Guns & Ammo

When you're out on the hunt or just target shooting, there are no shortages of places where it is legal to use your firearms safely. Naturally, there are many small gun dealers and smiths here in the Adirondacks who can help you better than a multi-trillion dollar chain store 100 miles away.

Simple Rules for Hunting and Safe Firearm Use:

• Be at least 500'(130m) from any occupied house or dwelling when hunting or shooting, unless it's yours or you have explicit permission.
• Don't shoot over any public road.
• Unless you made special arrangements with the NY State Police, out-of-staters leave your handguns at home or risk going afoul of NYS gun laws, 1 year minimum.
• Find a good backstop, like a sand pit, for target shooting. It's against the law to shoot into live trees on state land, so don't nail targets to trees.
• Obey all hunting and firearm regulations. They are complicated so familiarize yourself beforehand.
• No loaded guns in or on a motor vehicle or motor boat. That includes snowmobiles, atvs and dirtbikes, except for special handicap permits. You can have a loaded gun on a motor boat if the motor is switched off. Sailboats must have their sails furled before you can load your gun.
• Treat any gun as loaded. Always point it in safe direction, open the action, drop the magazine and unload it before handling. Always assume it's loaded!
• Know how to field strip and clean you gun and do it before and after a day in the field. Go easy on the oil though, it will attract dirt. A few drops is all you need.
• Obtain landowner's permission before using his land and obey other's land boundaries. Remember, 40% of the Adirondack Parks is private land.
• Don't hunt in village or city boundaries or near settlements
• Use shotgun slugs for deer anytime there are a lot of other folks around. There's a 800' lethal radius for a slug versus 8000' radius for a high powered rifle bullet. Since area = pi x radius x radius, that's over 100 times the lethal zone.
• Police up your empty shell casings and trash! Take it slow and easy with your off-road driving. Be a good outdoors person!
• Don't leave carcasses and guts laying around. Bury them or haul them to a landfill, better yet find a professional skinner/dresser! Nothing grosses out a non-hunter more than encountering some grisly remains on the trail. Ditto for fishermen!
• Tree stands can't be nailed in and must be removed at the end of the season on state land.
• Baiting is illegal. Crops in fields like apples and corn can be hunted on as long as the crops weren't intentionally dropped there.
• Back tags are not required in the Northern Zone.
• Whether hunting or hiking, wear blaze orange during hunting season. Turkey and waterfowl hunters should hang a blaze orange vest or something orange near their blind or stand, when in full camo.