Where can I find some 45 Colt for delivery to California?

So you can't go to your LGS and have them order some in from their normal supplier or a dealer who shows stockage on ammoseek.com?

Please forgive my ignorance on this being I'm from Texas where things are different. Why are retailers hesitant to sell to California? As a side note, I have some factory 300 grain ammo that I might be willing to part with.

Jimfern said:

Why are retailers hesitant to sell to California? As a side note, I have some factory 300 grain ammo that I might be willing to part with.

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CA requires a CA firearms ID to purchase ammo, which can only be from dealers specifically licensed in CA (on a CA-issued license).
Been a while since I read the actual legislation, but CA requires retailers to have a brick-and-mortar presence in CA. Which pretty much eliminated the online sources, and anyone not a big-box store. How the mom-n-pop LGS are surviving is beyond me.
Not sure but even people attending firearm competitions are required to only buy within CA. I want to remember that people bringing their own ammo for there own use is banned, as is bringing your own to relatives.
But, I could have the details wrong, consult the CALGUNS forum site, they have plenty on the matter.

People coming to Ca. to compete are not restricted from bringing ammo. They aren't allowed to sell it directly to individuals in Ca. Online ammo from outside Ca. must be delivered to an ffl and the buyer pays them a fee.

Seems like reloading may pay for itself much faster in CA based on the restrictions.

45 colt scarcity and price was the reason I first started reloading, now I reload everything. I figured out I could break even on $300 worth of reloading equipment with about 500 rounds loaded of .45 Colt and took the plunge.

I think the general ammo scarcity right now is affecting everything that is not a common round. and when ammo does show up, it is gone rather quickly. When I am looking for something these days, I check out the local small guys first, they tend to have items on the shelf a little longer. I call the stores when they open and ask if they have primers, ammo, etc. if they do, be ready to jump in a car and go.

I have stock for what I shoot, have SD ammo for my needs, and reload when needed. I shoot way less of the big slow stuff and way more of the .22 LR these days for practice due to availability and it keeps my hand in.

Shooting a .22 while maybe not as fun as a .45 is still a good training tool, and you can have fun trying to put small groups together or ping golf balls at varying distances, etc.

d

22 LR is BIG FUN! Last time at the range I took my little Beretta 70s and had a blast. I'm taking my H&R 929 next time. And they still still have it on the shelves at Walmart. I bought a 325 pack of Federal for about $21 a couple of weeks ago.

webrx said:

45 colt scarcity and price was the reason I first started reloading, now I reload everything. I figured out I could break even on $300 worth of reloading equipment with about 500 rounds loaded of .45 Colt and took the plunge.

I think the general ammo scarcity right now is affecting everything that is not a common round. and when ammo does show up, it is gone rather quickly. When I am looking for something these days, I check out the local small guys first, they tend to have items on the shelf a little longer. I call the stores when they open and ask if they have primers, ammo, etc. if they do, be ready to jump in a car and go.

I have stock for what I shoot, have SD ammo for my needs, and reload when needed. I shoot way less of the big slow stuff and way more of the .22 LR these days for practice due to availability and it keeps my hand in.

Shooting a .22 while maybe not as fun as a .45 is still a good training tool, and you can have fun trying to put small groups together or ping golf balls at varying distances, etc.

d

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That’s exactly why I started reloading, feeding my three .45 Colts for SASS back in the mid-1990’s got pricy fast!

To the OP, there are retailers who will sell to you and send the delivery to a local ffl. (They don’t need a physical presence in state, the ammo is sent to a FFL with a presence.) I’ve bought cases of shotgun shells off gun broker numerous times with this arrangement in place. It’s a hassle, but since I don’t reload shotgun shells getting .410, 16 etc. isn’t always easy.

It is probably not going to be cheap, but at least you can find it if you need it. If you’re striking out on line from retailers this may be the best route to travel.

Good luck and stay safe.

Echo, the time to consider reloading suggestion.......
Basic loading kit and supplies runs around $200.
Hopefully OP might have been saving cases?
255 gr SWC bullets are around 0.15 each,
Powder and Primer also approx 0.15 per load =
0.30 per shot.
Eventually one builds an inventory and reserve of components
That provides some resistance to market and supply fluxes
(Or what ever the current efing situation is).

I would keep an eye on LAX ammo. They are in CA and know how to ship within the state. They have been getting pretty reliable shipments of ammo lately.

As others have said you might want to take a look at reloading. The .45 Colt is the first handgun round I started loading in volume. Since it takes a few passes I would run them in sets of 500. I would deprime/resize/prime one day, bell the case mouths and then take a day off. Towards the end of the week I would add the powder, seat and crimp the bullets and by the weekend I would have 500 rounds ready to go.

My current load looks about like this price wise: Powder = .06, Primers = .05, Bullets = .13 for a total of .24 cents of components. It is hard for me to figure the cases, because I have a lot (just ask my wife) but I guess you could add something like 2.5 cents (.25 cents a piece divided by about 10 reloads per case) for a total of about .27 cents a round. I know that components are hard to get now, but things are easing up a bit. I am a component hoarder, so I have a few years worth of stuff on hand to get me through times like this.

If you are near the LA area and need some help getting started, you can PM me. I learned from a neighbor that I used to surf with and have always been grateful for the lesson. I am happy to pass it along; it is not rocket science but can seem overwhelming at first.

Can you legally drive to another state and purchase? Might be worth it if you can

wvfarrier said:

Can you legally drive to another state and purchase? Might be worth it if you can

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No. Can’t bring it back in.

Stay safe.

wvfarrier said:

Can you legally drive to another state and purchase? Might be worth it if you can

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I live in Arizona and all of our LGS have signs in there windows that says "No Ammo Sales To California Residents".

RMH said:

I live in Arizona and all of our LGS have signs in there windows that says "No Ammo Sales To California Residents".

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So much for living in a free country.

Handload! Handload! If you don't handload, you ain't right!

Vern Humphrey said:

Handload! Handload

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And you might consider casting your own bullets as well. It’s quite rewarding for me to create my own projectiles I used to cast a lot when I first started hand loading. For right now I have enough inventory to last a while but when I moved to this island I brought with me a good supply of lead. I even found about 100 pounds of sinkers and net weights at a garage sale here for 5 bucks. It’s all piled up under a tree by the house out of sight, there when and if I need it

If you take up casting (and you should) get a $20 toaster oven from Walmart and a pound of powder coating from Harbor Freight and power coat your bullets. Cheaper and less messy than using lubricants and just as effective.

Vern Humphrey said:

Handload! Handload! If you don't handload, you ain't right!

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If I recall CA (or one of its counties) has a restriction on how much powder you are allowed to own.

@VMass
I currently live in CA and I feel your pain. Mine is somewhere below my tailbone living in this state.

I would go on Ammo Seek, start an account then do a search for the .45 Colt ammo that you are looking for. If / when you get a hit call them and see if they will ship to an FFL in your area. Probably a good idea to talk with your local FFL first to ask what they want to see on the box when it come. My LGS wants the shipper to put my name as the second line of the address below l their business name so they don’t mix the ammo up in their stock. Also coordinating the shippers delivery info to your FFL helps.

I live in Orange County and there are no shops in my area with .45 Colt that I have seen. I load my own so I actually do not go looking for it.

EDIT: I just looked on Ammo Seek. There’s plenty available, just not cheap. >$1 per round.

9mmepiphany said:

Not a CA state law that I can find and there is no restriction on how much you can purchase and have shipped to you.

The only restriction on powder is how it's stored if it is more than a certain amount...and that's a Fire Code.

I'd be interested if you could provide more information concerning this allegation.

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It might be black powder. I do remember something about LA County and black powder, however it is important to remember that we are talking about California where they have laws for their laws so doing anything fun is essentially against either a law or the law for the law.....

California regs state that individuals may store up to 20 pounds of smokeless powder and 1 pound of black powder.
http://wiki.calgunsfoundation.org/index.php?title=Ammunition_and_Black_Powder