07314-01-9
S. 1906 2
of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
Wild small game and wild upland game birds shall be taken only by longbow [or], gun or air gun of .17 caliber or greater, or by the use of raptors as provided in title 10 of this article, except that:
§ 4. Subdivision 10 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conservation law, as added by section 14 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
10. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, or any prior notwithstanding language in this article, the department may, by regulation, authorize the taking of big game by the use of a crossbow or air bow by any licensed person in any big game season in any area designated in items (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (i), (k) and (l) of paragraph a of subdivision two of this section in which a shotgun or muzzle loader is permitted provided however, that any crossbow or air bow use during an archery-only season shall only take place during the last fourteen consecutive days of such archery-only season in the southern zone provided that such archery-only season shall consist of not less than forty-five days and only during the last ten consecutive days of any archery-only season in the northern zone provided that such archery-only season shall consist of no less than twenty-three days. Any muzzle loading season which occurs at the same time as a special archery season may only occur during times when crossbows are authorized to be used.
§ 5. The opening paragraph of paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 14 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
Regular open hunting seasons for deer are established separately for the named regions or parts of regions, or named counties listed in column one of the table set forth in this subdivision, and are specified as seasons for taking by pistol, rifle, shotgun or long bow, or for taking by shotgun, crossbow or long bow only, or for taking by long bow only, as indicated in column three entitled "Manner of Taking". Where taking of big game by shotgun is permitted by this chapter such shotgun may contain rifling in all or a portion of the barrel, provided, however, if the barrel or a portion thereof does contain rifling only shells having non-metallic cases, except for the base, may be used. In the areas identified in column one except in the "closed areas" specified in subdivision five of this section the game specified in column two may be taken in the open season stated in column two immediately following the specification of the game, in the manner specified in column three. Where taking of big game by rifle is permitted by this chapter big game may also be taken by air gun of .30 caliber or greater by anyone otherwise permitted to do so.
§ 6. The opening paragraph of paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by section 15 of part EE of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
Regular open hunting seasons for big game are established separately for the named regions or parts of regions, or named counties listed in column one of the table set forth in this subdivision, and are specified as seasons for taking by pistol, rifle, shotgun or long bow, or for taking by shotgun or long bow only, or for taking by long bow only, as indicated in column three entitled "Manner of Taking". Where taking of big game by shotgun is permitted by this chapter such shotgun may contain rifling in all or a portion of the barrel, provided, however, if
S. 1906 3
the barrel or a portion thereof does contain rifling only shells having non-metallic cases, except for the base, may be used. In the areas identified in column one except in the "closed areas" specified in subdivision [5] five of this section the game specified in column two may be taken in the open season stated in column two immediately following the specification of the game, in the manner specified in column three. Where taking of big game by rifle is permitted by this chapter big game may also be take by air gun of .30 caliber or greater by anyone otherwise permitted to do so.
§ 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conservation law made by section five of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 13 of chapter 600 of the laws of 1993, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act shall take effect.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to hunt- ing by means of an air gun or air bow
Purpose
The purpose of this law is to allow air guns and air bows to be used for hunting purposes in New York State.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Defines the term air gun and air bow.
Section 2. Allows for the taking of small game with an air gun or air bow in the same manner that a crossbow is currently allowed to be used.
Section 3. Allows for the taking of small game or wild upland game birds with an air gun in the same manner that a regular gun is currently allowed to be used.
Section 4. Allows for the taking of big game with an air bow in seasons when a crossbow is currently allowed to be used.
Section 5. Allows air guns to be used for hunting whenever a rifle is used for big game hunting. Section 6. Allows air guns to be used for hunting whenever a rifle is used for big game hunting.
Justification
Current New York State law allows for hunting of game with longbows, rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and crossbows. Yet an emerging technol- ogy, air gun and air bows are left out despite being equally capable hunting implements that are safer to operate.
An air gun or air bow is capable of producing the power necessary to humanely take game that is hunted, yet it can be loaded and unloaded without being discharged unlike a crossbow. They cannot shoot in rapid succession due to the need to reload and recompress air, so their capac- ity in that regard is similar to a long bow, cross bow, or single action rifle. Air bow and air guns don't involve the same physical rigor of a long bow or crossbow, and therefore make hunting more accessible to the aging population. This legislation would legalize air gun and air bows in the same manner that rifles and crossbows are legalized currently.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided however, that the amendments to paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 11-0907 of the environmental conservation law made by section five of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 13 of chapter 600 of the laws of 1993, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act shall take effect.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.