California's gun laws have been a topic at every gun counter conversation I've had with people moving west or passing through. Worth laying out what's actually on the books right now, because the list is long and some of it will genuinely surprise people who haven't dealt with it firsthand.

"The fees and taxes associated with a handgun purchase run around $300 on top of the firearm's purchase price. That's on a gun that might retail for $700."

That's nearly a 43% markup before you even consider the 11% excise tax added in 2023. Buy a $700 pistol in California and you're realistically into it for over a thousand dollars by the time you walk out the door. A guy at my LGS here in Boise was floored when a California transplant told him what he'd paid for his last handgun purchase back home.

"California requires background checks for ammunition purchases... This means a trip to the gun store for a box of .308 involves the same background check infrastructure as buying the rifle itself."

If you shoot any kind of volume — even just a couple range trips a month — this adds up in time and friction fast. Grabbing a case of 9mm on the way to a match stops being a casual errand. The infrastructure overhead alone makes bulk buying at a local shop a completely different transaction than it is anywhere else.

"California limits handgun purchases to three firearms per month... The appeals court found that earlier limit unconstitutional, writing: 'We are not aware of any circumstance where government may temporarily meter the exercise of constitutional rights in this manner.'"

The 9th Circuit actually wrote something useful there — and California's response was to just file a new law at a higher number. Three instead of one. That quote from the panel is going to show up in a lot of briefs over the next few years, including against the new version.

"Transporting firearms in California without a CCW requires the firearm to be unloaded and in a locked container — not just the glove box or center console... FOPA safe passage is a federal protection, but California has historically been aggressive in its interpretation of what qualifies. If you're driving through, don't stop for more than a gas-and-go."

This is the one that catches road-trippers. FOPA is real federal law, but California has prosecuted people for stops that didn't qualify under their interpretation. If you're hauling guns from, say, Arizona to Oregon, plan your route and stops before you leave — not at a rest stop in Barstow.

For anyone who's moved to California from a gun-friendly state, or made the trip back out: what caught you most off guard when you were dealing with the actual process — the fees, the waiting periods, the ammo checks, or something else entirely?

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Read the full article in The Handbook → | By BGC Editorial