Specific Questions about California and Washington Handgun Laws

[Paul D]

I am travelling by car next week to California to celebrate my mom's 87th birthday. My younger brother who lives near Seattle has never showed any interest in guns. However, he wants to explore getting a handgun and wants to try it out while we are gathered in Huntington Beach. Questions:

California Questions:

1) When travelling with handguns, am I required to keep the guns in a locked hardcase with ammo separate.
2) Am I allow to bring magazines with >10 round capacity into the state?
3) Any restrictions on bringing in ammo?


Washington Questions:

1) Will my brother be restricted to certain handguns in Washington when he is ready to buy. I don't want to bring any sample handguns that are not available for him in WA.
2) Is there a magazine restriction in WA?

Thanks all!

[CZ Man]

For WA questions

No limits right now for pistol selection. Our magazine ban went into effect July 1st, so it's a 10 round limit.

[Exiledviking]

For California:

1. Yes. Firearms in a locked container and ammo separate.

2. No mags over 10 rounds.

3. You can bring ammo with you. You cannot transfer it to anyone unless the buyer goes thru a background check at a FFL.

[JRB]

I explored a similar process for introducing my aunt to pistol shooting back in the 2010's.

What I quickly learned is that it would be far easier and less troublesome to fly her to ABQ and take her to my usual range here, with any and every gun I lawfully owned. Explaining the Cali handgun roster and the mag ban and all those other things against the backdrop of "I can have all this here no problem" was helpful in developing her knowledge of how stupid gun laws tend to be, and set the basis of her pro-2A stance

To answer your questions directly -

1) the pistol must be unloaded and in a locked case and inaccessible to the driver. Ammo can be in the same locked case but it cannot be loaded in the pistol. It was recommended to me that ammo should be in a separate locked container but that wasn't a legal requirement. Pistols also have a transport destination requirement in that you must only go to and from a place where it's legal to have or use that pistol, no driving around with it in your car just because.
2) Do not bring >10rnd mags with you. They're worth a felony each, I'm told (IANAL) No pistol roster requirement or any of that though, bring Gen 5 Glocks and all that good stuff. Also, threaded barrels are a no-go for any semiauto pistols with a detachable mag.

3) I heard no more than 200rnds for non-residents but I couldn't find that in any of the new Cali ammo laws. But I'd already decided against bringing guns of my own into Cali by this point so I didn't really finish that research.

[Borderland]

I am travelling by car next week to California to celebrate my mom's 87th birthday. My younger brother who lives near Seattle has never showed any interest in guns. However, he wants to explore getting a handgun and wants to try it out while we are gathered in Huntington Beach. Questions:

California Questions:

1) When travelling with handguns, am I required to keep the guns in a locked hardcase with ammo separate.
2) Am I allow to bring magazines with >10 round capacity into the state?
3) Any restrictions on bringing in ammo?


Washington Questions:

1) Will my brother be restricted to certain handguns in Washington when he is ready to buy. I don't want to bring any sample handguns that are not available for him in WA.
2) Is there a magazine restriction in WA?

Thanks all!

10 rd magazine restriction in WA.
No restrictions on the type of handgun in WA. but the magazine restriction will limit his choice when he buys.

As for CA here's what I found.

Only individuals with a California Concealed Carry Weapons License (CCWL) can carry a handgun while traveling by car. Without a CCWL, any firearm must be in a locked container or the vehicle’s trunk. A locked container is defined as a secure container which is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock or similar locking device. A locked container includes the trunk of a motor vehicle, but not the utility or glove compartment.

Been that way for a long time. I locked my carry (without ammo) in a Pelican hard case when I went through CA. I had ammo stored separately.

Ammunition

Ammunition may not be purchased out of state and then brought into California. Doing so would be a misdemeanor.
Non-residents may not purchase ammunition in California.
Non-residents may bring ammo with them for personal use without a background check.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/res...p/ca-gun-laws/

That is totally ambiguous when I read it. Kamala Harris probably had something to do with the ammo restrictions in CA. Because neither of you can buy ammo there I would guess you have to bring it with you. That's what I would do. If you have carry insurance give them a call to see what they recommend.

Birthday wishes for your mom.

[OlongJohnson]

My understanding is there is no restriction on a non-resident bringing in ammo as long as the ammo is legal to possess generally. Certain jurisdictions (all that come to mind are in the Bay Area) have restrictions on ammo that was labeled for law enforcement use. So you can't take 50-round packs of HST, you can only take the much more expensive/round 20-round packs. Stupid and pointless, but that's not the point.

I have also heard that a non-resident can transfer ammo to a resident who is an immediate family member (sibling, parent, child) without limit, without going through the check process. There may also be some provision for transferring ammo to someone you know well with limitations on quantity/time/purpose. But I'd definitely check both of those before acting.


If I just wanted to introduce someone to shooting in the HB area, I'd take them to FT3 in Stanton and rent something. Maybe not a Glock because of the 10-round mag issue in WA.

https://www.fieldtimetargetandtraining.com/

It's a nice joint that all the people in the area I know use. Excellent ventilation. Usually quite busy. Have been a few times, always a good experience.

[Paul D]

Thanks for all the outstanding replies. So far my plan is:

1) Buy a lockable case. I supposed I could use the 100 Glock pistol cases I have but I rather just carry everything in one case. I can't believe I don't own one (I have a rifle case that I took overseas but that thing is huge).

2) I will bring my own ammo. Both me and bro are non-residents so how are we gonna buy it there?

3) Regarding the 10 round mag restrictions, the only guns I can bring that is in production with OEM 10 round mags are: 1911s, revolvers, Glock 26, Glock 43. I have a lot of >10 round guns but I am not certain which models have reliable neutered magazines. For ex: Glock 10 rounders are not great, so I won't bring my 17s, 19s, etc.

[Exiledviking]

Thanks for all the outstanding replies. So far my plan is:

1) Buy a lockable case. I supposed I could use the 100 Glock pistol cases I have but I rather just carry everything in one case. I can't believe I don't own one (I have a rifle case that I took overseas but that thing is huge).

2) I will bring my own ammo. Both me and bro are non-residents so how are we gonna buy it there?

3) Regarding the 10 round mag restrictions, the only guns I can bring that is in production with OEM 10 round mags are: 1911s, revolvers, Glock 26, Glock 43. I have a lot of >10 round guns but I am not certain which models have reliable neutered magazines. For ex: Glock 10 rounders are not great, so I won't bring my 17s, 19s, etc.

2. Bring enough ammo for both of you. Non-residents cannot buy ammo in CA as the background check only allows CA residents. If you rent pistols as suggested above you don't need to do a background check because the ammo does not leave the gun shop/range.

3. HK 10 round mags are GTG as are Beretta 10 round mags. The 10 round Mec-Gar mags for the CZ pistols are excellent and usually less money than the factory mags.
Primarily it's the 10 round Glock mags there have been a few problems when using JHPs.

[Totem Polar]

3) Regarding the 10 round mag restrictions, the only guns I can bring that is in production with OEM 10 round mags are: 1911s, revolvers, Glock 26, Glock 43.

My forum brethren, eg. CZman, et al., have already covered things on the WA front. The only thing I can add is: the bad news is our recent gun laws. The good news is that the 4 choices you list pretty much cover what I’d buy from scratch, albeit almost in reverse order. You could do worse than any of them for WA state—although I’d lean slightly towards the G26.

Beyond that, if there is anything that I can do to help your bro sort out WA state, hit me up.

[mmc45414]

For ex: Glock 10 rounders are not great, so I won't bring my 17s, 19s, etc.

Maybe snag a couple of the Magpul G19 mags?

https://magpul.com/pmag-10-gl9-glock-g19.html




Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk