Was speaking to a someone and he said 30rnd rifle magazines are banned in Hawaii? Just wanted to get clarification on if this is true. It's been awhile since I owned any magazines for an AR15 rifle platform. I will be getting my rifle soon, and just wanted to make sure. I did a search and all posts are pretty old or vague regarding the law.

Thank you 

Stop asking for permission to exist

Go in a gun shop.
Are they for sale ?

Not sure, I'll go check it out. Ordered my rife and just waiting for it to arrive. Appreciate it.

Grey area.  Technically there are pistols that can accept ar15 mags....ar pistols on the mainland or owned by LE or modified manual action ar15 pistols here.

But no one's been convicted for it as far as I know, and the law is vague as in do you have to own an ar15 pistol to have the mags banned.  They are freely sold, owned, and used in Hawaii.  Lawmakers try to pass rifle magazine bans all the time indicating they are legal

All of those indicate they are not banned, but it's up to you to decide.

They are probably legal, but if we can make you think they are illegal, then we have worded it correctly.

Buy 40s.

They are not illegal. Here's why:

1) Our lawmakers try to ban them every few years.  So if they're already illegal, are they making it "illegal-er"?
2) Our law defines what a pistol is, what a rifle is, and what an assault pistol is.  Due to this definition, the law states "fits into a pistol".  It doesnt' say "fits into a pistol/rifle/assault pistol". Refer to #1 above, when they try to ban them, they delete the word "pistol" and insert the word "firearm". So "fits into a firearm".
3) With regard to stores that don't sell them, it's their person choice and some FEEL like they are illegal.  Some online stores even feel the same way.  Rumor is they got a letter from our AG telling them they're illegal. Our AG would never lie right.... For the stores that only sell them to HPD, there is nothing in the law (HRS134) that provides an exception to stores for this.  Which means the store plus any employee handling the AR mag would be breaking the law. There is an exception stated in the HRS134 for LEO.

If any of the above is wrong, someone post links to the HRS that states otherwise.

Buy 40s.

U mean 10rd 458 Socom mags?

U mean 10rd 458 Socom mags?

Actually I prefer the 20 round AR15 mags and that is what I keep loaded in my gun.  However, my back up mags are all 30s. I am pretty sure in a home SD situation,  after I fire 20 rounds, either me or the perp(s) will be dead.

It's a matter of interpretation.

The law is stupid.  It ties the legality of >10rd mags to their interchangeability between a rifle (legal) and pistol (illegal).

The reality is that any rifle receiver can be (and probably has been) modified or manufactured as a pistol.  So, from that viewpoint, there are no legal mags >10rds.

Then comes the gray area.  If there's no pistol in commercial production that you can legally buy at the local gun shop, or that can be purchased online and legally registered, then the existence of a compatible pistol is a false claim.  Likewise, if the home-built pistol does not qualify as a semi-auto with a removable magazine, then the >10rd rifle mags are legal.

That's been the case for AR's.  We can have AR pistols, but only if the thing is not a semi-auto and/or the mag is not able to be removed.  Either of those conditions negate the mag's semi-auto functioning and/or mag removal, thus negating the interchangeability between that AR pistol and a semi-auto rifle.

Some local shops go with the technical interpretation (that a compatible semi-auto pistol with removable mags does exist -- just not in Hawaii) and only sell >10rd AR mags to cops.  Other shops will sell to anyone until the law changes or a precedent is set making them unquestionably illegal for non-LE.

To be safe, some shooters only use 5rd or 10rd mags at the range.  No biggie, since there's a 5-shot-per-reload limit.  I use 10rd mags and some 20-rd mags blocked to 10 for range time.  What I choose to leave at home may be larger capacity.

As long as the current law stays stupid, and the AR mag restriction remains unenforced as it has always been, the gray area will exist.  They really should have been less cagey with the way they allowed some >10rd mags but not all.

As long as the current law stays stupid, and the AR mag restriction remains unenforced as it has always been, the gray area will exist.  They really should have been less cagey with the way they allowed some >10rd mags but not all.

Check out the definition of "pistol" and "assault pistol".

The state tried to use this argument for the baton lawsuit. "no one was convicted over it, thus the lawsuit is moot". But someone was back in 96.

Check out the definition of "pistol" and "assault pistol".

The state tried to use this argument for the baton lawsuit. "no one was convicted over it, thus the lawsuit is moot". But someone was back in 96.

One is not none, but over a very long period of time in which people admitted to breaking the law, but it was rarely enforced, it's valid to bring that up as a defense.  The law is supposed to be applied fairly and evenly.  That means you don't let 100s slide only to use this law against a specific violator -- especially if there's evidence the charges were brought for reasons other than law enforcement.

The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law.  if 90%+ of violators are never arrested or charged, there needs to be a reason you were singled out.  If the arrest was arbitrary, then you can argue the law was not equally applied.  This argument works best if a group (blacks, poor, etc.) are being arrested for that crime, but nobody else is.

One is not none, but over a very long period of time in which people admitted to breaking the law, but it was rarely enforced, it's valid to bring that up as a defense.  The law is supposed to be applied fairly and evenly.  That means you don't let 100s slide only to use this law against a specific violator -- especially if there's evidence the charges were brought for reasons other than law enforcement.

The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law.  if 90%+ of violators are never arrested or charged, there needs to be a reason you were singled out.  If the arrest was arbitrary, then you can argue the arrest was not equally applied.  This argument works best if a group (blacks, poor, etc.) are being arrested for that crime, but nobody else is.

IIRC even the chief unknowingly admitted that they're not illegal. With regard to trying to ban the mags after the Diamond Head shooting, Ballard stated the reason for the bill is "because of these 2 numbers on my badge". This refers to the 2 cops who were killed by the big game hunting rifle.

Check out the definition of "pistol" and "assault pistol".

The state tried to use this argument for the baton lawsuit. "no one was convicted over it, thus the lawsuit is moot". But someone was back in 96.

I think you might have trouble in court relying on the definitions of “pistol” and “assault pistol” from HRS 134.

The “pistol” definition says “any firearm of any shape with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length and capable of discharging loaded ammunition…”

The “assault pistol” definition says “a semiautomatic pistol that accepts a detachable magazine and has two or more of the following characteristics…”

Any reasonably competent prosecutor would then argue that the term “pistol” includes “assault pistols.”  As in “all assault pistols are pistols, but not all pistols are assault pistols.”

Really no way of knowing until it gets tested in court.

Go in a gun shop.
Are they for sale ?

If you check out gun shops. I think the only one I’ve heard of not selling them to civilians is SEC.
Others here would more info on where they are “apparently” legally sold. KGS, OGC, ….