Guns on boats?

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by Submarine Tom

Your right troy2000, laws don't always make sense but they often do at the time they were made , trouble comes when they get out dated and nobody changes them.

All I can add is don't bring your boat and guns into Canada without declaring them or you'll end up in a heap of trouble. Like jail, losing all your guns and perhaps your boat. No offence (personally I mean) but the laws about that stuff are pretty strict here and I've seen lots of friendly Americans completely shocked to be going off to jail for the weekend.
Again, don't get me wrong, although I don't own any guns I am a card carrying member and use them intermittently.

-Tom

Seems like sensible advice to me; I don't see any reason I would take offense. I doubt I'll ever make it that far north on a boat though. And I don't take guns across national borders, period. I've seen what can happen across the Mexican border down here.

Last I went through Canada, handguns and black guns were forbidden. Customs has confiscated many to take home for their collections.
So, in CA, you can have a gun on a boat only if you sleep there? The strange keeps getting stranger!
I would like one of those pellet rifles.

[troy2000]

Originally Posted by mark775

Last I went through Canada, handguns and black guns were forbidden. Customs has confiscated many to take home for their collections.
So, in CA, you can have a gun on a boat only if you sleep there? The strange keeps getting stranger!
I would like one of those pellet rifles.

No one has actually cited any specific California law concerning guns and boats so far. But it seems reasonable to me that a boat would be treated as a vehicle, unless you're actually staying aboard temporarily or permanently. And it isn't against the law as such to have a gun in a vehicle.

HANDGUNS

California Penal Code section 12025 does not prevent a citizen of the United States over 18 years of age who is not lawfully prohibited from firearm possession, and who resides or is temporarily in California, from transporting by motor vehicle any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person provided the firearm is unloaded and stored in a locked container.

The term "locked container" means a secure container which is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar locking device. This includes the trunk of a motor vehicle, but does not include the utility or glove compartment. For more information, refer to California Penal Code Section 12026.1.

SHOTGUNS AND RIFLES

Nonconcealable firearms (rifles and shotguns) are not generally covered within the provisions of California Penal Code section 12025 and therefore are not required to be transported in a locked container. However, as with any firearm, nonconcealable firearms must be unloaded while they are being transported. A rifle or shotgun that is defined as an assault weapon pursuant to Penal Code 12276 or 12276.1 must be transported in accordance with Penal Code section 12026.1.

http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/travel.php

Here's the only mention I've found so far of guns and boats at any official State of California site. It was on a Department of Fish and Game Q&A page:

Question:

A friend of mine went out Thresher shark fishing this week off of Newport Beach in his relatively small boat, but didn’t catch any. I asked him what in the heck he would have done if he’d hooked one because I think it would have been too big for him to safely land it. He said he was going to bring it up to his boat, SHOOT IT, and then drag it home. Is shooting a shark legal? And is it legal to have guns on a boat at all? What about using a bang stick? I know the laws on traveling with a firearm and safe storage of a gun and all that jazz, but I’ve never heard of any laws pertaining to possession on a boat on the ocean. What’s the law on this? (Mark S.)
Answer:

Sport fishermen may take sharks by hand, hook and line, spearfishing, spear, harpoon or bow and arrow (ref. Sections 28.65, 28.90 and 28.95.)

Firearms are not a legal method of take for sharks, so a gun can’t be used to assist in the taking or landing of a shark. A bang stick would be considered a firearm in this case, and would therefore not be a legal method of take for sharks either. However, if a shark is already in the person's possession (in the boat), the DFG does not regulate how it is killed. For safety reasons though, I would hope that you would choose to use another method.

In regards to the legality of shooting a firearm from your boat, it would depend on your location, what county/city you are in, and how far offshore. In general, no city allows you to discharge a firearm in their jurisdiction. A person would have to contact the city/county law enforcement office that has jurisdiction over the area they are fishing to determine how far off-shore they would need to be.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/qanda/2008/20080717.asp