Perhaps it is that I spend a lot of time explaining and dealing with these issues that I take some things for granted. I just read, on another forum, this morning, that it is the difference between the spirit of a law and the letter.
The spirit of the law is to deprive legally eligible people of handguns under the guise of safety. The letter of the law is what is enforceable. As believers in the 2nd Amendment, it is our job to defend whatever rights we have by working around those laws without violating the letter. One of the ways is by looking at exemptions written into those laws.
What becomes frustrating is when people believe the spirit and chose to ignore the letter of the law. This isn't to say that we would force anyone to help us in our fight, but please don't believe that things are illegal just because CA DOJ says it is. It is like many people believing that possession of magazines which hold more than 10 rounds is illegal in CA...it isn't and never has been (the governor just refused to sign a bill that would have made it illegal)
The Single Shot Exemption is exactly what it sounds like. It allows the importation of an gun, within size restrictions, that is single shot or converted to single shot for importation. There is also a Single Action Exemption that allows importation of guns converted to a SA configuration. There is even an exemption for Olympic style competition guns, guns inherited, guns gifted by fathers/mothers/grandparents . None of these guns need to be on the roster.