Heading with the family to CO at the end of the month - I’ve looked at the laws and not sure if I can bring along my usual backup, G19, with my G17 mags.

I usually carry a G43, so no worries there, but I also will bring the 19 with a 15-rounder in the pistol and 17-rounders in tow.

So...Legal Heat advises visitors to not bring in high capacity mags...maybe I just get another 43 and go cowboy style...

What do our CO members suggest?

Will you be in Denver? Not sure of the answers, but I bet Denver is more restricted than the rest of the state.

Nope, just mainly in CO Springs...

I'd leave the 17's at home. Colorado law states 15 round max but grandfathered in mags already in possession as of July 1 2013.

The poorly conceived poorly written law regulating mag. capacity in CO is just ambiguous and impractical enough to make answering the question difficult. The law restricts the sale or transfer of > 15 rnd. capacity mags after July 1 2013. However, it "grandfathered in" all mags previously owned and possessed prior to the enactment date (but prohibits the sale or transfer of possession of these grandfathered mags). The law fails to address ownership of > 15 cap. mags by out of state residents who are travelling through or to CO.

What I will say is that many CO Sheriffs are opposed to the law with many openly stating they can't and won't actively enforce it. Also, it's worth noting that Colorado Springs is in El Paso county and both the county itself and the El Paso county Sheriff Elder are on the record as not only being 2nd amendment supporters but very pro- Carry with the county issuing more CHP permits then any other county in the state.

Areas like Denver & Boulder (and others) are decidedly less gun friendly and, should problems arise, be more likely to prosecute violations of the law.

There are plenty of > 15 rnd. capacity mags being carried in CO, but I'll leave it to you to decide on the best course of action.

One consideration might be whether you owned and possessed the > 15 rnd. capacity mags(s) prior to the law enactment date and whether you would be able to produce proof of this.

CO is ccw friendly. The law as written prohibits the sale of mags over 15 rounds but ownership has been determined to be legal.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
CO is ccw friendly. The law as written prohibits the sale of mags over 15 rounds but ownership has been determined to be legal.

See the post by Modern Day Savage. Possession of >15 round magazines is not legal if not possessed prior to the effective date of the statute. The exception is for people who are required to be armed as part of their employment, and that may apply only to individuals employed in Colorado.

(If I am wrong because I missed something, I would very much be interested in understanding why.)

Concealed means concealed. Or maybe you should take the high road and buy a brand new gun for your trip. And then don't do anything stupid that will draw attention to yourself.

Assuming your CCW covers you in Colorado, I would be very hesitant to believe that any "grandfathering" would be applied to a non-resident bringing magazines into the state, however temporarily. I would be more inclined to believe that they would charge you with importation of high-capacity mags, at minimum. Seems like the dual G43 option would be my choice.

Bruce

Thanks for the help - I bought a G43x to solve the problem.

Showed the wife and she said, “Oh, that’s nice...”

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
CO is ccw friendly. The law as written prohibits the sale of mags over 15 rounds but ownership has been determined to be legal.

See the post by Modern Day Savage. Possession of >15 round magazines is not legal if not possessed prior to the effective date of the statute.

And how the hell would they know when you bought your mags?

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
CO is ccw friendly. The law as written prohibits the sale of mags over 15 rounds but ownership has been determined to be legal.

See the post by Modern Day Savage. Possession of >15 round magazines is not legal if not possessed prior to the effective date of the statute.

And how the hell would they know when you bought your mags?

As I pointed out, it is a poorly conceived poorly written law... written by Democrat legislators long on feelings and virtue signalling and short on substance, practicality, or effectiveness.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
CO is ccw friendly. The law as written prohibits the sale of mags over 15 rounds but ownership has been determined to be legal.

See the post by Modern Day Savage. Possession of >15 round magazines is not legal if not possessed prior to the effective date of the statute.

And how the hell would they know when you bought your mags?

By the way, I should congratulate you! In the mere seconds or minutes it took you to read the posts in this thread you managed to identify just one of the deficiencies in this law...which makes you more qualified, even as an out-of-state resident, to serve in the CO state legislature compared to the legislators who voted for this nonsense.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
And how the hell would they know when you bought your mags?

It may not be possible to know when someone bought a magazine, but it may be possible to assume, i.e., charge, that it wasn’t in someone’s possession prior to the effective date of the statute. There is an unfortunate tendency for manufacturers to date stamp their magazines. The most common method is the clock type mark on polymer parts that shows the month and year, but I’ve seen metal magazine tubes stamped with full dates. If you haven’t seen such markings on your mags, take a close look; you might find them.

I have seen at least one retailer selling “parts kits” for magazines, but I haven’t seen any case law in Colorado addressing whether a magazine can legally be repaired or rebuilt with newer components.

And even easier are the magazines that didn’t exist prior to the date of the statute. One example would be 17-round P320 magazines.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
And how the hell would they know when you bought your mags?

It may not be possible to know when someone bought a magazine, but it may be possible to assume, i.e., charge, that it wasn’t in someone’s possession prior to the effective date of the statute. There is an unfortunate tendency for manufacturers to date stamp their magazines. The most common method is the clock type mark on polymer parts that shows the month and year, but I’ve seen metal magazine tubes stamped with full dates. If you haven’t seen such markings on your mags, take a close look; you might find them.

I have seen at least one retailer selling “parts kits” for magazines, but I haven’t seen any case law in Colorado addressing whether a magazine can legally be repaired or rebuilt with newer components.

And even easier are the magazines that didn’t exist prior to the date of the statute. One example would be 17-round P320 magazines.

All good points and worth considering. I've seen some gun shops selling standard capacity mags that were pinned or otherwise limited to holding the legal number of rounds. Last year I was in one new gun store and when I asked to look at one of their handguns with a stabilizing brace instantly noticed the long mag locked into the gun and I assumed it was a standard capacity mag that had been limited but when I asked the clerk about the capacity he told me it was a 30 round mag. I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and kept my mouth shut. I've also heard of some shops selling repair kits.

I have some old semi-auto rifle and handgun mags in which either the date or date code is stamped into the metal mag tube...but honestly I wasn't aware that any recent or current mag manufacturer's still followed this practice.

I had considered the fact that some plastic mag parts like the floor plate have the date clocks on them. The ones I own have dates prior to the law going into effect so I don't much worry about those. My question is, since most mags. don't have serial numbers what part constitutes the legal magazine? For instance, if I owned a > 15 rnd. mag with a floor plate date code that indicates mfr. prior to the law enactment date, and then later decide to replace the floor plate with one that has a date code after the law enactment date. What if the date clock on the mag. part was rusted or scratched/ obscured to the point where it wasn't readable? Am I now guilty of being in possession of an illegal mag.?

I'm not convinced a DA would be able to get a conviction based solely on the date code stamped on any replaceable magazine part but it wouldn't surprise me if some would still attempt a prosecution.

I do agree that mags produced after the law enactment date are problematic...and have affected some of my buying decisions on guns that I would otherwise like to own.

I'm just glad I was able to stock up on some mags. before the law kicked in, although I wish I had been able to stock up on even more. I even stocked up on standard cap. mags. for some guns I don't yet own.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
My question is, since most mags. don't have serial numbers what part constitutes the legal magazine?

A good question, and I haven’t seen any discussion of it in any context, either in reference to Colorado law or the laws of any other jurisdictions. The same is true of other questions that have occurred to me relating to the subject.

It’s easy to pass laws. It’s not so easy to pass laws that clearly answer all the possible questions they may raise.