What makes an AR15 legal in California? What do I have to buy to get myself an AR15? Can you send me an AR15 in California? These are just some questions that you, as a CA resident, might have. Well rest assured; we can give you a little bit of insight as to what you need to know about owning an AR15 in California. Most of these regulations can be associated with owning an AK47 rifle also. This is by no means, all of the information relating to AR15 legality in CA, just a little knowledge drop.
“FEATURELESS”
To make an AR15 “featureless” as per CA government standards, it is not allowed to have the following features.
CANNOT HAVE:
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PISTOL GRIP
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TELESCOPING / FOLDING STOCK
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GRENADE LAUNCHER OR FLARE LAUNCHER
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THUMBHOLE STOCK
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FLASH HIDER
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FORWARD PISTOL GRIP
You cannot have a PISTOL GRIP on your rifle. We sell CA Compliance Packs that attach the grip to the stock, thus disabling the ability of the shooter to wrap their thumb around the grip itself. You are not allowed to install a forward pistol grip either. Whether you agree with these regulations or not, they are the law and we gotta follow ‘em!
By making your AR15 “featureless”, you are able to use a detachable magazine with your gun. If your gun does not qualify as featureless, the California government considers it to be an “Assault Weapon” unless you have a rifle that incorporates a “fixed magazine.” If you have a rifle that is considered an “Assault Weapon”, you would be required by law to register it as such. Do note that you can only register a rifle as an “Assault Weapon” if it was manufactured BEFORE 2017. So pretty much your options are to go featureless or having an AR with some type of magazine lock, etc.
BARREL LENGTH
California mandates that the rifle must have a MINIMUM length of 16”. For OVERALL length of the rifle, you’re looking at 30”. This is from muzzle tip to butt of the stock. This being the rule, you’re probably not going to be able to find an AR15 pistol that fits the bill!
CAN YOU SEND ME A GUN TO MY FFL DEALER OUT IN CA?
We absolutely can! Providing that you have spoken to your FFL dealer and they are willing to accept the transfer! Don’t forget that you would need to purchase the CA compliance pack with your rifle! When you do so, we install it here so that the gun is 100% legal when it ships.
MAGAZINE RESTRICTIONS
The laws are changing on what seems like a daily basis now! At least for now (and the foreseeable future), California does not allow for magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. Due to the different laws of 50 states, we here at Atlantic Firearms, will not ship a magazine to your state unfortunately. Also, please note that we will not ship ammunition, like traditional AR 5.56 ammo, to California. Sorry, there's just too many regulations regarding that for us to realistically keep up with!
*Please note that this is not legal advice. We are not lawyers. It is always recommended to double check with your local government, law enforcement, FFL dealers, etc. before committing to an AR15 purchase. Laws are constantly changing and it’s better to be safe than sorry!