Bolt action magazine question?

[Hairball]

To the OP, I will break this down one last time and explain why you do indeed have magazine limits on bolt action rifles regardless of whether or not a specific limit is described under a specific Penal Code (PC). When you ask a blanket question such as “On a bolt action rifle with detachable magazine, is there a mag limit”, you will receive many quick and limited in scope answers as “no”; however, the more correct answer would be yes there are and how this limit is determined depends upon the individual owner of the bolt action rifle. To simply respond with a generic “no, use whatever you want” is not giving you a complete answer. Move away from the simple argument of what a PC states and view the issue from a different perspective.

Since I own a Mossberg MVP Predator and there appears to be some confusion with this specific model, I will elaborate on how this whole process works using this rifle as an example. Owners of this rifle will fall into three main categories. Owners that have purchased AR15 high cap mags from 1999 and earlier, those that are qualified purchasers who purchased AR15 high cap mags from 2000 and later, and those that have not purchased in either category. Depending upon what category you fall under, you have basically “set” your mag limit. While that limit may be 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, or even 100, there is a set limit that each owner can use and it does not take specific PC verbiage to figure that out. Using the MVP as an example, here is how this plays out

Scenario 1
OP: On a bolt action rifle with detachable magazine, is there a mag limit
OFFICER: Yes, Do you lawfully own high capacity AR15 mags purchased in 1999 or earlier
OP: Yes
Officer: What is the largest high cap magazine you have from this timeframe?
OP: 30 rounds
Officer: Your mag limit for this rifle is set at 30 rounds

Scenario 2
OP: On a bolt action rifle with detachable magazine, is there a mag limit
OFFICER: Yes, Do you lawfully own high capacity AR15 mags purchased in 1999 or earlier
OP: no
Officer: Did you purchase any high cap mags as an authorized purchaser (PD, SO, HP, BP etc) from 2000 until now?
OP: Yes
Officer: What is the largest high cap magazine you have from this timeframe?
OP: 100 round drum
Officer: Your mag limit for this rifle is set at 100 rounds

Scenario 3
OP: On a bolt action rifle with detachable magazine, is there a mag limit
OFFICER: Yes, Do you lawfully own high capacity AR15 mags purchased in 1999 or earlier
OP: no
Officer: Did you purchase any high cap mags as an authorized purchaser (PD, SO, HP, BP etc) from 2000 until now?
OP: no
Officer: Your mag limit for this rifle is set at 10 rounds

Think outside the box of what is written under a PC and understand what is implied when describing magazine limits on bolt actions. Even though no PC will identify any limit, other codes are used to essentially control the amount of rounds each individual can use depending upon their specific set of circumstances. What may provide a better answer is simply to ask “what is my magazine limit for “X” rifle”. Simply telling people “no” there are no limits is not exactly true as each person defines what their specific mag cap will be. Again, while there is no direct PC stating that bolt action rifles will only hold “X” amount of rounds, there really does not have to be as the issue is already controlled elsewhere in the PC. All I am trying to get across is for people to ask more questions before blurting out information that while appearing correct on the surface, contains more unseen elements that directly affect the application of a perceived PC. I see in the latest response that you are contemplating 20/30 round magazines. Refer to the scenarios and that will tell you if you can have 20/30 rounders or you are required to be limited to 10 round mags. Now I am sure the masses will chime back in with “there is no law governing magazine capacity in bolt action rifles and you can use whatever you want” and I will simply close with the notion that obviously there are limits and these limits are set by each person and these concepts are just above their level of comprehension.

[Dinosaur Jr]

The real question is, why would you want more than a 10 round box mag for your bolt action? Unwieldy and very expensive to feed. Even a 10rd would stick out too far for my taste. Five round mags look just fine to me.

[1859sharps]

Hello my fellow Calgunners!

On a bolt action rifle with detachable magazine, is there a mag limit?
Just wanted to know, because it's not a semi I don't think the limit applies? (But does it?)

Thanks,
Sffred

yes, the 10 round limit applies. meaning if you didn't already own the 11+ round magazine before the cut off back 1999/2000 (can't remember the exact date), just because you have a bolt action does not mean you can then go out and buy a 11+ magazine today.

on the other hand, if you already own the 11+ magazine, then using that in your bolt action rifle is legal and doesn't change the status of your rifle.

[vliberatore]

There are other ways to legally possess standard capacity (>10) magazines. With the number of times that you've been wrong in this very thread, I would think that you would quit while you're behind.

[Fjold]

Two different things going on here, and so many people do not know how to look at things separately.

1. There is a law that prevents the general public in California from buying magazines over 10 rounds.

2. There is no law that prevents the general public in California from using a magazine over 10 rounds in a bolt action rifle.

If I bought a 20 round M14 magazine in California in 1993, I can continue to possess that magazine in California. If in 2013, I bought a non-semiautomatic rifle, I can modify that rifle to use the magazine I own, as long as the magazine still works as originally designed in the original gun.

Actually the law says nothing about buying >10 round magazines. The law says that it's illegal to manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, give or lend magazines of >10 rounds. "Buy" is not mentioned.

[rromeo]

Actually the law says nothing about buying >10 round magazines. The law says that it's illegal to manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, give or lend magazines of >10 rounds. "Buy" is not mentioned.

That's why I didn't say it's illegal to buy them, just that the law prevents people from buying them.

[Merc1138]

"Your mag limit is set at x"? You really think that's how the law works?

Someone could have had a 30 round USGI mag, rebuilt it as a 30 round pmag, then rebuilt that 30 round pmag as a 40 round pmag. To try and claim that someone's limit is 30 rounds in a bolt action rifle is wrong on so many levels, it's absolutely silly that you've typed so much garbage in one post. There is no set limit because the PC doesn't give a set limit and only cares if the magazine was >10 in the first place. Now I agree with AKS-762, that a 30 or even 40 round magazine hanging out of a bolt action rifle is just silly, but the point is that it's not illegal, no matter how much you would like to think of some way for it to be illegal. The fact is that even if someone were to illegally import or manufacture a large capacity magazine, using it in a bolt action rifle is still not illegal because using it isn't a crime.

[Librarian]

Actually the law says nothing about buying >10 round magazines. The law says that it's illegal to manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, give or lend magazines of >10 rounds. "Buy" is not mentioned.

In 2014, the PC is amended to include 'buy'.

The right answer to the OP is in here someplace; try the Magazine Qs link in my signature for the summary.