I was just on Cabellas web site, and they state that they can not ship a thermal scope, to California. Are they really that screwed up? Now no Ammo.
Night Vision Did I read right that California can not have night vision or theremal scopes.
- Thread starter Prebanpaul
- Start date
I read it years ago and IIRC a passive scope is ok but there is language that says if your device projects a beam (like an IR illuminator) it is a no-no.
There is also language in there that says it is ok to have for academic purposes . . . so mine is to learning to shoot asshats in the dark.
There is also language in there that says it is ok to have for academic purposes . . . so mine is to learning to shoot asshats in the dark.
Kali has a Night Vision Sniper Scope law that say the scope must meet 3 criterias. Night Vision, reticle and IR Illumination. So in essence unless the thermal has some sort of IR lum (which is moot) a thermal scope does not meet the California PC as a NV Sniper Scope.
To further elaborate on the silliness of the law, a PVS-14 weapon mounted behind a MRDS or day scope automatically becomes a NV Sniper Scope due to it's internal 6-8ft IR LED illuminator.
The only case law we've found was from the 80's when a hunter was arrested for a dedicated NV Scope but was thrown out due to the scope not meeting one of the criteria points, and that was the lack of any IR Illumination.
Bottom line, a thermal scope on its own is legal in the state of Kalifornia. Hope this helps.
To further elaborate on the silliness of the law, a PVS-14 weapon mounted behind a MRDS or day scope automatically becomes a NV Sniper Scope due to it's internal 6-8ft IR LED illuminator.
The only case law we've found was from the 80's when a hunter was arrested for a dedicated NV Scope but was thrown out due to the scope not meeting one of the criteria points, and that was the lack of any IR Illumination.
Bottom line, a thermal scope on its own is legal in the state of Kalifornia. Hope this helps.
Last edited:
Cabelas is not totally correct, but they don't want the legal mess if someone actually mounted it. The issue is weapon mounting. I know, that's what you want. It would be a grey area if you hunted with it off of your rifle. Some BLM areas don't allow to hunt with them as well.
Similar threads
