Effective 1-1-2017, all semi-auto rifles that have an evil feature (pistol grip, flash hider, collapsable stock) and have a magazine that can be removed without totally disassembling the weapon must be registered as an assault weapon.  NO more mag-lock or bullet button work around.  It can not be passed down to family members in the state, and you are limited where you can shoot it.  Saiga sporters, M1 Carbine, KelTec SU16s, Ruger Mini14/30, SKS, and M1A are exempt, as they have no evil features.  The good news is (if there is any) once it is registered as an assault weapon, you no longer need the bullet button or pinned stocks.

Here's they Saiga IZ132I AKM-ed.  I don't know whether to restore it to stock sporter to avoid registration, or register so I can loose the mag lock and un-pin the stock!  It is so freaking hot as it is!







The one Tula Bakie in it is rivet blocked to 10 rounds, and the Polish stock is bolted in the open position by a long tang bolt that engages the arm and blocks folding.

It is a Com-Block solidarity build:  Russian Saiga, East German vented gas tube, cleaning rod, and grey canvas sling , Bulgarian laminate top handguard on the gas tube, Romanian bakelite pistol grip and "donkey dick" handguard with grip, Polish Tantal folding stock (military version that has one top bolt and engages the pistol grip nut).  US 922R parts are Tapco G2 FCG and Gas Piston, US made bolt hold open mag followers from Desert Fox, US made Tactical Tri Delta Brake (no longer produced).

First, the bullet button is not a work around. It may seem like semantics, but work around or loophole implies that an exploit is being used. Laws don't give rights, they limit them or take them away. The bullet button obeys the law by following it - it doesn't allow laws to essentially be broken by a technicality. It obeys the law to the letter. Again, it may seem like semantics but inaccurate terminology, such as "high capacity magazines" for standard capacity, is a gun grabber method of criminalizing guns and the gun community.

Second, it would be foolish IMO to think registration will lead to confiscation. There has been an assault weapon registry for more than 25 years in California and, to my knowledge, it has not been used to confiscate any weapons en masse and there is no indication to think that will change after bullet buttons are gone. Registration does however give you the legal protection that IF the interpretation of the law changes, you can't be hit for owning an assault weapon. You can also de-register your assault weapons in the event that you want to pass them on or sell them.

The down side of area restrictions is the biggest downside, but personally they won't effect me much if at all. If in the future that changes, I can always buy a new compliant rifle after the ban and be free to use the non-AW version where I can't use the AW version.

I will say this - I've meet MANY people who said "I'm so glad I registered X" and "I wish I had just registered" but have yet to meet someone who said "I regret registering." Like I said, it can be unregistered at any time but it cant be registered after the fact.

Registration, IIRC, was used to confiscate certain models of SKS.  It is also used as a tool to confiscate guns (or try to) from people who become prohibited, which here includes restraining orders and misdemeanants, and in the latter case not just those who are misdemeanants of domestic violence.  Also includes probationers for misdemeanours in all but a few cases (the prohibition can, apparently, be removed as part of a plea agreement if a judge approves).

Good point.  I registered an SP1 AR15  Carbine and a Chinese Poly-Tech Type 56 AK in the 1990 registration, and never regretted it.  Nothing bad happened.  I had to sell them in 2000 when I was forced out on a disability retirement the same month my wife lost her union meat cutter job.  We had three kids in college.  I sold them out of state through a dealer, and notified the state after.  No grief from DOJ, do I wish I still had both.

I have a USGI Inland M1 Carbine now, and just ordered a KelTec SU-16B, both exempt from registration.  At this point, I am inclined to register the Saiga AK, my three Ar15s (though I may keep one featureless with a Hammerhead grip), and my PTR 91 HK G3 clone.

As for confiscation:  They already know what firearms I have that were bought since January 1 of last year, since not only did they do 4473s, but also DROSed by serial number.  Most of my current stuff I obtained since then (except PTR91 and M1 carbine), so they are on file anyway. I had a WASR from before that, but replaced it with the Saiga this last year.  Registration is just confirming what I still have.  If I register, and even smell confiscation (which I think is unlikely, since it hasn't happened yet in the last 27 years), my daughter lives 4 1/2 hours away in Medford Ore.  I'll just dash up there with them.

Day to day plinking, I do with the M1 carbine, as it is still my favorite long gun.  My dad carried one on Iwo  Jima, and I carried one for the majority of my 20+ years LEO as a trunk weapon.  The KelTec will replace the Carbine (a 1950s rebuild in 95% condition with a new undated Underwood barrel and a ME of "0") as the home defense weapon, and will now go in my daypack when I am up hiking in the Sierra.

Here is my "Featureless Family".  Legal under current law with no bullet buttons.  The incoming KelTec SU-16B and a third partially built AR lower not pictured.

I basically have until 12-31-2017 to decided.  I have bullet buttons and mag locks for all so they will be eligible to be registered if I choose to, though after registration, bullet buttons are irrelevant because there  is no degree of RAW-ness.

The issue regarding SKS's with removable magazines was that "SKS" is a vague term, as there are many derrivitives that are aesthetically VERY similar but are not an SKS, such as the Romanian M56. The issue that arouse was the DOJ took the stance during registration that some Chinese SKS variants were legal and then after registration closed changed their standing and claimed they were NOT legal. Those who had registered even though the DOJ said they didn't need to were able to keep their rifles and those who didn't register were forced to surrender them as they were now AWs. Further proof that registering, even those you don't NEED to, is probably in your best interest.

And as said, anything purchased in the last handful of years is already in an active database with the CA DOJ and the CA DOJ can easily audit any FFL in the state and get records going back a decade+ easily. So if they WANT that information, they can get it as well.  If the state wants to get AR-15 style weapons out of the state by going after who has them - they can get that information. Not registering is not going to keep them from getting it but it will give you an added layer of legal protection if they ever decide to go after them.

Ultimately, this is an "every man must choose for themselves" type of situation. I can understand if you have NEVER purchased a gun through a dealer in this state, and you have homemade firearms and you don't want the state having your name in a database. But with the passing of AB 857, that's becoming more of a moot point and I see no real downside to registering. I can understand and respect anyone's decision if they choose not to register; but for the majority of people who have purchased guns since the last registration period, the pros heavily outweigh the cons of registering.

*stupid post length limitations*

Pookie,  You are correct. They ALREADY know what guns we have.  The SKS debacle is a perfect example.  The main concern, when the dust settled, was Chinese SKS that used AK magazines.  The wider interpretation was any detachable magazine in an SKS (i.e. Tapco, etc).  I knew someone that registered an SKS with detachable magazine, and he was allowed to keep it.  I have visions of the same thing happening with ARs and AKs with "fin grips" to make them featureless.  After all, there is a pistol grip there, it is just covered up.  That is what killed anything but an epoxied on Hammerhead for New York.  The Attorney General could pen a decision 6 months after registration closes, and say all featureless ARs and AKs with kydex paddles are Assault Weapons, and it is too late to register, just like the SKS.

Where does it specifically say "NO more mag-lock or bullet button"?

It doesn't. The wording of the laws was slightly altered so that needing a tool to remove the mag will no longer be valid come January 1st. The new wording requires partially disassembling the firearm - regardless of if tools are required or not. So a button activated by a bullet is no longer valid within the definition of the law - ergo bullet buttons will not be legal. This is why the Patriot Mag Release aka the Bullet Button Reloaded was designed and released. It requires the upper to be pivoted open before it can be depressed. There are several other options that have popped up too such as mags that can be inserted through the top of the receiver but not the bottom so they can only be changed when the upper is removed.

I know several people have suggested just using a nut to lock the mag release in place but I personally don't feel this meets the definition of the law. A single wrench could remove the nut, without any disassembly of the rifle, and allow changing magazines - which would be a violation of the wording of the law. Again, this is MY OPINION and not the opinion of the DOJ, DA, or anyone else whose opinion actually means anything if a person is arrested. Truthfully, only time will tell EXACTLY what is considered legal and what isn't once the law starts getting used in the legal system.

Registration is what I'm going with. If they decide to ban them outright you can always de-assaultify it then or get it out of the state, but you can't register them after the window closes.

I hate to tell you this but those are not featureless. Bayonet lugs (even on the M1), flash hiders, and collapsible stocks (assuming yours isn't pinned in place) are all features.



 

Bayonet lugs are NOT a feature in California. Bayonets are not controlled in any way in this state.

As for the other two, yes the stock needs to be pinned and I'm assuming it is since it looks like an older Clinton ban Era CAR stock. Two of the rifles clearly have muzzle brakes, the third looks like one of the brakes that looks like an A2. The G3, looks like a suppressor but it's hard to say without a clover look.

I stand corrected. Damn, not sure why I thought the bayo lug was a feature all these years.



 

Also, any muzzle device that is sold as a 'flash hider' or 'flash suppressor' is a banned item. A 'recoil compensator' or 'muzzle brake' is fine. Silly that lawmakers are afraid of the term flash hider and the scary suppressor word. Assault words!

This is the first I've heard of this. Can you point me towards the new legislation that prohibited these items?

In the 1990's it was one of the features that made a rifle an assault weapon in the Federal laws.  

The stock on the AK cant be "unfixed" because the rifle would no longer meet the minimum OAL
requirements for Kalifornastan.
I never regretted registering in the 80's; I've only been asked once at a range and after producing a copy of the DOJ
letter not another word was said.
Edit: if I remember correctly, the early Yugo SKS rifles were hunted down and seized because they still had the Grenade launching
spigots on them! A definite no-no!

Underfolding AKs are about a half an inch short. With the German/Polish/Romanian style side folders, the extra tang on the back should bring it the extra bit needed to be 26".