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Arms Bill

Preliminary provisions - Interpretation

10: Meaning of restricted magazine

You could also call this:

"What a 'restricted magazine' means for different types of guns"

Illustration for Arms Bill

You will hear the term 'restricted magazine' in this Act. It refers to different things depending on the type of firearm. For a shotgun, it means a magazine that can hold more than 5 cartridges. You need to consider the type of firearm when understanding what a restricted magazine is. For most firearms, except pistols and shotguns, it means a detachable magazine that can hold more than 10 cartridges. It also means any magazine that can hold more than 10 cartridges. For pistols, a restricted magazine is a drum magazine that can be attached to the pistol. The government can also declare other magazines as restricted by making an Order in Council under section 362. This means that some magazines might be added to the list of restricted magazines in the future.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1533538.

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Part 1Preliminary provisions
Interpretation

10Meaning of restricted magazine

  1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, restricted magazine,—

  2. in relation to a shotgun, means a magazine, whether or not detachable, that is capable of holding more than 5 cartridges commensurate with that shotgun’s chamber size:
    1. in relation to any other firearm (except a pistol described in section 9(1)(a)(i)(C) or (D)),—
      1. means any detachable magazine—
        1. that is capable of holding 0.22 calibre or lower rimfire cartridges and that is capable of holding more than 10 of those cartridges:
          1. that is capable of holding more than 10 cartridges and being used with a semi-automatic or fully automatic firearm:
          2. means any other magazine, whether or not detachable, that is capable of holding more than 10 cartridges:
          3. in relation to a pistol, means any drum magazine that can be attached to the pistol:
            1. includes any other magazine declared by Order in Council made under section 362 to be a restricted magazine for the purposes of this Act.