kim rhode california ammunition background checks
Olympic skeet shooter Kim Rhode (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Beginning July 1, California gun owners will have to undergo a background check in order to buy ammunition. Yes, ammunition. Will the new law do anything to cut down on the rash of car-to-car gunfights on the state’s freeways? Don’t count on it.

Kim Rhode, an Olympic gold medalist shooter from El Monte, said she uses thousands of rounds each week to keep up her skill with daily practice. The law approved in 2016 not only creates more red tape for purchasers but also requires them to buy ammo face-to-face from a licensed dealer, hampering orders by the internet.

“These regulations essentially prevent me from being able to stay qualified and not only hurt my skill, but jeopardize the United States’ representation at the Olympic Games,” she said.

Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit backed by the National Rifle Assn. that is pressing the courts to block the requirement on grounds it is unconstitutional, although the next court hearing is months away.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Justice is scrambling to develop its procedures for the screening process, with the possibility that the new system will not be finalized before the start of the month.

– Patrick McGreevy in Gun owners stockpile ammo before new California background check law begins

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

92 COMMENTS

  1. I wonder how he’s paying (Cash, Credit, Money Order, Travelers Checks or Purchase Order) for this, that “doesn’t” leave a Paper Trail directly back to him. Or even the mode of purchase (Mail Order, Store Bought or Straw Purchases)…

    • Pardon, but what are you talking about? This topic wasn’t mentioned in the quote or the full article.

    • If I were a Californian who wanted to avoid the ban and order in bulk online, I’d get a box in a fictitious company name at one of the non-post office mail centers in the closest neighboring state. I’d then buy prepaid gift credit cards to make my purchases online via a VPN. The only illegality would be if I decided to load them up and drive them back to CA. If I had a postmarked box from an ammo company that was shipped before July, I might transfer the new purchase to it. But that would still be a crime, and I wouldn’t be stupid enough to live in CA again anyway.

        • You are right nobody ever pays cash for prepaid Visa cards and purchases stuff online to be shipped to semi abandoned properties from Trac phones or library/university open computers ever. That totally never happens or would even work nor would anyone ever lie on the internet or troll.

  2. If the shooters in that state are not already reloading they should be and now it would be a timely thing to learn. Ammunition control and supply is at the reloaders desecration.

      • …for now.

        Don’t be surprised if they correct the ‘reloading loophole’ in the near future.

        Statists gotta state…

        • They’ll call it the “bullet make loophole” sounds more insidious. Or maybe just recycle “gun show loophole” that one worked afterall.

        • It already is. Ammunition components have to go through the same face-to-face background check starting next month. Want to buy bullets, primers, powder or cases? Background check for you!

          I wonder if California stocking up is artificially keeping the price “high”. Yeah, it has been dropping and dropping. I just wonder if demand and thus price is going to slump quite a bit more in a few months. Maybe time for me to stock up over black Friday this year. Not that I am running low, but pretty far from a lifetime supply. Just enough to get me through some lean years if prices skyrocket temporarily.

      • Kim Rhodes has medalled in shotgun events in the last six Olympics. I lived two hoots and a holler down the road from El Monte. She even had articles written about her in the L.A. Times (as hard as that is to believe).

  3. “Proposition 63 … made bringing out-of-state ammunition into the state or purchasing ammo online without first delivering it to a dealer an infraction.”

    Does this include out of state residents? How can you carry a loaded weapon on your person or in your car when traveling into California? Do you have to get a permit and make sure the ammo is purchased within CA?

    How is the over 10 round capacity magazine fight coming?

    You’ll eventually need a permission slip from the government to do about anything in CA. Doesn’t that worry the residents at all?

    • Not until it’s something that affects them directly. At least that was the attitude I noted frequently, when I lived in California.

      So it’s easy to pass stuff that only affects a disapproved-of minority, in this case gun owners. But it could also be shopkeepers, landlords, etc. Wonder why CA hasn’t just banned SUVs as a class of vehicles for being gas guzzlers and taking too much material to make? That would be in keeping with the legislative activism the state seems to like …. but it would PO too many voters all at the same time.

    • They the state and it’s Leftist totalitarian politicians have essentially created a black market for ammunition,just how insane this plan is can be gleamed from video with the gun guy and representative of the CR&PA,Sam Paredes.

      California Ammo & Gun Law Update with Sam Paredes

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p8t3siPzpk

      • BTW, Sam Paredes and CRPA have now been caught giving erroneous advice TWICE regarding the recent “standard magazine injunction” and the upcoming ammo law. Paredes specifically states in the above video that a hunter cannot return with even a single leftover cartridge when hunting outside California, but the law clearly says you can “import” up to 50 rounds in several allowed circumstances, including hunting:

        *****
        As amended by AB 1235:

        CA Penal Code 30368

        (a) Commencing July 1, 2019, a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition that he or she purchased from outside of this state unless he or she first has that ammunition delivered to an ammunition vendor in this state for delivery to that resident pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 30366

        (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following bringing or transporting into this state any ammunition:

        (15) A licensed hunter who purchased the ammunition outside of this state for use in a lawful hunting activity that occurred outside of this state if the person brings or imports no more than 50 rounds into this state and the ammunition is designed and intended for use in the firearm the hunter used in that hunting activity.

    • Dude. CA does not recognise out of state ccw’s. And it’s illegal to carry a loaded gun in your vehicle without a state issued permit. So if you come to CA with a weapon it must be empty in your vehicle. And secured.

      • Secured meaning locked container (the law is a little vague). Lock container meaning something as simple as a a gun bag with a mini padlock on the zipper pulls and long as one cannot retrieve the weapon while in said locked container.

        • SoCalJack: Prudence and over-caution suggest using a locked, hard-sided container which, itself, is somehow affixed (bolted-down and/or locked) in the rear (trunk, or rear storage area of an HUV or pick-up) of the vehicle. Empty magazines and ammo should best be transported in separate, locked containers.

          I am overstating the law, but, another factor to consider is making sure that a firearm or ammo transported in a vehicle cannot easily be removed from the vehicle by anyone other than the owner or authorized individual, under lawful circumstances.

    • Interesting thoughts on out of state travelers entering CA. I just bought a Class A diesel pusher motorcoach for touring this beautiful country that I spent 40 years flying over at 30,000ft and now want to see up close at a leisurely pace. Thinking about limitations traveling to Socialist/Elitist states like CA, WA, OR, NY, NJ, CT,… As I go west, I will want to carry part of my arsenal of fun guns…..ARs, .50BMGs, PRS rifles, CCWs, “high (standard) capacity magazines, large quantities of ammo, et el for hunting.shooting/sompeting in areas with high angle, long range opportunities. Struggling how to carry these items without being a felon in waiting because I cross a state line. Do I park the RV with the arsenal locked up inside and travel into felon territory in my towed Jeep? Do I rent a storage locker and deposit the arsenal there? Risks in all these options. Or, just accept that a large portion of America is off limits to me as a 2A respecting American? Anyone else dealing with this issue?

      • You will be an instant felon if you cross into CA with a .50 BMG or standard AR (Assault Weapon). Simplest way to legally avoid any problems is to disassemble your firearms by removing the bolt, BCG, upper from lower, etc. so that they are not functional and therefore not considered “firearms” under CA law. Keep them in locked containers, out of plain view, and do not discuss them with any LE or allow any searches without a warrant or articulated probable cause.

        Keep them disassembled and out of sight, and you’ll be fine.

        • As Gandalf says, “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”

          Don’t give them a reason to search you and don’t consent. That’s my procedure for travelling through enemy territory.

          Plenty of places in a coach bus to hide stuff that won’t be found through a route side-of-the-road search. Perhaps a nice weatherproof container bolted to the undercarriage. Make it look like a fuel tank.

          Yea it ain’t “legal” but I’m getting tired of playing their games by their rules.

      • Vermont’s legislature is mostly comprised of flatlanders who brought their Leftists ways with them and are forcing it down the throat of natives,we don’t need nor want them,they are free to return to the chitholes from whence they came.

        • I would take offense to the chithole comment but then I go to work and see what they did to Albany (and a lot of NY in general) so I can be an asset and say your problem now but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. So I am left with saying make their stay miserable enough they go somewhere they cannot ruin an actual state of liberty.

      • Ditto from Arizona.

        Lots of P-O midwesterners move here for taxes, some don’t understand the freedom with firearms…to which I say “just look at Chicago and all the gun control”

    • I’m a Californian.

      I used to be so proud of this state. No more.
      Then again, there is a certain library nearby here in California. I used to estimate within a 2 blocks every direction was a million rounds if ammo owned by Sheepdogs I trust.

      I underestimated. By an embarrassing amount.

  6. You have to wonder what they’re thinking. Is the idea “Hey, this guy was shot with a .357, just 3 days after Joe Blow bought .357 ammo, let’s go hang Joe Blow!”? Can anybody be that stupid? Is this supposed to accomplish *ANYTHING*?

    • When I debate anti gunners. Usually their argument ends up in a place where they say they don’t care if it works or doesn’t work. they just don’t want you to have it.

      • Because gun owners suck and _____________(insert name of your favorite gun-grabbing person, state or federal agency) hates your freedom.

    • @LarryinTX,

      This already happened recently to a young man in the San Jose area, where a local municipality already has these registration requirements in effect. A crime was committed involving a gun, the recovered bullets were .40 S&W, and the police went through purchase records to discover that the young man with (1) a registered .40 handgun had (2) recently bought .40 caliber ammo thru a local store. He was designated as a person of interest and brought in for interrogation. He was found to be innocent, and his purchase was only coincidence, but his life was temporarily interrupted while he *HAD TO PROVE HIS INNOCENCE*. If I remember the article correctly, the police confiscated his firearm to run forensic/ballistic tests to try to match the barrel to the crime scene bullets. Another reason to avoid registration at all costs and reload if you’re able.

      I’ve been stockpiling factory ammo since Obummer was re-elected way back in 2012, and now have an ample supply. Hopefully that will be enough time for either (1) this unconstitutional law to be defeated in court or (2) me to find a good job in the American Redoubt and permanently move.

      And no…if I do move, I will not be bringing any Leftist ideas with me. I’m one of the most conservative, small government, low taxes, low spending, libertarian leaning, God fearing, 2A supporting, work-hard-or-you-don’t-get-any-supper type of men you’ll ever meet. I’m getting really tired of reading all the comments (on TTAG, Zerohedge, Ammoland, or anywhere) that Californians are all just a big blue virus that ruins everything. Many of us have left exactly because we ourselves can’t stand the blue virus in Sacramento and have chosen a better life.

      • @Haz,

        “Many of us have left exactly because we ourselves can’t stand the blue virus in Sacramento and have chosen a better life.”

        Yup! Me and the Mrs. did just that last September. Moved to the more favorable social and financial climes of north Idaho.

    • The idea is to make it impossible for people with disqualifying convictions or restraining orders from obtaining ammunition.

      • The black market proves this is a stupid idea. A criminal will not go through any store that will register you for ammo sales. This only inconveniences law abiding citizens!

  7. Why would the court block it? They accepted background checks on guns, 10 day waiting periods, may issue, mag bans, handgun rosters, bullet buttons, etc etc etc.

    • I’ve been stockpiling since 2012, and started going into overdrive this past January. Believe it or not, nearly all gun owners I’ve spoken with in recent months were NOT AWARE(!) of this impending deadline. Each one of them let their jaw drop to the ground when I informed them. To lend support to another commenter’s statement above, too many people here just don’t keep themselves aware of politics/news, and only seem to care about gun control laws when they affect them personally. Few Californians (other than those who comment on Internet forums) knew or cared about AB 63 when it passed, or AB 1235 (related) when it passed. Now that the effective date is finally approaching and people are only “suddenly” aware because the local evening news is talking about it, gun owners are upset. The Dems in Sacramento know exactly how to play this game, because they know how most people are either low-information voters who believe their lies (Dems), don’t keep up with political news (Repubs), or are simply too disenchanted with the entire circus and remain disconnected out of apathy (everyone else).

      That’s how stupid laws like this get passed, and are only overturned when successfully challenged in court.

      • So so true. On a related issue, I was talking to a “neighbor” about his AR. He was clueless about the “assault weapons” registration law, did not register his rifle, and did not convert it to make it so that registration is not required. He is quite typical of the California shooter. He is also the type of gun owner who voted for, or did not vote at all, on the new ammo laws, is oblivious to the law’s provisions, and will be stunned when he goes to buy ammo after July1. The only good thing is that the statute that was passed but superseded by the voter initiative petition would have required an application for an ammunition buyer’s license that cost $50 every five years, and included a background check.

        But either way, the whole thing is an outrageous waste of money, and the information generated by the computer system completely useless to law enforcement.

    • I’m shocked how many didn’t stockpile. After ammo prices crashed, I really stocked up. It amazes me how many are clueless.

      I’m divorced, so I conformed so I can state on the stand, if my anti-gun ex ever asks, no assault rifle.

      For every daughter you get to buy a gun. I want more daughters (love being a dad) to ‘justify’ my collection.

  10. You should move Kim…that’s what I hear. That reminds me-I need to pickup some ammo from nearby Indiana😩

  11. The California legislature and Gov Newsome have created a new black market for ammo. If reloading ammo gets on the skyline and the progressives in Sacramento realize they have left loopholes, they will try to do the same thing to reloaders, and reloading supplies will become black market items. The result will be just like bootlegging during Prohibition, or modern-day cigarette smuggling to states with heavy tobacco taxes. Just like then, organized crime will probably get involved to make a few bucks on bootleg ammo. I don’t think the local sheriffs are going to crack down too hard on violators, if at all (unless the sheriffs are from the coastal counties where the rich lefties live), so Californians who shoot should be able to get ammo without all the state-mandated hassles, although they may have to be sneaky to get it. Remember that most people don’t obey the law because it’s the law – they obey because the law makes sense. If it doesn’t make sense, the only crime is getting caught.

    • Most people will comply with the law because it is more convenient and they do not want to go through the hassle of rolling their own or going out of state and trying to sneak it over the border.

  12. SCOTUS just denied cert on the Kettler silencer case.

    How ’bout them pro-gun justices, eh?

  13. Hey, you can carry 11 pounds of ammo in your baggage on the airlines and firearms. Other states don’t ask for an ID for ammo if you look adult. Road trips will become more frequent after July 1 for residents of California and Washington state.

    • Maybe. Ity is illegal to import ammo into the state. Sure, it is just an infraction, but the police will seize your ammo as contraband, and that could get downright expensive, if you are buying enough to make the trip worthwhile.

  14. So in a years time they’ll blame the stockpilers for ammo on the street. After all its too dangerous to have unused ammo just sitting around. State mandated ammo punch cards and once your card is filled that’s it for the month. Well whaddya know next months punch card is one punch shorter than last months. Same with the next and the next after that…

    Meanwhile in Criptown and Bloodville no shortages whatsoever and the imported gangs all USS blades and farm tools form the shock and awe.

      • …..Then the mad mommys that demand action(giggity) will lament the LAWWWWL isn’t working, must be all that unregulated ammo flooding in from Nevada, Arizona and Oregon

        • talking to several retailers who already require an ID check here in Nevada, they will not sell to Californians… period , end of story. I wouldn’t bother trying to truck ammo into California for my Dad or family anyway… gives them an incentive to leave the Lib-tard state. The extremely sad state of Nevada Law is that pretty soon we may end up in the same boat as the idiots leave California but forget to leave Californian thoughts at the border…

    • Crips and Bloods called a truce and ceased being a problem here back in the ’90s. Today our problem is MS-13.

    • Hasn’t NY proposed a law that would limit folks to 90 or 120 rounds every three months, or some such?

      • 90 or 120 rounds every three months is very probably much more ammo than your average gang-banger needs… so, there you have it. Not really obvious to me how all these ammo restrictions are going to cut crime.

      • 20 rounds of “assault weapon” ammunition every 120 days or felony last I heard

        • What exactly is Assault Weapon Ammunition? Last I looked there was no specific definition defining Ammunition used by Assault Weapons. Which could be anything from .22 caliber to .40 caliber…

  16. To be clear, this isn’t a NICS check.. it is ‘supposedly’ a 30 second check against the illegally maintained gun registry in the state, and will cost $1 per transaction…
    Of course, if you haven’t bought a gun in CA, haven’t given up all your info to the state for your evil assault fully semi-automatic .9mm creedmore, or even if you have just moved since your last purchase… well you are SOL. you have to pony up $19 and wait till they get around to approving every time you buy ammo.

    Out of state people CANNOT purchase ammo in CA. CA people can only personally import (i.e. drive in) 50 rounds at a time.
    So to do it legally, go to nevada, where all the ammo sellers will be price gouging, buy all you want. stop just short of the CA border wall, and have another person shuttle 50 rounds at a time through to another waiting person on the other side… I worked it out as a 7 minute round trip to the shuttler for the nearest crossing to me..
    Or, anyone know what will mask ammo odor from dogs? coffee?

    you CAN still order via internet.. but it is treated as a firearm, has to go to an FFL or a special california ‘ammo vendor’ who are charging a ton, do the background check there…
    I’ve seen various fee structures, like $.02 per round (for .22 and for .50 EURO), or a percentage of the total order amount..
    the fairest I have seen is by weight, which makes sense since all you are really paying for is storage space and labor..

    As for reloading.. well, remember this is a state where some politicians don’t understand that Magazines are reuseable.. reloading an actual bullet after the child killing part is gone? preposterous… don’t those brass things just pile up on the ground and choke the seagulls?

    • “Of course, if you haven’t bought a gun in CA, [… …] or even if you have just moved since your last purchase… well you are SOL”

      Unfortunately, this is correct. Of everything I own (which is a lot), not a single gun is registered due to a variety of legal reasons (gifted, inherited, self-built, etc. over the decades before their respective cut-off deadlines). So if I’m not in the CA AFS system, I will not pass the laughable 60-second quick check, even though I’m a fully legal gun owner. Even if I am able to pass (I think I may be in the AFS due to a single gun I bought way back in the early ’90s), I don’t want the DOJ to know what ammo I’m buying. Not their business.

      • All it takes is the ownership of a single firearm. You are not restricted to buying ammo for that firearm, but yes, they record every purchase. Which is silly, but so is the now governor who wrote this stupid law.

        The background check is two steps, the first being the AFS to see if you are a registered owner of a firearms, and the second through APPS (armed prohibited persons) list that lists only California residents who are prohibited from purchasing.

        • I turned around and sold that gun in 1995, so as far as CADOJ is concerned, I’ve been off the grid ever since due to “inactivity” on their radar. I’ve even paid cash for every ammo purchase my entire life.

          One time last year, while buying a few more boxes, the guy next to me in line asked me why I was paying cash (this, as he literally had his bank debit card in his hand for his own purchase). I just looked at him with a dumbfounded expression on my face and said, “Why does it matter to any outside of me and this retailer how I pay for anything?” Then he half-smirked and said, “oh, you’re one of those privacy kind of guys, right? Nobody cares about the ammo you get.” Then it was my turn to smile as I informed him of the July 2019 deadline, and his jaw dropped. He had no idea, but quickly understood and didn’t say another word about my choice of cash.

          I believe you’re correct that only a single gun purchase would qualify someone on the AFS list, but again…the law stipulates no sunset date(s) of any kind for the retention of the ammo registration info, so there’s no mandate for CADOJ to purge. I will most certainly never buy ammo in CA again, and am looking at the very real possibility of (finally) moving out of here within the next several years.

          Born here and lived my entire life here, but the CA of today is *nothing* like the CA of thirty years ago. Our Golden State is becoming the Golden Showers State.

  17. “California Shooters Stockpiling Ammo Ahead of July 1 Background Check Law”

    They’ve got 3wks minus one day to get it together, after that, it’s on them for not preparing for what they knew was coming…

  18. This is part of their grand scheme of total control. More restrictions to come, guaranteed.

    If they can’t fully restrict the 2A outright, then their goal is to chip away at by any means possible, ie; FFL reductions, Ammo Taxes, Ammo Types, Mag Capacity, Firearm Drop Tests, Micro-Stamping, Assault Weapons, Minimum Age Requirements, New Gun Purchase Quantities, Gunshow Bans, Environmental Restrictions, etc.

    Every year they’ve encroached more and more since the ’80s.

    Some California cities in the Bay Area, such as San Francisco and Sunnyvale have enacted their own city ordinances (ahead of State legislative restrictions) and have been on the books for some time now.

    This Eligibility Check has been described as a “Mini Dros”.

    Basically, ammo purchases shall be purchased through a State Dealer. Proof of California residency along with matching DL information applies just like purchasing a firearm. In order to purchase ammo, you MUST already be a registered gun owner in California. Approximate time of approval, 10 days. And this is just the first stage. More to come, guaranteed. More bureaucratic BS at the cost of taxpayers and no positive impact.

    But the negative impacts are HUGE.

    These tactics are unconstitutional. This will ultimately choke out California buyers, all FFLs, all ammo vendors, all ranges especially those with gun rental programs, all shooting sports, etc.

    Once on the books, it only makes it easier to modify laws to further restrict or create new ones.

    Ammo components may not be safe for long. If you burn up your ammo, how difficult will it be to replenish? More hoarding and less use? Is abstinence an option? What about perishable skills?

    Less ammo usage means no more need for public ranges. Ammo shortages and price increases, yet again. A long time trend of their master plan to control the law abiding citizen.

    And as usual, none of these so called “Common Sense” or “Well Intended” laws will put a damper on violent crime. Criminals that don’t give a rat’s ass about society’s rules won’t comply, but the Left continues to operate with a certain level of impunity in California. And their agenda is all over Congress.

    With California’s moronic ideas and open border policy, is it any surprise? The writing was on the wall decades ago.

    • This is a law that affects all gun owners, competitors, visitors, vendors, manufacturers, etc. within the state, so there will be a bigger legal backlash against this one than you’d usually see. Plenty of lawsuits already filed that Sacramento won’t be able to ignore or dodge. This issue *will* be decided in court.

    • Next Cal. will ban chickens because chicken poop makes explosive material and that means that irritated people will be making IUDs. The state needs to put a stop to any threats before the fact.

  20. Didn’t the 94 AWB stipulate no more then 20 gunms or 1000 rnds of ammo and you need ab ammorors license? I think so.

  21. So, last Friday, I bought some 6.5 CM at a Turners (CA gun, fishing, archery store in CA, there are 20 of them in SoCal). I asked the lady helping me with the ammo, “why no ammo deals the past few weeks?” She said, “we’re building up a large stock in preparation for the huge ammo rush at the end of the month.”

  22. All by design. Market disruption. Buyer confusion. Jumping through hoops to avoid become an involuntary criminal. Impact on actual crime: irrelevant.

  24. T?he CADOJ HAS submitted proposed regulations to the Office of Administrative Law. The OAL determines whether the proposed regulations are within the scope of the authorizing statutes. The issue is that the last day for the OAL to approve or disapprove the regulations is either June 30 or July 1. If the regulations are rejected, then what? Will all sales be halted or will dealers continue to sell under the old rules? I don’t know if there is an answer, but surmise that the DOJ delayed submission in order to put the OAL in this position andto put pressure on it to approve the proposed regs. Our current AG, just like the last one (Kamala Harris) are vehemently anti-gun.

  26. I’m stocked up. But I’ll be in Utah the week before the deadline. So when I return I will be a little extra stocked up.

  27. Hope they get it put of their system soon. Good sale prices have almost disappeared and my preferred brands are getting scarce.

  28. Today background checks to buy bullets. Tomorrow you’ll need permission.
    Next week they will use lists of ammo buyers, gun owners, permit holders and other undesirables to collect everything.
    All this under the law.

  29. There is no reason to live or travel there. I will steer clear of the Califascist left coast. Just leave. Move to Ga where we need more Republicans to keep our beautiful gun loving state Free!!

  30. Of course Californians are stockpiling. Anytime the government tries to prevent something the effort initially takes the reverse course. We can’t have gun owners buy ammo so we will make a law forcing gun ow era to hoard vast amounts of ammo.

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