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Want a gun in CA

dragunovsniperdragunovsniper Member Posts: 4 ✭✭
Hey, I'm new here. I'm looking to buy my first firearm soon and I'm very confused about how to obtain a firearm in California. I've searched many sites and most are very confusing. Also, I hear that in CA, one cannot have anything close to a semi automatic rifle.

I'll be here for a long time and with the way things are going, it seems like a good idea to do it the British way and just collect airsoft.

Comments

  • 65gto38965gto389 Member Posts: 2,850 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Visit the following site and look up all applicable laws including HSC requirements. You can also go to your local gun shop and the man at the counter can tell you better then myself.


    http://caag.state.ca.us/firearms/









    " Those who give up a little freedom for temporary security, deserve neither freedom nor security "
    - Benjamin Franklin
  • kaliforniankalifornian Member Posts: 475 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I may be reading too much into your post, but I'm assuming since this is your first firearm that you may be new to shooting.

    Call or visit your local shooting ranges. Look for a Firearm Safety and Shooting class that includes actual shooting time. When I got started with hand guns, I took an all day course that started out with a firearm safety lecture and demonstration, taught the basic laws (including the general characteristics of what we could legally buy) and then administered a Basic Firearms Safety Certificate test (this has since been replaced by the HSC). Afterwards, the instructor directed us to shoot a variety of different rental handguns, taught us some of the basic skills and helped us each find a gun that we were comfortable with. (The gun rentals were included in our course fee, but we had to pay for the ammo.) This gave me an idea of what features I liked. I then went to shooting ranges and rented as many different guns as I could find until I decided on my first purchase.

    If you are looking specifically for rifles, you can probably find a similar program or at least find an instructor to start you out on the right foot.

    When I became NRA certified as a basic pistol instructor, part of my coursework included teaching a first time shooter. We were told to bring 1-2 beginning shooters to the class and we gave them a basic handgun safety and shooting course for free (or more acurately, those of us paying to become certified as instructors paid a fee for this privilege and this fee covered the cost of the begining shooters). If you get lucky, you might find a shooting instructor or school who will offer you a free course if you don't mind being taught in part by beginning instructors.

    Good luck and welcome to both California and shooting!


    http://Blog.LestDarknessFall.com
    http://LestDarknessFall.com
  • dsmithdsmith Member Posts: 902 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I recommend that you get a real gun. Don't bother with Airsoft. Fake guns just aren't as much fun.

    I don't know the laws of California. I live in a free state (no permits, bg check but take your rifle, shotgun, handgun home the same day). Kalifornian seems to know his stuff. Take his advice. Don't let the Jack Booted Thugs scare you away from firearm ownership.
  • nomadictaonomadictao Member Posts: 1,310 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You can't have an AK-47 here, but you can have a MIAI Rifle. Semis are leagal just as long as they don't look like "assult rifles."
  • CJ7nvrstkCJ7nvrstk Member Posts: 678 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    MOVE! Just kidding. [;)] What Kalifornian said. There is nothing worse than buying a gun and finding out that either you don't like it or it doesn't suit your needs. (Though I have never had that problem)
  • gunphreakgunphreak Member Posts: 1,791 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Hey, I'm new here. I'm looking to buy my first firearm soon and I'm very confused about how to obtain a firearm in California. I've searched many sites and most are very confusing. Also, I hear that in CA, one cannot have anything close to a semi automatic rifle.


    Well, one gun you definitely aren't going to be getting there is a Dragunov anything.

    quote: You can't have an AK-47 here, but you can have a MIAI Rifle. Semis are leagal just as long as they don't look like "assult rifles."

    That's some pretty good advice.

    The only other advice I could give is to move out of there. You make that decision....

    Death to Tyrants!!!
    Lev 26:14-39

    Those who would offer any interpretation that would relegate Amendment II to "relic" status of a bygone era are blatantly stating that the remainder of the Bill of Rights isn't worth a damn, either.

    Luke 22:36.
    "Followers of Christ, be armed."
  • ivanimalivanimal Member Posts: 24 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    email me at ivanimal42@hotmail.com I am very up on the laws in CA.

    " From my cold dead hands"
  • DefenderDefender Member Posts: 1,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Nobody can be "up" the the pages and pages of goofy laws in Kalifornia. I am convinced there are so many laws and they are so complax that ignorance of the law may just be a vaild defense when you find yourself charged with a crime.

    Defender
    Private investigator licensed in AZ & CA that specializes in self defense cases.
  • tr foxtr fox Member Posts: 13,856
    edited November -1
    A good ploy actually by the gun grabbers. If they can't pass laws prohibiting gun ownership, then their second choice is to pass so damn many laws regulation gun ownship that gun owners give in and give up their guns.

    Although this is a good strategic ploy, it is also a ploy that any honest and ethical person would not use against their opponents.

    4lizad
  • ivanimalivanimal Member Posts: 24 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I hope I can help you understand the existing laws, there are many that vary from county to county, I know the state laws pretty well.

    " From my cold dead hands"
  • mrphotoguymrphotoguy Member Posts: 16 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    get out of Kalifornia go to TEXAS ~:}
  • WoundedWolfWoundedWolf Member Posts: 1,658 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    As an ex-Kalifornian, I have to say that one of the biggest problems in that state is that the local LEOs don't even know the firearms law. Basically, if you are caught outside your home with a firearm then there is a pretty good chance that you are going to get some major hassle from the cops, even if you are perfectly in-line with the law. I spent a lot of time educating myself about CA firearms law, since I was trying to be a law-abiding gun owner. Every year there were more and more assinine laws passed. It is futile to keep up with such inane laws, and you all have already identified the purpose: to create such a hassle that most folks will just give up.

    It got to the point that I didn't feel comfortable carrying my firearm to the range anymore. Technically, the law in CA states that you can only transport a firearm to and from a location that you legitimately intend to use it (the range, hunting, etc.). Also, all handguns must be locked in a container separated from the ammunition while in trasport. Oh, and a loaded magazine is considered to be the same as a loaded gun, even if it is locked separately from the gun.

    So basically they don't want anyone to carry a gun in their car full-time for protection, etc. This often concerned me since I like to carry my gun with me when I travel. A CCW is basically impossible to get, unless you live in a handful of the rural counties.

    I escaped to Nevada almost a year ago. We still have CCW here, but it is shall-issue (I haven't taken the class yet, costs $80). I don't know what else to say. I am a born and raised Californian, all my family and all my in-laws are still in California, but I was gonna be damned if I was gonna let my future kids grow up in that socialist nightmare. Sad thing is that the plague is spreading, as I have said in several previous posts. Brace yourselves.

    -WW

    wwsm.GIF
    "...That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free state."

    -The Debates in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Virginia, on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. June 27, 1788.
  • gunphreakgunphreak Member Posts: 1,791 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I thought Ohio laws were harsh....

    Death to Tyrants!!!
    Lev 26:14-39

    Those who would offer any interpretation that would relegate Amendment II to "relic" status of a bygone era are blatantly stating that the remainder of the Bill of Rights isn't worth a damn, either.

    Luke 22:36.
    "Followers of Christ, be armed."
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