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California Compliant Handguns – Answers and Picks
Oct
Outside of the Sunshine state, most are not aware of the rules regarding California compliant handguns. In the majority of the US, one of life’s simple joys is visiting the local gun store and shopping for the latest and greatest firearms. Like that sweet Gen 5 Glock 19 you see above, for example. The industry moves fast, and buying the newest handgun by your favorite manufacturer and then taking it to the range feels like a friction-free experience. Or, at least, that is how it should be.
However, In California, buying a handgun isn’t as simple. Rather, it’s a journey filled with twists, turns, and an evolving rulebook. The thrill of gun ownership gets overshadowed by laws and a roster that seems more restrictive than protective, and you’re left unable to access the most advanced and reliable handguns on the market. That said, there are still some great choices, and at the end of this article, we’ll share a list of our current favorite CA compliant pistols with you.
The California Roster
At the heart of California’s handgun laws lies “the roster” – an official list detailing specific California compliant handguns approved for sale within the state. Introduced as part of the 1999 Unsafe Handgun Act, the roster is intended to act as a safeguard, ensuring handguns meeting strict safety and functionality criteria are available for purchase.
However, this California compliant handguns roster isn’t static. It undergoes revisions and updates. Manufacturers have to jump through multiple hoops to make their pistols CA compliant, from meeting updated tech requirements to paying annual fees, just to secure their firearm’s spot on the list. For consumers who just want to get their hands on the best pistol they can, it acts as a limiting factor, narrowing down choices and often excluding newer handgun models. It’s wild that this is the case, but it’s where we are at as California pistol purchasers.
Decoding the California Handgun Roster
So just what is the CA compliant roster that is acting as such a bottleneck, and what pistols are in it?:
- Yearly Fees: A recurring $200 fee is imposed on manufacturers for each model, each year.
- Model Nuances: Minor differences can classify a gun as a separate model, despite identical functionality.
- Safe, But Unavailable: Newer models, often featuring new safety and ergonomic features, remain inaccessible due to prerequisites like non-existent microstamping.
- While the roster does house around 800 listings, this variety is illusory. Multiple listings are often marginally different versions of the same basic model.
California Compliant Handguns – Safety Testing Procedures
The California compliant handguns roster is touted as a tool for “safety,” ensuring only tested handguns make their way into consumers’ hands. They just care so much about you and your welfare, don’t you see? But seriously, the sad reality is rather than safety, many see it for what it is, a veiled attempt to curtail availability of firearms.
Critics note the roster often excludes new models equipped with the latest safety features, while older models remain. This paradoxical situation leads many to question whether safety is genuinely the end goal.
The operational definition of “safety” according to California:
- Endurance and Reliability: 600 rounds fired from each of the three submitted models, with intervals for cooling and maintenance.
- Malfunction Limits: No more than six malfunctions (not ammunition-related) permitted throughout the the 600-round testing.
- Physical Integrity: No cracks or breakages that might jeopardize user safety.
- Drop Safety: Six drop tests per handgun, each with a primed case and no actual projectile, to ensure no accidental discharges.
Defining ‘Unsafe’ in the California Context
So, now that you have an idea of what “safe” is, you might be asking just what they consider “unsafe.” Well, it’s not “safe” or CA compliant if it has more than a 10-round capacity. It’s also not “safe” or CA compliant if, post-2006, it does not have a loaded chamber indicator or magazine disconnect mechanism.
The end result is California gun owners are left staring at a thin, outdated list of California compliant handguns. They are left waiting for a faceless bureaucracy to slow-walk testing of newer models under the guise of safety. It’s a frustrating roadblock, and while legal action is underway to address this issue, don’t let this discourage you. You should do all you can to take advantage of your God-given 2nd Amendment rights.
Top California Compliant Handguns
So, while we wait for common sense to return to California, in the meantime, we want you to own the best California compliant handguns that you are legally allowed to. Thankfully, Dirty Bird Industries has you covered when it comes to California compliant handguns. Below, we’ve narrowed the choices down to what we’d recommend right now. We’ll update this page as the roster we described above is altered, or until one day, we can delete this page altogether as these silly nanny-state rules become a relic of a forgotten past.
