https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/travelanygunanywhere wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 7:40 am When I drove to California in 2020 I was pulling a U-Haul trailer. My destination was in Northern CA. I stopped at the Nevada-CA border. I unloaded my Kimber and locked it into a Pelican box by itself and the ammo in a separate box. When I returned I reversed the steps once I was in Nevada. I lived in CA for 8 1/2 years in the 90s and early 2000s. Trust me, you don't want to get tagged with a weapon in CA for any reason. You will not be afforded the favorable treatment that many other privileged groups receive.
I’ve made that trip at least 10 times, mostly by driving it. The one big bugaboo is that California still has a 10-round magazine capacity limit, so plan accordingly. Additionally, it’s probably better to bring a gun that is on the California roster of approved pistols, but I don’t think that’s a deal-breaker. I don’t own any 10-round G19 mags, but all of my Glocks are Gen4, and Gen4 Glocks aren’t on the roster. However, Gen3 Glocks are, so if you have a Gen3 G19 with a 10-round mag, you’d probably be good to go. That said, I’m not convinced that a cop would hassle you over whether your gun was on the roster or not, as long as the mag capacity was 10 or less.HANDGUNS
Pursuant to California Penal Code section 25610, a United States citizen over 18 years of age who is not prohibited from firearm possession, and who resides or is temporarily in California, may transport by motor vehicle any handgun provided it is unloaded and locked in the vehicle’s trunk or in a locked container. Furthermore, the handgun must be carried directly to or from any motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and, while being carried must be contained within a locked container.
Pursuant to California Penal Code section 16850, the term "locked container" means a secure container that is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar locking device. This includes the trunk of a motor vehicle, but does not include the utility or glove compartment.
SHOTGUNS AND RIFLES
Nonconcealable firearms (shotguns and rifles) are not generally covered within the provisions of California Penal Code section 25400 and therefore are not required to be transported in a locked container. However, as with any firearm, nonconcealable firearms must be unloaded while they are being transported.
As to what guns I've brought with me…On one trip, I carried a full-sized M&P45, which has 10 round magazines. Another time, I brought along a G26 with its 10-round mags. On another trip, I carried a 5" Springfield 1911 with 8 round mags. On still another, I carried a S&W 640 snubby .357 Mag with a couple of speed loaders. I honestly never checked to see if any of those were on the roster, but I figured they were otherwise compliant, so I didn’t worry about it too much.
Ditto, per the process. I carried until just before crossing into California…pulled over, locked everything up, and reversed the process upon leaving. As soon as I entered Arizona, I pulled over, uncased my gun, and holstered it. One note on locked storage. It is illegal in California to store the gun in a loaded condition while traveling. It is illegal to store it with mag in the gun, chamber empty. The mag must be out of the gun. I have been assured by a retired CA LEO friend of mine that it is ok for the loaded magazine to be locked in the same case as the unloaded gun, but the case must be out of reach of either the driver or his/her passengers. It is more important that the magazines be locked up and not easily reachable, than it is that they must be stored separately from the gun. So that is how I transported mine. Again, gun locked in a case, unloaded, chamber empty, mags/speedloaders locked in the same case as the gun.
The one time I towed a travel trailer out there, I considered also bringing along either a shotgun or my Marlin .30-30, but in the end I didn’t. Those would have probably been ok legally, but I figured that it was just one more level of complexity I didn’t need because I was only going to be gone for 2 weeks. Had I been going for a month or longer, I would have almost certainly brought along a California-legal long gun. YMMV