.50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004

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This Act effectively banned all .50 BMG-caliber firearms from being sold in the state of California.

Effective January 1, 2005, any person who lawfully possesses a .50 BMG rifle prior to January 1, 2005, is required to do one of the following by April 30, 2006:

1. Complete and submit a .50 BMG Rifle Registration Application form along with $25.00 to the Department of Justice. Any number of .50 BMG rifles can be registered for the $25.00 fee provided they are submitted at the same time on the same day. Note: In addition to complete rifles, only fully functional serialized receivers may be legally registered. .50 BMG Rifle Registration Application forms can be obtained from licensed California firearms dealers, and the California Department of Justice Firearms Division at (916) 263-4887.

2. Make arrangements with your local police or sheriff's office to relinquish your .50 BMG Rifle. CALL FIRST. DO NOT GO TO THE POLICE OR SHERIFF'S OFFICE WITHOUT FIRST MAKING ARRANGEMENTS.

3. Remove the .50 BMG rifle from the state.

For the complete text of the notice, please see the [CA DOJ's notice]

For these purposes, "possession", means either lawfully owning, or having the DROS paperwork submitted to the CA DOJ by midnight on December 31, 2006.

Taking advantage of the highly specific language used in the Act, a cartridge has been developed which provides almost identical ballistics and performance, but cannot be used in weapons chambered for .50 BMG and vice cersa. This new cartridge is the .510 DTC Europ. Please see the linked pages below for more information.

.50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004

See also