18+ Content Warning

By clicking Enter, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older and agree to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws.

Notice: Any content or member activity - including anything you may buy, sell, transfer, or discuss - must comply with current and upcoming laws.

Members are encouraged to stay informed: California Firearm Laws: 2026 Outlook & 2025 Recap . Responsibility for compliance rests solely with the individual member.

caguns.net

Welcome to CAguns.net!
Join our growing community where you can ask questions, share knowledge, or browse our classifieds section.

Sign up for a free account today and unlock full access! Once registered, you can search, post, and take advantage of exclusive features unavailable to guests.

A note on why more of the site now requires an account: automated scrapers and AI systems have been crawling our forums and classifieds at a scale. Requiring sign-in for those sections is the most effective tool we have. It takes a minute to register, it's free, and it keeps what happens here between actual members.

New to California gun ownership or trying to keep up with the changing laws? Check out our sister site CA2A.com — free courses, plain-English legal updates, and step-by-step guides built for California owners.

Advanced features are available only to registered members. Register today!

  • 📢 Classifieds Update — Effective Monday, September 21

    Starting Monday, the free Classifieds ad limit will be lowered from 3 to 2 active ads.

    Verified accounts will keep their limit of 3. All other account limits stay the same.

    Existing ads are not affected and will remain up until they expire.

    Want to keep 3 listings and add features like removing comments and emojis? Upgrade/Verify your account

    More information here

Cheapest way to get ammo

It’s not just ammo trafficking that’s under surveillance, it’s also firearm trafficking. A quick Google search should change your skepticism real quick. But hey, I just making it all up. Ignorance is not an excuse.
Trafficking is a different situation than a person buying for personal use ammo. What you’re describing is in fact pallets of ammo being brought in for purposes outside personal use. They aren’t busting the guy buying two cases of 9mm for personal use.
 
Trafficking is a different situation than a person buying for personal use ammo. What you’re describing is in fact pallets of ammo being brought in for purposes outside personal use. They aren’t busting the guy buying two cases of 9mm for personal use.
Even as an FFL03/COE holder I can't legally sell ammo.
 
Trafficking is a different situation than a person buying for personal use ammo. What you’re describing is in fact pallets of ammo being brought in for purposes outside personal use. They aren’t busting the guy buying two cases of 9mm for personal use.
When I said pallets of ammo, I was being facetious towards Hit Factor. In Penal Code 30314, nowhere does it say you’re exempt from the law based on the quantity you bring in. This is the law. For the skeptics, go ahead and call popular gun stores in Yuma. See what they tell you about this. I’m not arguing with you, I’m only trying to give you the facts. If you chose to ignore the law, that’s on you. But I can tell you, this has happened. And most gun enthusiast here in San Diego know about it. And FYI, “bringing in two cases of 9mm” is trafficking. First violation is a $250 fine, second violation is $1000 fine or six months in jail. Again, not worth saving $40 on a case of ammo. If this wasn’t an issue, every swinging Richard here in San Diego would be making runs to Yuma to buy ammo. Odds of getting caught, slim. But I wouldn’t risk it. AGAIN, THIS IS THE LAW. NO POINT IN ARGUING WITH ME. I DIDN’T WRITE THE LAW. TAKE IT UP WITH YOUR LOCAL CONGRESSMAN.

California Penal Code 30314 prohibits residents from bringing or transporting ammunition obtained outside California into the state unless it is first delivered to a licensed vendor for processing. This regulation, effective January 1, 2018, requires out-of-state purchases to go through authorized, face-to-face dealer transfers. A first violation is generally an infraction (up to $250 fine), while subsequent offenses can be
  • Penalties: A first violation is an infraction (fine < $250). A second violation may be charged as a misdemeanor (up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000
 
Last edited:
But I can tell you, this has happened. And most gun enthusiast here in San Diego know about it.
Well, they wouldn’t let you post it on the internet if it wasn’t true, right? I mean, if you’re going to launch a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional “sting” operation with realtime cooperation between the federal government and two different states, you might as well go after lawful gun owners with legally-purchased boxes of ammo. So did the offender receive a stern warning or was he actually charged with an infraction?
 
I'm not saying it's never happened but does it make sense to have multiple agency sting operations where the penalty is less than a speeding ticket? And none of that money would go to agencies outside CA so why would they care? I would guess that if this is a thing that they are looking for cartel smugglers that bring guns and ammo to Mexico.
 
This person was charged with an infraction. Other than that, I don’t much more about it. Just trying to share this information with people on the forum. They can choose to use this info how they want. Definitely not in a position to argue about it because it wasn’t my experience.
 
I'm not saying it's never happened but does it make sense to have multiple agency sting operations where the penalty is less than a speeding ticket? And none of that money would go to agencies outside CA so why would they care? I would guess that if this is a thing that they are looking for cartel smugglers that bring guns and ammo to Mexico.
You need to think bigger picture here. From what I understand, when these operations do happen, they look for people buying high capacity magazines, ammunition and watching for gun store owners or employees who may also be involved. I guess when they cast their net, they catch all different sizes of fish. And when they do “cast their net” you don’t want to be swimming through it with your “two cases of 9mm”.

“I can only lead a horse to water”.

1771516636150.gif
 
Last edited:
You need to think bigger picture here. From what I understand, when these operations do happen, they look for people buying high capacity magazines, ammunition and watching for gun store owners or employees who may also be involved. I guess when they cast their net, they catch all different sizes of fish. And when they do “cast their net” you don’t want to be swimming through it with your “two cases of 9mm”.

“I can only lead a horse to water”.

This is exactly the bottom line. Be smart, drive to Tucson!
 
or better yet just reload, my 9mm is 14 cents and my 223 is about 28 cents.
 
To bring this thread back to its original point (where to get cheap ammo), I think you’re jumping over dollars to save dimes driving to Yuma, especially driving to Tucson.

Ammo was not my primary focus. If people insist on breaking California's firearms and accessory laws, they should at least make an effort to not get caught when they walk out of the store. Of course, I advise everyone to comply with all laws and fight those laws in a proper fashion.

PS. And resist the temptation to brag about your misadventures on this site or anywhere for that matter. Law enforcement is using advanced AI tools to monitor social media and sites like this and it is super easy for LE to identify virtually any user of this site.
 
or better yet just reload, my 9mm is 14 cents and my 223 is about 28 cents.
Gotta factor in sunk costs for equipment, consumables, and your labor time to reload, plus the space it takes up in your home.

I can imagine that people probably enjoy this process and it's probably efficient once everything is in-place and working.

This does create some extra work at the range to retrieve and transport your shells too, with some extra lead exposure from handling and transporting spent shells.
 
Last edited:
Ammo was not my primary focus. If people insist on breaking California's firearms and accessory laws, they should at least make an effort to not get caught when they walk out of the store. Of course, I advise everyone to comply with all laws and fight those laws in a proper fashion.

PS. And resist the temptation to brag about your misadventures on this site or anywhere for that matter. Law enforcement is using advanced AI tools to monitor social media and sites like this and it is super easy for LE to identify virtually any user of this site.
I was told to mind my own business when I told someone what they were posting on here was illegal in another thread lol.

I guess the consensus on this forum by it's members is to just let people post about their illegal activities. Not the smartest but hey, any misfortune is their own doing.
 
You can sell ammo but it's not a perk of the ffl03/COE, it's just like any other private transaction of 500 rounds/month limit through an FFL as the seller. No limit on how much you can buy via ppt as a buyer.
Through an FFL, that makes sense, but it would be nice to be able to sell it without an FFL.
 
Back
Top Bottom