NY Gun Laws Are Costing You More in 2026 — What the NSSF Report and Albany Won’t Tell You

By Peter Ticali | NRA Endowment Life Member | NRA Chief Range Safety Officer | Founder, NY Safe Inc. | NY Pistol License Holder Since 1992

The National Shooting Sports Foundation just released its 2025 Shooting Sports Retail Sales and Inventory Executive Snapshot — the most comprehensive picture of the American firearms market available, drawn from over 2,000 dealers using actual point-of-sale data. Nationally, the market tells a story of healthy normalization. Official New York State Police records, Albany’s aggressive 2026 legislative calendar, and the NSSF data itself tell a very different story for New York gun owners. Here is the complete picture — including government data your local gun store can’t afford to advertise, three new bills in Albany that should alarm every permit holder, and what you can do about all of it right now.

The National Market: Healthy Normalization After a Historic Surge

Same-store new firearm unit sales declined 12.9% year-over-year in 2025, with revenue down 12.7%. The industry is now 10.5% below 2019 pre-pandemic baseline levels on a same-store basis, with another 7–12% decline projected for 2026.

Context is everything here. Gearfire’s RetailBI data — which powers the NSSF snapshot — specifically identifies what the industry calls the “Trump Slump”: a well-documented pattern in which firearm sales moderate under administrations perceived as favorable to the Second Amendment, and spike under administrations perceived as hostile. Gun owners who feel their rights are secure buy less urgently. The national decline is not a sign of a contracting industry — it is a sign of a politically stable one, at least at the federal level.

The numbers beneath the headline tell a more nuanced story. The post-pandemic surge brought millions of new, permanent gun owners into the market. Many of them are still here, still practicing, and increasingly engaged with the Constitutional rights they’ve come to understand. Handgun inventory nationally still sits 13.8% below 2019 levels — meaning manufacturers have not overproduced into a soft market. Red dot optics sales are up 121% versus 2019, indicating that the serious buyer segment is spending more on accessories and precision even when buying fewer guns. The market is not shrinking. It is maturing.

For New York gun owners, the “Trump Slump” is essentially fiction. You don’t get to relax because Washington has a 2A-friendly administration. Albany does not care who sits in the White House. The state regulatory apparatus continues to tighten, the 2026 legislative calendar is the most aggressive in years, and the costs of lawful ownership keep climbing regardless of national trends. While the rest of the country exhales, New York gun owners are watching Governor Hochul’s office draft the next round of bills.

⚠️ Act Now: Major Ammo Price Increases Hit April 1, 2026

⏰ The window to buy at current prices closes March 31st. Federal, CCI, Remington, Blazer, Speer, Fiocchi, HEVI-Shot, and B&P have all confirmed price increases of 2–10% on all orders shipping on or after April 1, 2026. This covers rifle, handgun, shotshell, and rimfire — virtually every caliber you shoot.

Throughout 2025, average ammo prices fell 4.8% as retailers worked down post-pandemic inventory surpluses. Industry-wide ammo inventory still sits 33% above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Right now you are sitting at the intersection of still-elevated dealer supply, residual soft pricing from 2025, and a confirmed price increase deadline. That combination will not exist again.

Manufacturers are citing sustained volatility in key raw materials — copper, lead, antimony, zinc, and propellants — as the structural driver. They have also flagged that pricing beyond July 1, 2026 remains uncertain, meaning a second round of increases is possible later in the year. For a deeper look at how New York’s own ammunition regulations compound these cost pressures, see our guide on NY ammo background checks and rising costs — and if you are buying ammunition online and need to understand how ammo transfers work in New York State, read our dedicated page on NYS ammo transfers.

The practical action is clear: buy your training and defensive ammunition before March 31st, in volume, from the most cost-effective source available. We cover exactly how to do that in the money-saving section below.

How NY Regulation Turns a Buyer’s Market Into a Seller’s One

The NSSF report reflects market dynamics for the other 49 states. For New Yorkers, each data point gets filtered through a regulatory environment that removes choice and adds cost at every turn. As we have documented in our analysis of why NY gun laws don’t reduce crime and our examination of the double standard built into the SAFE Act, the burden falls entirely on the law-abiding.

The 10-Round Magazine Wall

New York’s SAFE Act prohibits the sale or transfer of magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The overwhelming majority of modern semi-automatic handguns are designed around standard-capacity magazines — 15 rounds for the Glock 19, 17 for the G17. Selling into New York requires manufacturers to produce dedicated 10-round magazines in separate, lower-volume runs with no economies of scale. Higher per-unit cost means you pay more — or the product simply isn’t available in the configuration you want. The NSSF reports handgun inventory nationally at 13.8% below 2019 levels; the NY-compliant subset is tighter still, and the selection dramatically narrower. This dynamic also affects how you legally carry a spare magazine in New York — a topic every permit holder needs to understand in full.

Rifle Feature Restrictions: The Featureless Tax

Under the SAFE Act, a semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine cannot have a pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, forward pistol grip, bayonet mount, or flash suppressor. The AR-15 platform — the best-selling rifle in America — must be sold in New York in a modified “featureless” configuration. These require separate manufacturing runs, specialized parts sourcing, and additional assembly costs for a smaller addressable market than any other state. The NSSF data shows national rifle inventory elevated 10.2% above 2019 levels, with prices softening. That buyer’s market largely does not exist for New York civilians. As we analyzed in Denied by Zip Code, your purchasing options are determined not by what the free market offers, but by where Albany says you live.

Threaded Barrels: Cut Off from a Growing Market

Nationally, the NSSF data shows suppressor inventory up 21.8% as dealers stock for what the industry expects to be a sustained surge following the January 2026 elimination of the federal $200 NFA tax stamp under the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Factory threaded barrels are increasingly standard on defensive handguns. For New York civilian pistol license holders, this rapidly expanding segment of the market is largely off-limits — a legal complication our post on the Glock ban lawsuit and constitutional challenges helps contextualize.

The Registration Delay Scandal: How Albany and NYC Turn Legal Gun Buyers Into Paperwork Hostages

Of all the ways New York’s firearms regulations impose costs, the registration and amendment process may be the most infuriating — because it converts a completed, legal purchase into an indefinite waiting game with no published timeline and no accountability.

NYC: Where Months Become the New Normal

In New York City, adding a newly purchased firearm to your handgun license requires an in-person appearance at NYPD Headquarters at One Police Plaza — Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM only. You must bring your license, completed amendment form, and all required documentation in person to a single government building. Our complete NYC CCW application guide walks through the full process in detail.

Based on documented experiences from permit holders and public reporting, waits for license amendments routinely stretch from weeks to many months. A 2025 federal lawsuit challenging the NYPD License Division’s processing delays documented cases approaching 17 months. State law technically requires licensing officials to act within six months or provide a written reason — a requirement that applicants report is routinely ignored without consequence.

The NYPD received 9,432 new applications for concealed carry permits in 2024 alone — compared to hundreds annually before the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision — and the processing infrastructure has not caught up. The practical consequence: if you are a NYC pistol license holder who buys a new firearm, you cannot legally take possession of it until it has been added to your license. You have paid for it. You have passed your NICS background check. The firearm is yours by every commercial and legal standard. But you cannot have it until the NYPD processes your paperwork — on their timeline, with no obligation to communicate status.

Outside NYC: Better, But Still Far From Normal

Outside the five boroughs, the amendment process varies by county. Monroe County publishes a minimum of 14 business days for amendment processing. Our detailed guides for Suffolk County, Nassau County, and our county-by-county guide outline what each jurisdiction requires. For context: in Pennsylvania, a law-abiding resident can apply for a License to Carry at their county sheriff’s office and often receive it the same day for $20–$25. New York’s system is not a more thorough version of that process. It is a different world.

The Real Cost of Running a NY Gun Shop — By the Numbers

In April 2025, the New York State Police released their Annual Gun Dealer Inspection Report for 2024 — a public document that for the first time puts hard numbers on the compliance universe New York dealers operate in. The findings are striking, and they explain in documented, government-sourced detail why buying a firearm in New York costs more than anywhere else in America.

What the NYSP Report Found

The State Police inspected 143 licensed firearms dealers across New York in 2024. Of those, 24 — nearly 1 in 6 — were not in full compliance with Article 39-BB of the General Business Law, New York’s state-level dealer regulation framework. That 17% non-compliance rate is not a measure of bad actors. It is a measure of how extraordinarily demanding the compliance standard is. Article 39-BB requires dealers to satisfy every one of the following simultaneously:

• A documented security plan specifically covering firearms, rifles, shotguns, and ammunition
• All firearms secured in a locked fireproof safe or vault during all non-business hours
• A licensed, centrally monitored security alarm system with full coverage of every accessible opening — every door, every window — in areas containing firearms or ammunition
• Video recording devices at every point of sale and every entrance and exit to the premises, from both indoor and outdoor vantage points
• Two-year retention of all video recordings
• Ammunition stored separately from firearms and out of reach of customers at all times
• Exclusion of all persons under 18 from areas where firearms or ammunition are stocked or sold, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian
• Mandatory annual training published by the New York State Police for every single employee, with 5-year record retention of completion documentation
• All new employees trained within 30 days of beginning employment
• Only employees 21 or older permitted to participate in the sale or disposition of firearms
• A detailed record book or electronic system logging the make, model, caliber, manufacturer, and serial number of every firearm acquired or disposed of — entries required no later than one business day after each transaction
• Biannual inventory submissions to the Division of State Police every April and October
• Monthly physical inventory counts maintained in a secure location
• All ATF Form 4473 records retained in a secure, fire-protected container on-premises
• All transaction records retained for a minimum of 20 years
• Annual certification submitted to State Police by January 31 of each year confirming full compliance
• Full access granted to State Police for periodic inspections at any time
• As of January 7, 2025: mandatory posting of a state-mandated warning notice at every point of sale and entrance

This is not a framework designed with the economics of a small independent retailer in mind. A dealer who fails any single one of these requirements is classified as non-compliant — no partial credit, no grace period for administrative delays, no distinction between a missing form and a missing camera. The NY State Police’s own data shows that even with this binary standard, the majority of dealers are in compliance, which speaks to how seriously NY gun shop owners take their obligations. But the cost of that compliance is not abstract.

The Real Dollar Burden on NY Dealers — And on You

Think through what Article 39-BB actually costs a small independent dealer to implement and maintain annually:

Security infrastructure: A licensed, centrally monitored alarm system with full perimeter coverage, fire-rated gun vault or safe large enough for all inventory, interior/exterior camera systems at every entrance and POS station, 2-year video storage infrastructure. For a typical storefront, the capital cost alone runs into the thousands; annual monitoring and maintenance adds hundreds more every month.

Recordkeeping and compliance administration: Biannual inventory submissions to State Police every April and October. Monthly physical inventory audits. Annual employee training completion records retained for five years. Twenty-year retention of all transaction records in a fire-protected environment. Annual certification submissions. The administrative labor to maintain all of this is not trivial — for a small dealer with one or two employees, it is a meaningful portion of the working week.

Staffing constraints: Only employees 21 or older may participate in firearms sales or dispositions. All new hires must complete mandatory training within 30 days. In a state with high labor costs and tight hiring markets, these requirements add friction and cost to every employment decision.

Registration delay carrying costs: When a NYC permit holder buys a firearm, the dealer must physically hold that gun — secured, insured, inventoried, and tracked — until the NYPD processes the amendment and the customer returns with updated paperwork. That can take weeks or months. The dealer’s capital is tied up. The inventory slot is consumed. The firearm generates insurance liability without generating income. This cost falls entirely on the dealer — who had nothing to do with the NYPD’s processing timeline — and ultimately gets built into the price of every gun in the store.

⚖️ The bottom line: Every compliance dollar an NY dealer spends on cameras, vaults, software, training, storage, administration, and delay carrying costs is a dollar that doesn’t exist in the overhead structure of a gun shop in Pennsylvania, Florida, or Texas. That delta shows up directly in the price tag on the shelf — and it is a cost created entirely by regulation, not by the market. When you pay more for a firearm in New York than you would for the identical model two states over, you are paying the Article 39-BB compliance tax. As we’ve covered in our detailed analysis of the double standard in New York gun laws, that burden falls exclusively on the law-abiding.

NY vs. Free States: The Side-by-Side Every NY Gun Owner Should See

The regulatory gap between New York and the rest of the country is not a matter of degree. It is a different category of experience. The table below uses official sources — NY Penal Law, NYPD License Division procedures, the NYSP Article 39-BB framework, and publicly published requirements for Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas — to show the gap as precisely as the public record allows.

Sources: NY Penal Law Article 265 and 400; NYPD License Division official procedures; NY General Business Law Article 39-BB; NYSP 2024 Annual Dealer Inspection Report (April 2025); Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109; Florida Statutes § 790.06; Texas Government Code § 411.177. Table reflects civilian laws; law enforcement exemptions apply in all states. This table is for informational purposes — consult an attorney for legal advice specific to your situation.

That table is not an abstraction. It is the lived reality of why the same Glock 17 costs more in New York, takes longer to legally possess, requires more ongoing compliance, and comes with greater legal risk than in any other state in the comparison. Every row is a cost. Most of those costs are ultimately paid by you.

Albany’s 2026 Gun Control Assault: What Every NY Permit Holder Needs to Know Right Now

While the national “Trump Slump” represents a period of relative regulatory calm at the federal level, New York’s 2026 legislative session opened in January with what the New York State Firearms Association is calling the most aggressive gun control agenda in years. Three bills in particular represent existential threats to lawful gun ownership in New York — and every permit holder needs to know they exist.

Governor Hochul’s 2026 State of the State: The “Plastic Pipeline” Push

In January 2026, Governor Hochul unveiled a legislative package targeting 3D-printed firearms as part of her 2026 State of the State agenda. The proposals include:

Criminal penalties for possessing digital design files. Hochul proposed making it a crime to intentionally sell, distribute, or possess digital instructions used to manufacture a firearm or component parts without a license. The NRA-ILA immediately flagged that this proposal extends well beyond firearms manufacturing into First Amendment-protected territory — digital files, CAD designs, instructional documents, and potentially educational content about firearm construction could all be implicated. As NRA-ILA noted, this raises the question of whether Albany intends to ban books, videos, diagrams, and lectures about the design and manufacture of firearms — even those that would be legal to own under federal law.

Mandatory anti-printing software on all 3D printers sold in New York. The proposal would require 3D printer manufacturers to equip their products with software that blocks the printing of firearms and component parts — described by Hochul as “first-in-the-nation.” The practical enforceability of this requirement — and its implications for 3D printers sold for entirely lawful purposes — are being closely watched by industry and civil liberties advocates alike.

Mandatory pistol redesigns. The legislation would require gun manufacturers to design their pistols so they cannot be easily modified with illegal “switch” devices that convert semi-automatic pistols to full-auto fire. While the target — illegal Glock switches — is a legitimate public safety concern, the mechanism of requiring manufacturer-level redesigns raises complex questions about federal preemption and the constitutional implications of mandating specific design changes to a lawful product. This connects directly to the ongoing Glock ban lawsuit we have been tracking.

Mandatory reporting of recovered 3D-printed firearms. Police departments would be required to report all recoveries of 3D-printed guns to the state’s Criminal Gun Clearinghouse database. This is the least controversial of the proposals — it is primarily a data collection mechanism.

The Three Bills Every NY Gun Owner Should Be Watching

Beyond Hochul’s executive proposals, the NYSFA has identified three active bills in the 2026 session that they consider the most dangerous of the cycle:

Civil Liability Insurance Mandates for Gun Owners (Assembly Bill A.5611). This bill would require every gun owner in New York to carry liability insurance as a condition of lawful ownership. The implications are significant: insurance companies could impose their own conditions on coverage — storage requirements, usage restrictions, training mandates — that go beyond what state law currently requires. It would also create a financial barrier to lawful gun ownership that falls hardest on working-class New Yorkers who cannot afford yet another mandatory insurance policy. As we’ve covered extensively in our analysis of how New York’s gun laws create a two-tiered system, costs that price out working-class owners while leaving wealthy ones unaffected are a feature, not a bug, of this regulatory approach.

A ban on .50 caliber and other large-bore hunting rifles. The NYSFA is tracking a Senate bill that would ban certain calibers commonly used for big-game hunting in New York — a direct attack on the hunting community that forms a major constituency of lawful gun owners in the state’s rural counties. This type of incremental restriction — targeting calibers, then features, then capacities — follows the established Albany playbook for expanding the SAFE Act’s reach one category at a time.

Personalized Firearm / “Smart Gun” Mandates (Senate Bill S.1455-B / Assembly Bill A.1191-B). The “Safer Weapons, Safer Homes Act” would require DCJS to certify the technological viability of personalized firearms — guns that can only be fired by their owner — and ultimately require all licensed dealers to stock at least one certified model once the technology is deemed viable. The bill has been moving through committee and has cleared the Assembly in prior sessions. Smart gun technology remains unreliable for defensive use under stress conditions — a point that goes unaddressed in the legislation.

📢 What you can do right now: The NYSFA has pre-written email tools targeting your Senator and Assemblymember for each of these bills. Contact your representatives on Day One of this fight, not after these bills clear committee. And stay current — our NY Safe Inc. blog covers legislative developments as they happen, and our NY Firearms Law Resource Library provides the full legal context for understanding what each bill would actually change.

Why This Matters for Your Day-to-Day Cost Analysis

Every one of these bills, if enacted, adds a new layer of cost to lawful gun ownership in New York. Mandatory liability insurance is a direct recurring expense. Smart gun mandates would drive up firearm prices by creating a compliance-required product category that does not currently exist at scale. Digital file criminalization and mandatory pistol redesigns create new legal risks for dealers, distributors, and potentially owners. The 2026 legislative session is not a peripheral concern for your budget — it is the next chapter of the same cost story we have been documenting throughout this post. We analyze the broader pattern in our piece on why NY gun laws don’t reduce crime and what the DOJ’s new 2A rights division means for the legal pushback that’s coming.

Marksmanship Is a Perishable Skill — And New York Is Making You Lose It

There is a dimension to this cost analysis that almost never appears in policy debates but that every serious firearms trainer knows is critically important: shooting skill degrades without practice. This is not opinion. It is measurable, documented fact.

Law enforcement agencies that have studied in-service qualification data consistently find that officers who train less frequently show degraded accuracy, slower target acquisition, and impaired decision-making under stress. The same dynamics apply to civilian defensive shooters — arguably more acutely, because law-abiding civilians who carry for self-defense do not have mandatory periodic qualification requirements. As we covered in our guide to the top concealed carry errors, the most dangerous mistakes are almost always the result of undertrained handlers, not faulty equipment.

Motor memory for the draw stroke, trigger press mechanics, sight alignment, and malfunction clearance are all built through repetition and maintained through regular practice. A new shooter who completes the required 18-hour NY CCW course and then does not return to the range for six months has already experienced meaningful skill degradation. Under the stress conditions where a defensive firearm would actually be used, that degradation is amplified further.

Now overlay this on the New York regulatory environment: ammunition prices are rising. Training ammo is about to get more expensive. Range access in the New York City metro area is limited and costly compared to almost anywhere else in the country. The combination creates a compounding obstacle to regular practice for the average New York gun owner — and that has real defensive consequences. The permit you paid hundreds of dollars to obtain and months to wait for is only as valuable as the skill level you bring to it.

Our guide to dry-fire training at home with red dot skills is one practical tool for maintaining proficiency between live-fire sessions at no ammo cost. It complements live fire but cannot replace it. A structured live-fire session with a qualified instructor like those on our upcoming events calendar produces more measurable improvement in one hour than three hours of unstructured range time with twice the ammunition expenditure.

The Glock Blue Label Problem: What GSSF Members in New York Need to Know

If you are a GSSF (Glock Sport Shooting Foundation) member, the Blue Label discounted purchase program can save you $100–$150 on a new Glock. But there is a catch for New York residents that blindsides people regularly.

Glock’s Blue Label Program is primarily structured for law enforcement — which is exempt from New York’s 10-round magazine limit. Blue Label Glocks at dealer counters are almost universally stocked with standard-capacity magazines. NY civilian pistol license holders must confirm that factory Glock 10-round magazines are included before taking possession. Many dealers serve primarily law enforcement customers and the compliance issue rarely crosses their desk. The result: well-meaning New York civilian buyers can find themselves holding a non-compliant configuration without realizing it.

Before taking possession of any Blue Label Glock as a New York civilian, explicitly confirm in writing that the pistol includes factory 10-round magazines. If a dealer cannot confirm this or will not source compliant magazines, find one who will — or contact us at NY Safe Inc. before the transfer.

How to Fight Back: Smart Money Strategies for New York Gun Owners

Understanding the regulatory burden is one thing. Here is what you can actually do about it — right now.

1. Buy Bulk Ammunition Online Before April 1st — Use TargetSportsUSA.com

The single highest-impact action you can take right now is buying your ammunition in bulk before the confirmed April 2026 price increases take effect. The best resource we consistently point New York gun owners toward is TargetSportsUSA.com. Competitive pricing on Federal, CCI, Remington, Winchester, and Hornady in bulk quantities, with free shipping on qualifying orders. Critically, ammunition ships directly to New York addresses — no FFL transfer required.

Before April 1st, this is the cleanest way to lock in current pricing. Focus first on your primary carry caliber, then training calibers. And understand that New York requires its own state background check for in-state retail ammo purchases — online purchases shipped directly do not currently carry that same requirement, which is one more reason online buying is advantageous for NY shooters. Our NYS ammo transfers page explains the full regulatory picture.

2. Use NY Safe Inc. as Your FFL Transfer Partner

For firearms — not ammunition — online purchases require transfer through a licensed FFL in your state. NY Safe Inc. serves as a licensed FFL transfer partner for New York residents, handling the required New York State NICS background check and coordinating the transfer process including county-specific amendment requirements. We know which questions to ask about 10-round magazine configurations, what each county requires for amendments, and the specific friction points for NYC permit holders.

The price differential between online retailers and local gun store retail can be $75–$150 or more on popular handguns. When you factor in our transfer fee, you frequently still come out ahead — and you gain a partner who understands New York’s compliance requirements thoroughly. Contact us to get started. Questions before committing? We offer free consultations.

3. Know Your County’s Amendment Process — And Budget Time for It

Every firearm purchase in New York involves not just the cost of the gun but the time and fees of your county’s amendment process. Our county-by-county guide is the starting point. Detailed guides for New York City, Suffolk County, and Nassau County cover specific requirements. Know what your county requires before you buy — and coordinate with your dealer upfront about their policy for holding firearms pending amendment clearance.

4. Train Smarter to Maximize Every Round

When ammo costs more, every round needs to produce more return. Structured training with a qualified instructor produces more measurable improvement in one hour than three hours of unstructured range time. Our post on pistol training fundamentals covers the core skills that matter most. Our dry-fire and red dot training guide gives you a zero-cost at-home practice framework that meaningfully reduces the round count needed to maintain proficiency.

Structured courses also cover the legal framework around when you can use force in New York, where you can and cannot carry, and how to handle police encounters while carrying.

5. Stay Legislatively Engaged — Right Now

The 2026 legislative session is active. The bills described above are moving. If A.5611, the .50 caliber ban, or the smart gun mandate interest you — in either direction — contact your state Senator and Assemblymember now, not when the votes are being counted. The NYSFA has pre-written contact tools. Our blog and law library provide the background to make that contact informed rather than reflexive.

6. Build Your Legal Knowledge Base — It Is Free and Protective

New York’s firearms laws are among the most complex in the nation and change frequently. Our NY Firearms & Carry Law Ultimate Resource Library is the most comprehensive free reference we have built. Understanding the law — including NY’s castle doctrine, sensitive location restrictions, marijuana and firearms risks, and safe storage requirements — is not optional for any New York permit holder.

The Bigger Picture: What All of This Adds Up To

Step back from the individual line items and consider the total burden. You pay more for your firearm because NY-compliant configurations cost more to produce and because Article 39-BB compliance costs get built into every price tag in every NY gun shop. You pay more for ammunition — and prices are about to go up again. You wait weeks or months to take possession of a firearm you have already lawfully purchased. You pay amendment fees and navigate bureaucratic processes that exist nowhere else in the country for the exercise of a Constitutional right. You struggle to maintain the marksmanship proficiency that responsible carry demands. And now, a new round of Albany legislation threatens to add mandatory insurance costs, firearm design mandates, and potential criminalization of digital information to the pile.

None of this makes New York safer. Our analysis of ATF data on why NY gun laws don’t reduce crime and our examination of what NYC crime trends actually reveal about personal safety make clear that the costs fall entirely on the law-abiding. The ongoing 2A court battles, the DOJ’s pro-2A posture, and the federal 2A rights division signal that the legal tide is shifting. The practical path forward is clear: stay engaged, stay trained, buy smart, and work with partners who understand this environment deeply.

Your Action Plan — Right Now

• 🛒 Buy ammo before April 1st. Use TargetSportsUSA.com for bulk pricing. Prices rise April 1st — the window closes March 31st. Understand NY’s ammo rules first at our NYS ammo transfers page.
• 🔄 Buying a firearm online? Contact NY Safe Inc. for FFL transfer services and the NYS NICS background check. We know the system.
• 📋 Know your county’s amendment process before you buy. Use our county-by-county guide, our NYC CCW guide, or county-specific guides for Suffolk and Nassau.
• 🎯 Book a training session now. With ammo prices rising, every round must count. View all upcoming courses →
• 📢 Contact your legislators on the 2026 bills. A.5611, the caliber ban, and the smart gun mandate are all active. Make your voice heard before they clear committee.
• 🔵 GSSF Blue Label buyers: Verify 10-round magazine compliance in writing before taking possession. Reach out to us if you need guidance.
• 📚 Know your rights. Start with our NY Firearms Law Resource Library, then read our 2026 sensitive locations status report and our post on when you can use force in NY.

Train With NY Safe Inc.

Peter Ticali and the NY Safe Inc. team have been helping New York gun owners navigate this state’s complex firearms laws and build real defensive skills since 1992 — when Peter received his first NY Pistol License. With credentials from the NRA, USCCA, FBI Citizens Academy, and Suffolk County PD Citizens Academy, and experience training thousands of New York students across our DCJS-approved 18-hour NY CCW class, multi-state concealed carry, active shooter response, and advanced defensive shooting, NY Safe is your local resource for everything from first-timer guidance on what to expect from your pistol course to expert FFL transfer services.

We know what it costs to be a law-abiding gun owner in New York. We have been bearing those costs alongside our students for over three decades. Have questions before committing? Take advantage of our free consultation service.

View All Upcoming Courses → 
Contact Us for FFL Transfers →

Frequently Asked Questions

Are ammo prices going up in 2026?

Yes. Federal, CCI, Remington, Blazer, Speer, Fiocchi, HEVI-Shot, and B&P have confirmed price increases of 2–10% effective April 1, 2026, driven by rising raw material costs. Buying in bulk before March 31st through TargetSportsUSA.com is the most effective way to lock in current pricing. See our NYS ammo transfers page for how ammunition purchases and transfers work in New York State.

How long does it take to add a gun to a New York City pistol license?

In New York City, adding a firearm to your handgun license requires an in-person visit to NYPD Headquarters at One Police Plaza, Monday–Friday only. Processing can take weeks to months — a 2025 federal lawsuit documented cases approaching 17 months. NYC permit holders cannot legally take possession of a purchased firearm until the amendment clears, meaning dealers must hold it — at their cost — for the entire wait. Our NYC CCW guide covers the full process.

What is Article 39-BB and how does it affect what I pay for a gun in New York?

Article 39-BB of New York’s General Business Law is the state-level dealer compliance framework every licensed NY firearms retailer must satisfy. It requires biannual inventory submissions to State Police, 2-year video surveillance retention, monthly physical inventory audits, 20-year transaction record retention, mandatory annual employee training, and warrantless State Police inspection access — among 18+ separate requirements. The NY State Police 2024 Annual Dealer Inspection Report found that 24 of 143 inspected dealers (nearly 17%) were not in full compliance — a measure of how demanding the standard is. Every dollar of compliance overhead a dealer carries is ultimately built into the price on the shelf. You are paying the Article 39-BB tax every time you buy a gun in New York.

Why are guns more expensive in New York than other states?

Multiple compounding factors: the SAFE Act’s 10-round magazine mandates and featureless rifle requirements force low-volume specialty production runs at no economies of scale; Article 39-BB compliance infrastructure costs more than anywhere in the country; and amendment delays mean dealers carry inventory they’ve sold but can’t deliver, tying up capital and generating insurance liability without income. We cover the full picture in our analysis of the double standard in New York gun laws.

What new gun control laws is Albany pushing in 2026?

Governor Hochul’s 2026 State of the State agenda includes criminal penalties for possessing 3D firearm design files, mandatory anti-printing software on all 3D printers sold in NY, and required pistol redesigns to prevent illegal “switch” conversions. Active legislative bills include a civil liability insurance mandate for gun owners (A.5611), a ban on certain hunting calibers, and the “Safer Weapons, Safer Homes Act” smart gun mandate. The NYSFA is calling this the most aggressive gun control push in years. Stay current at our blog and the NY Firearms Law Library.

How does New York compare to other states for gun owners?

By nearly every measure, New York is the most burdensome firearms environment in the contiguous United States. Pennsylvania issues carry licenses same-day for $20 with no mandatory training; New York requires an 18-hour course, a multi-month county review, and fees that can exceed $300 in some jurisdictions. Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas have no magazine limits, no rifle feature restrictions, no ammo background check requirements, and no state-level dealer compliance framework beyond federal FFL requirements. The same Glock 17 costs more, takes longer to legally possess, requires more ongoing compliance, and carries greater legal risk in New York than in any state in the comparison table above.

Why does marksmanship skill decline matter for NY gun owners?

Shooting is a perishable skill. Accuracy, draw speed, and stress-fire performance all degrade without regular practice. When ammo prices rise and range access is limited, NY gun owners train less — directly undermining the defensive capability that responsible carry demands. See our guide to dry-fire training at home for zero-cost ways to maintain proficiency between live-fire sessions.

Where can I buy bulk ammo for less in New York?

TargetSportsUSA.com offers competitive bulk pricing with free shipping on qualifying orders, and ammunition ships directly to New York addresses with no FFL transfer required. For online firearm purchases, NY Safe Inc. provides licensed FFL transfer services including the required NYS NICS background check. Contact us to get started.

Can Glock GSSF members use the Blue Label program in New York?

Yes, but Blue Label Glocks are almost always stocked with standard-capacity magazines because the program is structured primarily for law enforcement — which is exempt from NY’s 10-round limit. NY civilian license holders must confirm factory 10-round magazines are included before taking possession. Contact NY Safe Inc. before the transfer if you need guidance navigating this correctly.

Where can I find NY Safe Inc.’s upcoming training courses?

All current and upcoming courses — including our DCJS-approved 18-hour NY CCW class and multi-state permit courses — are listed at nysafeinc.com/all-events-2. Have questions first? Book a free consultation or get started here.

Sources: NSSF / Gearfire RetailBI 2025 Shooting Sports Retail Sales and Inventory Executive Snapshot (February 2026); SGB Media, “New Report Confirms Broad Firearms Retail Slowdown in Summer 2025” (Q3 2025 Shooting Sports Retail Report); NY State Police Annual Gun Dealer Inspection Report 2024 (April 23, 2025), available at troopers.ny.gov; NY General Business Law Article 39-BB; NY Penal Law Articles 265 and 400; Target Sports USA and manufacturer announcements on April 1, 2026 price increases; NYPD License Division official amendment procedures; Monroe County Clerk Pistol Permit Unit official processing guidelines; Governor Hochul 2026 State of the State firearms proposals (January 7–13, 2026), governor.ny.gov; NY State Firearms Association 2026 legislative session alerts, newyorkstatefirearmsassociation.org; NRA-ILA, “Bans for 3D Blueprints: New York Governor Pushes Anti-Gun, Anti-Speech Proposals” (January 12, 2026); NY Senate Bill S.1455-B / Assembly Bill A.1191-B (Safer Weapons, Safer Homes Act); Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109; Florida Statutes § 790.06; Texas Government Code § 411.177. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.