Travelling to California

[Man-O-War]

Hi. New poster here. I have been a lurker for a while and learned a lot from this great forum.

I will be driving to California in a couple of weeks to stay in a beach house for a week. I have a Texas CHL so I can carry in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona just fine. I am planning on unloading my handgun and locking it in a case then putting the case in my luggage before crossing into California and keeping it locked up until after I leave the state.

I believe this plan will keep me legal, but I was wondering if anyone here knew of anything I am overlooking or any other legal pitfalls I do not know about? I will make sure I do not take any magazines over 10 rounds. Any opinions or personal experiences?

[carlson1]

Welcome. One of the smart guys will be along to help you with the legal suff, but it is good to have you on the Forum.

[nitrogen]

If all you're taking is handguns, you should be fine with the precautions you are taking.

If you're talking long guns, make sure whatever you take isn't considered a Josh Sugarmann Special (An "Assault Weapon") or any .50 cal guns.

Be especially careful in SF, I am not sure what the current status of the handgun ban there is (as far as I know it's overturned, but that can mean any one of a number of things there.)

[Man-O-War]

nitrogen,

Thanks for the info. I thought about taking a Mini-14 with no evil features, but I decided I would just take a handgun if it was not completely forbidden. BTW, I forgot to ask if anyone knows this. If I am pulled over in California, am I required to notify the peace officer that there are weapons in the vehicle?

[frankie_the_yankee]

nitrogen,

Thanks for the info. I thought about taking a Mini-14 with no evil features, but I decided I would just take a handgun if it was not completely forbidden. BTW, I forgot to ask if anyone knows this. If I am pulled over in California, am I required to notify the peace officer that there are weapons in the vehicle?

IANAL, but no. And you don't need to tell them about your TX CHL either.

Now if they ask you, you're on your own. I have no advice to give on that one. I have heard that some CA cops will make it a point to ask if they pull over a car with plates from well known "gun states" like TX.

Make sure the gun is unloaded and locked in a case in the trunk. No hi-cap mags. Better yet, bring a revolver.

Check packing.org to get more info and also to make sure that you don't run afoul of any of the multitude of insane laws they have there.

Keep in mind that you will be travelling in "hostile territory". They don't like you or your guns, and would rather you left the guns at home. If they find out that you have guns or MIGHT have guns, they will look for ANY possible excuse to confiscate them and/or throw you in jail.

In CA, you are a 3rd class citizen at best. (Illegal aliens are 2nd class.) If I want the beach, FL works a lot better for me.

[stevie_d_64]

Have a great trip, California is a really nice state to visit, lots of things to do...

If you carry, before you actually get to the border of Arizona and California...Just pull over in Yuma, and take care of the particulars, unloaded, gun in locked case separate from ammo...And I don't believe having the ammo in a box that is not contained in a locked case is a show stopper...

As for the info concerning the other states, I agree PDO may have a printable format that makes it convienient to put that in a folder for future reference...I'd keep it in the vehcle somewhere on the trip...But back up the PDO stuff (it may be a bit dated) with the handgunlaws.org webite, the link to that is up in the other topics in the forum here...Not too hard to find...

Just pay close attention to the "Go, No Go" places in that particular state, and the deadly force sections...

The restricted places may also not require a standard signage like our state has, so if its a gun-buster sign, then that is usually acceptable by lawful authority as a "no go" establishment...

But above all, have a great time...

[frankie_the_yankee]

If you carry, before you actually get to the border of Arizona and California...Just pull over in Yuma, and take care of the particulars, unloaded, gun in locked case separate from ammo.

What stevie means here is do it when you are FAR away from the CA state line. That way, you will be out of sight of any CA storm... er.. state troopers who might be hanging out at the state line spying on what the good inhabitants of AZ might be up to.

Oh, check the sky for light aircraft before you make the transfer to the trunk.

[Man-O-War]

Thanks for the info. I think I will print everything out and put it in a folder in the vehicle. I really appreciate the input guys.

[stevie_d_64]

If you carry, before you actually get to the border of Arizona and California...Just pull over in Yuma, and take care of the particulars, unloaded, gun in locked case separate from ammo.

What stevie means here is do it when you are FAR away from the CA state line. That way, you will be out of sight of any CA storm... er.. state troopers who might be hanging out at the state line spying on what the good inhabitants of AZ might be up to.

Oh, check the sky for light aircraft before you make the transfer to the trunk.

From my experience driving into California back in the 80's on my way to San Dog...They CHiP's have a couple of guys working traffic right smack dab across the state line in the median...Things could change though, as I have not been back since I put the state in my rear view mirror a few years ago...

Its just good these days to review as much information as possible so you don;t do anything that could get you into trouble...Your trip will that much less worry free...Thats all I am stressing...