Re: Can I travel to CA with a M1A
For an M1A with the original configuration stock without a pistol grip (i.e. no Sage chassis, etc.) you can bring it into the state legally if you swap out the flash suppressor for a muzzle brake. The grandfathering for over 10 round magazines is if you legally possessed magazines of over 10 rounds in California prior to Jan 1, 2000 you can continue to possess, use, repair, etc those magazines. So if your an out of state resident visiting California you can't bring in mags over 10 rds.
kraigWY said he brought his rifle to shoot the NRA Regionals. There is a narrow exception for out of state residents to bring in firearms that would be classified as "assault weapons" legally if they are attending an organized shooting competition.
The California definition of "assault weapon" is so convoluted and confusing you need a flow chart to understand it. The best place to see the flow chart is here:
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/index The tab at the top called "Flowcharts and OLL Assembly Guide" contains detailed flow charts to understand what is legal and what is not.
Calguns.net is the best resource I have found on what firearms related is and isn't legal in California.
I'll try to summarize the big picture basics:
1) The original assault weapons (AW) ban was in 1989 and banned firearms by name. If you already owned them, you could register your "assault weapon". A registered assault weapon (RAW) could be legally owned and used in the state but you can't transfer them within the state of California. If you sell or gift it, it has to be to someone outside California. The original list was added to by the Attorney General until Jan 2007 when the legislature stopped the AG from adding firearms to the list. Why would they do that? Because everytime the AG added to the list, existing owners of such AWs had to be allowed to register them, and the anti gunners hated increasing the number of RAWs in California.
2) In 2000, the legislature amended the AW ban to ban firearms by characteristic. Basically, a semi auto centerfire rifle with detachable magazine became an AW if it had any one of the following: pistol grip, thumbhole stock, flash suppressor, folding or telescoping stock, forward pistol grip, grenade or flare launcher. The definition of detachable magazine is where the mag can be detached (not attached) to the rifle without use of a tool (and a cartridge case or bullet is considered a tool). Furthermore a fixed magazine rifle like the SKS was an AW if the mag held more than 10 rounds. Once again, the 2000 ban gave existing owners the chance to register their firearms.
The 2000 legislation also banned further sales and importation into the state of magazines of capacity greater than 10 rounds. If you owned them prior to the ban date, you could continue to own, use, and repair those magazines.
3) In 2006 the legislature further amended the ban to say that any rifle chambered for the .50 BMG cartridge was an AW.
The registration periods for RAWs have all since passed, so even if you owned an "assault weapon" before the ban, if you didn't register it already, there is no way to register it now.
Around 2005 someone invented the Bullet Button which replaced the AR mag release with a release that requires a bullet tip, punch, or other tool to release the mag, which when used with a 10 rd. or less mag, makes that rifle a legal fixed magazine rifle in California (as long as the lower is not on the list of banned by name firearms). Using a bullet button is more cumbersome and not all that ergonomic, but it allows CA gun owners to legally buy and own AR type rifles. That is why there are hundreds of thousands or more of legally owned AR and other semi auto rifles that have been bought and sold since 2005.
