doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com California?? What's the deal on sending a gun in??

I was just at my local gun dealers this morning and he told me that he is NOT allowed to ship guns into California. I also noticed two new, boxed Springfield Armory XDs on the counter with big stickers on them saying, ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA.

Jimmy, your dealer/FFl can still ship guns into CA, but there are a zillion reasons why certain guns cannot be shipped. Reasons include high-cap mags (10 round max in CA); no trigger lock; gun has not passed mandatory CA drop test (separate test for each model and each variation, including different barrel lengths; the test destroys a lot of guns and it gets expensive for the manufacturers to certify every model and variation); flash suppressors; pistol grips on shotguns; AR15 variants; anything that can even be remotely construed as an assault weapon; and the list goes on. A new reg that is coming will require all semiauto pistols to imprint a serial number on each ejected casing. Gee, do ya think the bad guys will use stolen guns or revolvers instead? I feel safer.

And I just remembered that the city of Los Angeles has a regulation regarding the physical size of handguns that can be sold within the city limits. Anything that is easily concealable cannot be sold by a dealer in LA. That means no S&W J-frames, etc. Also for the whole damn state, dealers cannot sell collectible handguns like original S&W K-22 and K-38 and Colt Woodsman, because these guns are out of production and have not passed the drop test. Dealers can, however, perform FFL transfers between private parties on these guns, but only if both parties are CA residents. That means if I find a perfect example of an old S&W in AZ, there is no legal way for me to buy it without establishing residence in AZ. It's almost impossible to keep up with all the rules.

Sidelock - there are legal ways to have guns not on the California "approved list" shipped to CA. Case in point: A friend found a Smith and Wesson Model 29 (N frame .44 Mag, blued finish) on gunbroker that he wanted. The Model 29 is not on the CA "approved list", although the same gun in stainless (Model 629)is California approved. His daughter in New Mexico purchased the gun and had it sent to her FFL dealer in New Mexico. The dealer in New Mexico then shipped to an FFL dealer in California with a letter from the daughter certifying it was a gift to her father (which, in fact, it was). He completed all the necessary CA paperwork at his FFL and took delivery of the gun after the appropriate waiting period and back ground check. All very legal. Where there is a will there is a LEGAL way.

I've heard about the "approved list" of California that has been alluded to. Does anyone know of a link to find out the "approved" and "banned" guns in this state? Thanks.

private party tranfers on used guns do not have to pass the drop test etc.(well that is what i have been told by a deal)but for a dealer out side of ca.to send gun to ca. you have to get a delivery number. private partys sending guns to a dealer for a tranfer dont need a number.if you remember dem gov. jerry (moonbeam )brown he is our new ATT.GEN.this is why things are getting really screwy here.also only between 5% and 10% of California is populated. we have a lot of public land.San Diego,Los Angeles, San Francisco,and Sacramento. are the main population centersand are left wing democrats so they control the politics most of the time. check the CA. DOJ website.used guns, private party sales are not the same as new gun,very strange,MC

CA DOJ web site has the lsit posted, constantly changing. Start at ca.gov.

While it's true that private party transfers on used (or new) guns do not require the drop test, a CA dealer cannot SELL a non-DOJ-approved handgun. And, an out-of state seller cannot ship a non-approved handgun into the state for the purpose of sale or transfer. The dealer/FFL can only transfer the ownership of the non-approved gun (but only between CA residents or immediate family members), whether it's a direct transfer or a consignment sale. But remember that this does not apply to non-approved handguns from outside CA, because they cannot be sold to CA residents within the state. In a consignment sale, the dealer does not own the inventory, but is acting as agent for the seller, and is thus not actually selling the gun. He is only facilitating the sale, and handling the FFL transfer. The immediate family transfer is one loophole that can sometimes be used, but you need to have an immediate family member in another state to transfer the gun to you, and "immediate family" is defined (last time I looked, probably 2004) as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister. No in-laws, cousins, etc. And last time I looked at the transfer paperwork, one of the questions asks if you are buying the gun for someone else. Could get dicey.

The delivery number is a brand new PITA as of 7/1/08 and applies to all guns shipped into or within CA for the purpose of sale or transfer (except for some C&R stuff). Makes no diff whether it's a long gun, handgun, DOJ-approved or not.

Are we confused yet?