Shipping ammo to CA

[KSH]

I've moved out of state, when I go back to visit family can I ship myself ammo? I know there are background checks now, and you can't buy ammo online and ship it to CA without jumping through hoops. But if I'm shipping it to myself, is that a problem, and I'm not a CA resident?
What's the best way to deal with this situation?

[CheapBloke]

Why don't you just buy ammo in your state?

guesstimator, opinionator, and commentator.

[ohsmily]

I've moved out of state, when I go back to visit family can I ship myself ammo? I know there are background checks now, and you can't buy ammo online and ship it to CA without jumping through hoops. But if I'm shipping it to myself, is that a problem, and I'm not a CA resident?
What's the best way to deal with this situation?

No, you can't.

[golfish]

What's the best way to deal with this situation?

Bring ammo with you

[KSH]

Why don't you just buy ammo in your state?

guesstimator, opinionator, and commentator.

That was my plan, buy it here, ship it to myself to CA.

[KSH]

Bring ammo with you

I fly, I think I'm limited to 2 bricks or something. If I was driving it wouldn't be a problem.

[Jimi Jah]

UPS is your friend.

[jeremiah12]

Yes you can ship the ammo to yourself. The CA ammo laws only apply to CA residents.

(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to any of the following:(10) A person who purchases or receives ammunition from a spouse, registered domestic partner, or immediate family member as defined in Section 16720.

(11) A person enrolled in the basic training academy for peace officers or any other course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, an instructor of the academy or course, or a staff member of the academy or entity providing the course, who is purchasing the ammunition for the purpose of participation or use in the course.

(d) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 783, Sec. 3. (AB 693) Effective October 14, 2017. Note: This section was amended on Nov. 8, 2016, by initiative Prop. 63.)

30314.

(a) Commencing January 1, 2018, a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition that he or she purchased or otherwise obtained from outside of this state unless he or she first has that ammunition delivered to a licensed ammunition vendor for delivery to that resident pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 30312.

I bolded the parts that are relevant to your situation.

First let's look at the third bolded statement.

[
30314.(a) Commencing January 1, 2018, a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition that he or she purchased or otherwise obtained from outside of this state unless...

Notice that it states a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition purchased or obtained from outside of this state. So non-residents can transport ammo into CA and in fact it is one of the few ways they can get ammo because they are not allowed to buy ammo while in CA. The law does not prohibit them from doing so. The law allows them to do so without a background check but the DOJ has set up the system so it requires a CA DL or ID. An out-of-state DL or ID will not work.

So send it by UPS. Just make sure you adhere to the new labeling requirements. ORM-D is no longer acceptable. You have to use the limited quantities label which is a white diamond with two opposite ends colored black. The maximum weight of each package has also been lowered so check with UPS first.

The other exemption that might work for you since you are visiting family is the one covered in the first two bolded statements.

30312. (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to any of the following:
.
.
.

(10) A person who purchases or receives ammunition from a spouse, registered domestic partner, or immediate family member as defined in Section 16720.

The immediate family member would be to a child, parent, or grandchild. It does not include step relationships or siblings. So you can send it to your 18 year old or older children or grandchildren, or parents and they can legally receive it from out of state without a background check. While in state, they can legally transfer ammo back to you either by selling it or giving it to you. So they can buy it for you while you are in CA.

So you can also legally ship the ammo to a direct family member. There is no such thing as straw purchasing when it comes to buying ammo in CA as long as the person in possession of it is legal to possess it.

There are so many exceptions to the CA ammo background check law that if one carefully reads through it they can find an exemption that fits them.

I have only had to buy ammo in CA this past month due to the ammo shortage and I am only buying .22 right now. I drive out of state at least once a month to visit family or for other reasons and buy my ammo on those trips and bring it back using one of many exemptions that I have available.

[naz]

If you are shooting at a club with ammo vendor license, maybe you can ship to club and dros it there for no/minimal cost

[edgerly779]

you can fly with 11 pounds of ammo

[jeremiah12]

If you are shooting at a club with ammo vendor license, maybe you can ship to club and dros it there for no/minimal cost

The OP would need a CA DL or ID which he does not have.

[ysr_racer]

Maybe do it and don't tell everybody on the internet?

[edgerly779]

Non resident can bring all the ammo they can carry. Air travel 1` bpounds I have cheated and put 11 pounds in both checked bags.