What do I need to hunt with a firearm in California?

A hunting license cannot be issued unless the applicant shows one of the items listed in Fish and Game Code 3050:

• a California hunting license from a prior year;
• a current hunting license from another state or province, or one issued in either of the two previous hunting years;
• a California hunter education certificate of completion;
• a certificate of completion of a hunter education course from another state or province; or
• evidence of completing a hunter education course that the Fish and Game Commission may require by regulation.

CDFW says there are no exemptions based on age, military service, or peace officer status (CDFW Hunter Education FAQ).

CDFW offers two formats (CDFW Hunter Education):

1. Traditional course. At least 10 hours of classroom, homework, and field instruction covering firearm safety and handling, ethics, wildlife conservation, and related topics, followed by a final exam.
2. Online course plus follow-up class. An online course alone does not earn a certificate. You must also attend a 4-hour follow-up class with a certified instructor.

CDFW also offers an equivalency exam at its regional offices for a nonrefundable fee. It warns that not every state accepts the equivalency certificate (CDFW Hunter Education FAQ).

Fish and Game Code 3031 sets the main license types:

• Resident license: California residents 16 or older.
• Junior license: residents or nonresidents who are under 16 on July 1 of the license year.
• Nonresident license: nonresidents 16 or older.
• Two-day nonresident license: valid for two consecutive days, and not valid for deer, bear, elk, pronghorn antelope, or bighorn sheep (CDFW licensing FAQ).

The base fees in the statute are adjusted every year (Fish and Game Code 3031(b)). Current amounts are on CDFW's license items and fees page.

A license alone is often not enough. Deer and other big game require tags, wild pigs require a validation, and waterfowl and upland game birds require validations for hunters who are not on a junior license (CDFW license items).

CDFW says there is no minimum age to buy a hunting license if the applicant can show proof of hunter education (CDFW licensing FAQ). There is also no minimum age for the course itself, though the online option is designed for students 12 and older (CDFW Hunter Education).

Big game is different. A hunter must be at least 12 to hunt big game, and 16 for bighorn sheep (CDFW big game tags).

Buying a firearm has its own age rules. See California gun purchase age limits.

Fish and Game Code 3004.5 requires nonlead ammunition "when taking all wildlife, including game mammals, exotic game mammals, game birds, nongame birds, and nongame mammals, with any firearm."

The regulation, 14 CCR 250.1, adds the details:

• A nonlead projectile contains no more than 1 percent lead by weight and must be certified.
• It is unlawful to possess a lead projectile together with a firearm capable of firing it while taking or attempting to take wildlife.
• The rule is not intended to prohibit possession of a concealable firearm containing lead ammunition, if the firearm is possessed for personal protection and is not used to take wildlife.
• That personal protection language has a limit. In the California condor range, subsection (e) makes it unlawful to possess any projectile not certified as nonlead with a firearm capable of firing it when taking big game, nongame birds, or nongame mammals, "notwithstanding" the personal protection provision.

CDFW says the rule applies on public and private land, and that it does not require nonlead ammunition for target shooting (CDFW nonlead page).

A first violation is an infraction with a $500 fine. A later violation carries a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 (Fish and Game Code 3004.5(f)).

• Rifles and shotguns in vehicles. It is unlawful to possess a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle on or along a public highway or other way open to the public. For this section, "loaded" means an unexpended cartridge or shell in the firing chamber (Fish and Game Code 2006).
• Handguns in vehicles. The transport exemption covers a handgun that is unloaded and locked in the trunk or in a locked container, when it is transported for a purpose listed in Penal Code 25510 to 25595 (Penal Code 25610).
• In the field. The concealed carry statute does not apply to licensed hunters carrying handguns while engaged in hunting, or transporting them unloaded when going to or returning from the hunt (Penal Code 25640). Similar exceptions cover the unloaded open carry laws (Penal Code 26366; Penal Code 26405(j)).

For the full rules, see storage and transport.

Two purchase rules mention it:

• An adult with a valid, unexpired hunting license is exempt from the Firearm Safety Certificate requirement, except for handguns (Penal Code 31700(c)).
• A dealer may sell a long gun that is not a semiautomatic centerfire rifle to a person 18 to 20 who holds a valid, unexpired hunting license (Penal Code 27510(b)(1)).