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FlyFish · January 3, 2012, 02:50 PM

In brief (and I know this oversimplifies things a good bit), the ban on magazine capacity was part of the so-called Assault Weapons Ban enacted in 1994, which was a Federal law that applied to all states, and banned the manufacture of new detachable magazines with a capacity of greater than 10 rounds. That law expired in 2004, but some states chose to retain some or all aspects of the Federal law in their state laws. As a result, in my former (thankfully) State of Massachusetts, it remains illegal to possess a magazine with a capacity of greater than 10 rounds unless it was manufactured before the Federal ban took effect, i.e., prior to 1994. A handful of other states have similar regulations.

The magazine ban applied equally to rifles and handguns, and to all calibers. As I recall, the magazine ban for shotguns was greater than 5 rounds (I don't own any shotguns with detachable magazines, so am not as familiar with that part of the law).

January 3, 2012, 02:50 PM	#3
FlyFish Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Overlooking the Baker River Valley Posts: 1,723	In brief (and I know this oversimplifies things a good bit), the ban on magazine capacity was part of the so-called Assault Weapons Ban enacted in 1994, which was a Federal law that applied to all states, and banned the manufacture of new detachable magazines with a capacity of greater than 10 rounds. That law expired in 2004, but some states chose to retain some or all aspects of the Federal law in their state laws. As a result, in my former (thankfully) State of Massachusetts, it remains illegal to possess a magazine with a capacity of greater than 10 rounds unless it was manufactured before the Federal ban took effect, i.e., prior to 1994. A handful of other states have similar regulations. The magazine ban applied equally to rifles and handguns, and to all calibers. As I recall, the magazine ban for shotguns was greater than 5 rounds (I don't own any shotguns with detachable magazines, so am not as familiar with that part of the law).