Going to California

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Ironclad

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I got a summer job out in Kern county CA. I'd like to take my rifle out there with me, but all the talk of California has got me paranoid about the gun laws out there. Its just a .30-30 levergun so I don't need to worry about high cap. magazines and whatnot.

Is leaving an unloaded rifle in the trunk of a car ok? (my car has access to the trunk from the passenger compartment if that matters)

Can I get in trouble for having a gun in the car in the parking lot of a business?

Are there any special considerations I have to make because I'm a non resident?

I want to be on the up and up, but I really don't want to be 2000 miles away from my rifle.

On a side note, It looks like just a bunch of desert out there. Can anybody from around there tell me if theres anyplace where its ok to just go out and plink in the desert? I've never been a big fan of regulated ranges.
 
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Is leaving an unloaded rifle in the trunk of a car ok? (my car has access to the trunk from the passenger compartment if that matters)

Can I get in trouble for having a gun in the car in the parking lot of a business?

Are there any special considerations I have to make because I'm a non resident?
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Unloaded rifle in your trunk, in general, is fine. Don't take it onto any school grounds or campuses; don't take it other obvious places where any gun is prohibited.

Parking lot of business really only applies to your employer - s/he can demand no guns on company property for employees. But there are no 'posting' regs at all, so no signage you need to worry about.

No issues being a non-resident.

Might ask about shooting places at Calguns.net; not only am I not a public-lands plinker, I'm in Norcal and really not familiar with Kern/desert.

But, welcome to CA - enjoy your visit!
 
Would also recommend you bring a lockable ammo box, keeps you on the safe side. Bring a fly rod if your near the Kern River. Pretty country if near the river, also full of rednecks, enjoy the summer it is not as bad out here as you hear.
 
Ok guys thanks for the advice. I can only hope theres some rednecks there or else I may get homesick.
 
On a side note, It looks like just a bunch of desert out there. Can anybody from around there tell me if theres anyplace where its ok to just go out and plink in the desert? I've never been a big fan of regulated ranges.
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Kern County is split by mountains between deserts to the east and the central valley (lot's of ag land) to the west.

Lot's of open and BLM land........... many places to shoot/plink in the eastern desert.

In the central valley side, most of the land is private ag land, but there are open places to shoot out at the edges.
 
unloaded in your trunk is OK only if you have no ammo in the trunk. Ammo must be kept separate from the weapon which must be unloaded and locked/ Kern will be awesome as stated. BLM land- 150 yds (honestly different sites state feet but go with yds to be safe) from any residential structure, no shooting over roads or water. GO NUTS! you wouldn't beleive some of the stuff people are firing off out in the boonies in "anti-fornia", the anti gun sentiment is exaggerated and really only in the cities.
 
So its ok to have ammo in the trunk with it as long as I'm not committing a felony, right?
 
'Librarian' is correct. No need to separate ammo as long as there are no cartridges in the chamber or loading tube.

There's a chance you'll get a lot of FUD responses about California laws. But, fortunately you have your answer. I actually have trouble imagining you having a problem with a lever action rifle in Kern county.
 
Kern County might as well be Texas. There's a lot of fantastic shooting out by Inyokern and Ridgecrest. That being said, you need to be aware of your range, as there are a lot of dirtbikes and ATVs on the same land.

Second Amendment Guns in Bakersfield is awesome.
 
You can even keep cartridges on a side saddle on a long gun per case law.

A rifle or shotgun can be concealed or unconcealed, in the passenger compartment, in the trunk, wherever you want.
Per the law, though what may disturb a passing deputy is another story.
Out of sight keeps the potential of it being reported or spotted minimal and is the best option.



It simply cannot have rounds in the chamber or tube magazine of your lever action.



I can only hope theres some rednecks there or else I may get homesick.
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Kern county's largest city is Bakersfield, previously known as one of the big sources of country music and influence.
It has a lot of labor and industry, resulting in a strong blue collar culture.
Excerpt from wiki:
"The city's economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining, and manufacturing."


I think you will find it is a ripe environment for the creation of good "rednecks". :neener:

However they still don't set the state laws, and what one may get away with in the South having fun can result in severe punishment in California.
For example just a simple fight in California will strip you of your RKBA for 10 years.
(Misdemeanor battery, or even a simple assault that does not even require physical contact are 10 year prohibiting offenses. Possession within 10 years after such a charge would be a felony, nationally stripping you for life.)
It doesn't matter if someone is intentionally harassing your girlfriend, or trying to start trouble with you, or other things a red blooded southern boy would be expected to respond to.
Or even if it is two brothers or friends fighting like they did growing up and someone notices and calls the police.
It is California, not Texas.
You will end up stripped of your rights and eventually in prison for what may be culturally accepted in the South.

Kern county also prides itself on being the highest per capita incarceration county in the state, sending more people to prison than any other county from 2000-2007, and always in the top 3 counties other years. As well as one of the higher false conviction rates.
They will throw the book at you for being too much of a redneck, and they have a lot more laws to do it with in California.
So it also has the highest prohibited person rate in the state, reducing how many people can legally go shooting with you. You might also call the county the felon capitol of California.
 
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That sounds pretty messed up but it shouldn't be a problem for me. I'm real hard to rile up unless you're messin with my lady or my family, and unfortunately I'm leaving them all back home. I just wanted to make sure I can roll out of town and have some fun in the desert on my time off. Doesn't look like there will be much else out there for me.
 
I guess it depends which California you go to. The one I left had some pretty lousy gun laws. I guess there is another California with much better gun laws. Make sure you don't end up in the wrong one.
 
Zoogster said:
You can even keep cartridges on a side saddle on a long gun per case law.

A rifle or shotgun can be concealed or unconcealed, in the passenger compartment, in the trunk, wherever you want.
Per the law, though what may disturb a passing deputy is another story.
Out of sight keeps the potential of it being reported or spotted minimal and is the best option.



It simply cannot have rounds in the chamber or tube magazine of your lever action.



Kern county's largest city is Bakersfield, previously known as one of the big sources of country music and influence.
It has a lot of labor and industry, resulting in a strong blue collar culture.
Excerpt from wiki:
"The city's economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining, and manufacturing."


I think you will find it is a ripe environment for the creation of good "rednecks". :neener:

However they still don't set the state laws, and what one may get away with in the South having fun can result in severe punishment in California.
For example just a simple fight in California will strip you of your RKBA for 10 years.
(Misdemeanor battery, or even a simple assault that does not even require physical contact are 10 year prohibiting offenses. Possession within 10 years after such a charge would be a felony, nationally stripping you for life.)
It doesn't matter if someone is intentionally harassing your girlfriend, or trying to start trouble with you, or other things a red blooded southern boy would be expected to respond to.
Or even if it is two brothers or friends fighting like they did growing up and someone notices and calls the police.
It is California, not Texas.
You will end up stripped of your rights and eventually in prison for what may be culturally accepted in the South.

Kern county also prides itself on being the highest per capita incarceration county in the state, sending more people to prison than any other county from 2000-2007, and always in the top 3 counties other years. As well as one of the higher false conviction rates.
They will throw the book at you for being too much of a redneck, and they have a lot more laws to do it with in California.
So it also has the highest prohibited person rate in the state, reducing how many people can legally go shooting with you. You might also call the county the felon capitol of California.
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This. The case is People vs. Clark, if you want to look into it. Rifles are easier to transport than handguns as far as the legalities go. It can't be loaded (meaning a loaded mag in the gun or a chambered round)..victim disarmament zones really aren't an issue with long guns and state law.
 
I guess it depends which California you go to. The one I left had some pretty lousy gun laws. I guess there is another California with much better gun laws. Make sure you don't end up in the wrong one
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They suck, but I'd probably rather be a gun owner in California than New Jersey or New York. California mostly sucks for buying guns, but once you settle to the realization what isn't allowed, it isn't so bad.
 
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