2012 SHOT SHOW: ArmaLite California Bound!

I walked by the ArmaLite booth at SHOT Show and see this poster! I thought "What is this?"

ArmaLite Coming To California!

Mark Westrom, President of ArmaLite holding a California Compliant Factory Bullet Button Rifle

Turns out, according to the President of ArmaLite Mark Westrom, that ArmaLite will be introducing a range of rifles with the "bullet button" attached from the factory that will make it legal to sell in California. They even created a line of rifles with roll marks specifically for California because of the strange so called "assault rifle ban" we have over here.

A "bullet button" is a device that makes the rifle have a "detachable" magazine. This means that a tool is required to remove the magazine. A "tool" being anything that is used to remove the magazine like a cartridge. It can't be part of the gun though i.e. the tool can't be attached to the gun. Here is an explanation in detail of a bullet button.

The concept started around 2005 and has slowly gained momentum and acceptance that this is a legitimate interpretation of the California laws and not merely a "loop hole".

Only last year I was walking around the floor of SHOT Show trying to explain the bullet button to vendors so I could get a hold of their products. They knew nothing! Now, a year later it's pretty well main stream.

I did talk to Jarrod McDevitt, Product Manager, Rifles and Sig Sauer and he was familiar with bullet buttons but only installed on AR variants. I had to educate him on the AK variant bullet buttons as I think that they could just slap one on a SIG 556R, pin the folding stock and there is a legal California SIG 556R which would be awesome.

Californians are still limited to 10 round mags when the rifle is configured with a "bullet button".

To use 30 rounds in a new rifle you have to have the magazine in your possession before the ban that started Jan 1, 2000 and the new rifle cannot have any evil features such as a pistol grip, flash hider, folding stock and a forward pistol grip.

A lot of products have come out to substitute for the pistol grip.

Anyway, the law is pretty convoluted and most LEOs don't know all the details but they do know about the bullet button.