Hi Cap mags in California

[Rival]

How can I legally obtain Hi Cap magazine for semi-auto handgun in CA?

I understand it is legal for me to HAVE them, but is is illegal to sell or import them into the state...

 

[stv]

It is illegal to buy, sell, import, give, or otherwise transfer any magazine with capacity larger than 10 rounds in the state of California. So no, you can't do it legally, and I would strongly discourage you from breaking the law to get hicaps.

edit: the only way it is legal to possess hicaps is if you owned them before 1/1/2000 and can prove it in court. The proof in court part is the sticky wicket.

 

[Pendragon]

there is no legal way unless you are an LEO.

you must have had them since before the ban.

 

[Pendragon]

no - they have to prove you got them illegally.

 

[BSlacker]

You can obtain a license to buy sell and own hi caps. I don't know the details and it may be limited to dealers and LEO but my dealer has one he had to get it renewed before the dist would send the gun and mags to cali. Check with the DOJ.

 

[M1911Owner]

no - they have to prove you got them illegally.

But, they know when you bought the pistol. If the pistol was purchased after 1/1/2000, there's going to be a strong presumption that you didn't have the mags prior to 1/1/2000, unless you happen to have receipts.

They could argue in court that you didn't have the gun until after 1/1/2000, therefore you wouldn't have had any reason to have the mags, therefore you're guilty.

They might not win at trial, but it would cost you a huge amount of money to defend yourself.

 

[Pendragon]

No way.

You say - I have always wanted to own this gun and I knew the ban was coming down so I bought the mags first knowing I could get the gun later.

That is not unreasonable and lots of gun people do that.

It's plausible and nobody is going to keep a reciept for 5 years on something that is not registered and that they legally bought.

Besides - you could always say you bought them from some old guy at the gun show - they were $10 and nobody thought to do reciepts.

Anyway - I would not do it. I would learn to swap mags fast and shoot accurately

 

[Zach S]

How can I legally obtain Hi Cap magazine for semi-auto handgun in CA?

Move to AZ. Dont look back.

 

[halvey]

What about mag bodies? Is that legal to import them into CA?

 

[bountyhunter]

How can I legally obtain Hi Cap magazine for semi-auto handgun in CA?

I understand it is legal for me to HAVE them, but is is illegal to sell or import them into the state...

?

You answered your own question. If you don't already legally possess them, there is no legal way to acquire them.

What about mag bodies? Is that legal to import them into CA?

Not for the purpose of creating a new hi-cap mag. You can only buy tubes to repair hi-caps you already legally own. I think most mag makers won't ship high cap tubes to kali anyway.

 

[R.H. Lee]

How many 9minimeter rounds can be stuffed into a .40 mag? And would this be reliable? Would it be legal?

 

[Mute]

You can only legally purchase hi-cap (standard) capacity magazine rebuild kits to rebuild the ones you already legally own.

 

[gunsmith]

illegal,but

you can stuff around 12 or 13 .9mm in a .40 ...sometimes.
Seems to work well with glocks,(for me) I used to have a hi power clone in .9mm that would take some .40 mags and not others.

Is it legal to do this? I dunno so have a good lawyer on retainer,you may need one.

 

[bountyhunter]

How many 9minimeter rounds can be stuffed into a .40 mag?

Depends. If it's a single stack, you will get exactly one extra round (eleven instead of ten). Double stack you may get three extra rounds. Depends on the way the rounds stagger.

And would this be reliable??

Usually not.

Would it be legal?

It is legal if and only if you do not modify the magazine in a way that makes it no longer function as originally designed.

 

[No4Mk1*]

The nice thing about the mag ban in California is that it is impossible to enforce. I have lots of mags to guns I don't own just in case they are banned for real. If I ever move to California I will have to go get the huge stash of mags that I hid in the woods in California in '99. I hope they are still where I left them with my name on them.

 

[gunsmith]

heh!

I have a feelin that lots of folks here bought their
STANDARD CAPACITY MAGS
prior to 1999

 

[bountyhunter]

Just make sure you are not bringing in mags marked "LE Only". They had somebody here busted for that when he used department purchsing channels to get some for personal consumption.

No mag maker will ship hi-caps to kali. A lot of people do go out of state to gunshows and buy them and then haul them into the state. Since the "pre bans" don't have serial numbers, I guess it would be impossible to prove when you obtained them.

Just don't get caught hauling them in. Personally, I won't do it because a single felony conviction here and you lose your right to own a gun for life.

 

[railroader]

If your a resident of california does the law state that I can't haul my legally owned hicaps back and for across state lines? Say I take my mags with me to shoot a pistol match in Las Vegas? Can't I bring them back with me? I owned them and they were in california prior to 1/1/2000. If it's legal to bring them back then how would authorities know if you already had the mags or you purchased them in Vegas? Mark

 

[PrudentGT]

My understanding is that you have to have possessed them within the state prior to the ban. Taking them out of state on a trip and returning with them is allowed (AFAIK), and might even be addressed in the law itself.

As for buying mags before the ban for guns you didn't own then -- I have lots of mags like that, some even have receipts. Even before the ban was looming it was clear that mag prices would continue to escalate while gun prices remiained relatively flat, so it seemed a good idea to buy standard caps in anticipation of eventually buying the gun. I'm glad I did!

 

[railroader]

The thing with hicaps is eventually the law will rid california of hicap mags but it will take years. If you can't buy them, sell them or give to someone in california there will come a time you won't be able to say you owned the mags before the year 2000 unless you are really old. In the meantime as mags wear out or go out of state there will be fewer hicaps unless people sneak them in. Mark

 

[bountyhunter]

My understanding is that you have to have possessed them within the state prior to the ban. Taking them out of state on a trip and returning with them is allowed .....

I think that is correct.