Posted: 1/25/2015 1:56:30 PM EDT
|
There is a discussion in the AR discussion forum about it.
Aren't/weren't there people who legally own/owned class 3 items in california back like 30 or 40 years ago? Were they grandfathered or what? Can they transfer those items at all? I grew up in CA. I was just a kid and didn't know much about guns back then (early '80s) but pretty sure I knew at least 2 people who owned MGs back then. |
|
It is possible to own them here, but it comes with a ton of DOJ permitting, at great cost, and after a very long, expensive vetting process, which usually requires you to be involved in one of two things: LEO demonstrations and sales, or Hollywood movie props.
Items can be transferred to other permitted individuals/corporations, but usually transfers are out of the state. I am unsure about grandfathering. I am unaware of any individual not engaging in business who lawfully possesses a machinegun in CA. |
| I've been to a couple of Hollywood prop shops and oddly enough they're not in the business of renting out very valuable and dangerous full-auto firearms to clueless morons (actors) nor would the insurance companies cover the production risks of having live weapons on a set. The weapons that I pawed over were very realistic looking and very unable to chamber or fire a real cartridge. Rooms full of weapons of all types and sizes ... and all fake as the actors using them. |
|
Quoted:
I've been to a couple of Hollywood prop shops and oddly enough they're not in the business of renting out very valuable and dangerous full-auto firearms to clueless morons (actors) nor would the insurance companies cover the production risks of having live weapons on a set. The weapons that I pawed over were very realistic looking and very unable to chamber or fire a real cartridge. Rooms full of weapons of all types and sizes ... and all fake as the actors using them. Yet that's the justification they need (Hollywood/prop supply) to get the permits to own class 3 in CA. |
|
Quoted:
I've been to a couple of Hollywood prop shops and oddly enough they're not in the business of renting out very valuable and dangerous full-auto firearms to clueless morons (actors) nor would the insurance companies cover the production risks of having live weapons on a set. The weapons that I pawed over were very realistic looking and very unable to chamber or fire a real cartridge. Rooms full of weapons of all types and sizes ... and all fake as the actors using them. They're out there. The few times ive been asked to be an extra for some TV production or help wrangle guns machineguns were used, modified to fire blanks without a BFA stuck on the end. A barrel swap or just hacking off the last inch or so of the barrel would have let you shoot live rounds. |
|
A lot of prop houses have pretty amazing collections of Title IIs, Ellis Mercantile is probably the best collection I've seen since Stembridge went down. They rent them to all manner of productions, but it is very expensive. Most houses require you to buy their ammo and you must pay for one or more of their personnel to supervise. These guys are union prop masters and very expensive. This is one reason a lot of fake guns are used. It can actually be cheaper to use rubber guns and "paint" in the muzzle flash in post production.
The permitting for Title IIs is not only difficult to obtain, but it is very restrictive. Even if you were eligible and issued one, it prohibits non-business use. You cannot take anything to the range just for fun. Transportation requirements are crazy and usually mean several thousand dollars worth of modifications to your vehicle to add the secure storage. There is (or was) a permit for "Destructive Device collectors" which has no business requirement, but had equally restrictive requirements for storage and transportation, and prohibited actually firing any of the destructive devices acquired under the permit. There are reportedly many, likely hundreds of amnesty-registered NFA firearms in California. ATF knows about them, but cannot divulge their location to state authorities due to their sensitive tax status. We live in a crazy state.... |
|
Quoted:
I read somewhere once that there were only 3 private citizens in the state who were legally licensed to own a FA weapon in Ca and one was Silvester Stallone. Don't know how true it is but it sounded about right. Not true. There are MANY legally owned by individuals in this state. |
|
Quoted:
Not true. There are MANY legally owned by individuals in this state. Quoted:
Quoted:
I read somewhere once that there were only 3 private citizens in the state who were legally licensed to own a FA weapon in Ca and one was Silvester Stallone. Don't know how true it is but it sounded about right. Not true. There are MANY legally owned by individuals in this state. This, all the people who legally owned them prior to the ban got grandfathered in. When they die those guns must either be confiscated or sold out of state, so there numbers are dropping but they are out there. Actually I remember seeing data that CA had the most NFA registered FA of any state. |
