Can you buy ammo out of state and bring into state

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74camaroman

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Can a resident of california go out of state and buy ammo and bring that ammo back into california? I live in commie fornia and my son tried to buy ammo online (newby) and they asked for an ffl number and he then found out he couldn't buy online without having the ammo shipped to an ffl. He has bought the firearm but all the ammo here is also very expensive so he wants to find out if he drives into nevada, does he have to be a resident to buy ammo? Would it be legal for him to buy ammo out of state and bring it back into commiefornia?
 
Not a resident so I have no definitive answer, but I believe CA has specifically written their laws to prohibit individuals buying out of state and then bringing the ammo back into CA.

Online orders must be processed through an FFL in CA. CA has a lot of laws other states don't have.
 
I can only comment on what "friends of mine" that live there have said (one was sheriff), but based on their comments, that would be a federal offense, go to jail. You couldn't pay me enough to live there (two companies have tried) so I've never bothered to verify.

That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Like before fireworks were legal in GA, nobody at the stores just across state lines was asking for ID, and there were no roadblocks just back inside the border looking for fireworks.
 
eflyguy said:
I can only comment on what "friends of mine" that live there have said (one was sheriff), but based on their comments, that would be a federal offense, go to jail.
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Based on the link provided by zoomie, importing ammunition from out of state is a state offense. Can you explain how it might be a federal offense?
 
No, because as I said, I never bothered to look into it further. Just commented based on what I've been told by irritated friends who have the misfortune to live out there.
 
I was told felony, by two different folks, one a retired LEO and the other active military, hence why I said "federal". Both care about their permits and said they would be denied from owning firearms going forward.

I could be wrong in my understanding and terminology. I could have been told incorrectly. I really care little, was just passing along what I've been told.
 
Cops and military are generally the worst possible people to ask about firearms laws. I once had a cop assure me that something was legal. When I later looked it up -- sure enough, it was a (state level) felony. He wasn't trying to jack me up, either. It was at a 4th of July party at his father's house. The cop was the nephew of my then-GF.
 
Looked it up real quick. It is penal code 30314. Violation is a misdemeanor. Couldn't find anything about the fine / punishment though. One examption is holder of 03ffl and COE.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Yeah, the one I checked with earlier when this came was a CA county sheriff and so rules may have been different for him. He now lives in NV. I asked for clarification and got no response, so far.

Neither of them shoot often, as best as I can tell.
 
Probably a good hing the cop dont shoot often. At a couple ranges near here they seem to be the the most likely to be the roof holers..
 
I am not saying that I bought a bunch of ammo in Montana years ago and brought it back to Utah. But I have never had to pass inspection or show my papers to travel from state to state. I have been stopped in California and asked if I had any fruit or plants but never ammo.
 
kenny53 said:
I am not saying that I bought a bunch of ammo in Montana years ago and brought it back to Utah. But I have never had to pass inspection or show my papers to travel from state to state. I have been stopped in California and asked if I had any fruit or plants but never ammo.
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The question was about California, not Montana or Utah.

The fact that you were not asked about ammunition when entering California has no bearing on whether importing ammunition is or isn't legal. If you run a red light at 03:00 a.m. and there's nobody around to see it -- it's still a traffic violation. In any event, when did you visit California? The law is dated 2018, so it's fairly recent.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=30314.

Secondly, the law applies to California residents, not to visitors.

30314. (a) Commencing January 1, 2018, a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition that he or she purchased or otherwise obtained from outside of this state unless he or she first has that ammunition delivered to a licensed ammunition vendor for delivery to that resident pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 30312.
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The funniest part of that law is that it states "Residents" can't but it doesn't say anything about non- residents . Got a friend from out of state , he/she can bring as much as they want . What they do with that ammo is up to them .

This has been of great debate at local ranges and stores here . The most common thing you hear is "who wants to be the test case " not me !

Good buddy of mine is a party to the ammo ban/background case here in San Diego . I've even sat in on the proceedings a couple times . Covid hit and that slowed an already slow process down . I'm not even sure what's going on in that case anymore , I should give him a call and see .

Looks like the 9th circuit stayed the lower courts ruling the ammo ban was unconstitutional
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.571335/gov.uscourts.casd.571335.68.0.pdf

8-30-2020 Oral arguments at 9th Circuit 11-9-2020

So now it's a waiting game and now my memory is coming back to me a bit . I think the 9th is going to hold this case until a couple other gun related cases are ruled on that came before it . Stating they may give guidance on how the court should rule on this case so we are in total limbo right now .
 
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Metal god said:
The funniest part of that law is that it states "Residents" can't but it doesn't say anything about non- residents . Got a friend from out of state , he/she can bring as much as they want . What they do with that ammo is up to them .
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What they do with it is up to them ... as long as they don't sell it to or give it to a resident of California while they are in California.

Section 30314 of the statutes, which I quoted above, addresses importing ammunition into California. That section refers to Section 30312, so lets have a look at what that section says:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=30312

30312.

(a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale of ammunition by any party shall be conducted by or processed through a licensed ammunition vendor.

(2) When neither party to an ammunition sale is a licensed ammunition vendor, the seller shall deliver the ammunition to a vendor to process the transaction. The ammunition vendor shall promptly and properly deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, if the sale is not prohibited, as if the ammunition were the vendor’s own merchandise. If the ammunition vendor cannot legally deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, the vendor shall forthwith return the ammunition to the seller. The ammunition vendor may charge the purchaser an administrative fee to process the transaction, in an amount to be set by the Department of Justice, in addition to any applicable fees that may be charged pursuant to the provisions of this title.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale, delivery, or transfer of ownership of ammunition by any party may only occur in a face-to-face transaction with the seller, deliverer, or transferor, provided, however, that ammunition may be purchased or acquired over the Internet or through other means of remote ordering if a licensed ammunition vendor initially receives the ammunition and processes the transaction in compliance with this section and Article 3 (commencing with Section 30342) of Chapter 1 of Division 10 of Title 4 of this part.
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'Nuff said.
 
Correct , I don’t see anywhere in that statute that it says a private person can’t bring ammo into the state and leave it there full stop
 
The state may get you on the intent.
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I don't disagree but they would need to establish intent first I'd think . This goes to my earlier point of many debates at ranges and gun stores here locally . I know AB said "Nuff said" but was it ?

I'll add the judge even questioned this in one of the hearings I attended . It was awhile ago and I have no notes from that day so this is from memory . The judge was trying to work out how a hunter or even a target shooter coming from another state knows not to bring ammo in and if he can't how does he buy ammo in CA if he's not in the CA data base system to do a CA ammo background check . They went round and round about this and how the out of state guy can bring in his own ammo to use here . At that point the judge asked what if the out of state hunter uses up the two boxes he brings , Now what ? He will not be able to by ammo to complete his hunting trip and residents are not allowed to by ammo for friends or anyone else really so how does the out of state guy by ammo which he now needs in CA .

The state says out of state guy needs to apply for a special ammo permit that allows him to buy ammo in the state which will likely take at least a month or longer to process . Which the judge reply's but he brought his own ammo which he thought would be enough but it wasn't . He now has to wait over a month to get more ? Which the state said he would need to apply before coming so he would have the permit while he is here . The judge asks How does he knows he needs this permit ahead of time ? They answer bla bla bla with the judge firing back bla bla bal . The judge was not buying there reasoning period .

Anyways like I said this law is of great debate here to include the lawyers and judges involved arguing over it's wording .
 
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