The seperate places in the vehicle for ammo and rifle is not a NYS law. That is the federal law that protects you if you are traveling through different states. The loaded firearm definition above does not apply to rifles. For long guns it means (found in environmental law) you cant have ammo in magazine, tube, or chamber. They law that they will charge you with (assuming everything else is legal) is a environmental law found in the hunting section of the law.