Order online, pick up at a licensed dealer in Tuolumne County. Sonora is the Tuolumne County seat and the largest town on the southern Mother Lode, sitting where Highway 108 climbs out of the foothills. Columbia State Historic Park and the Railtown shops at Jamestown keep the gold-rush history close to the surface.
Pick an FFL dealer near you that accepts shipped transfers and name it at checkout. We confirm their license and ship the firearm to them. Ammunition, optics and parts ship straight to your door where California law allows.
To buy any firearm in California you need a valid California ID and a Firearm Safety Certificate, and for a handgun you also perform a safe handling demonstration at the counter. The dealer enters the sale into the Dealer's Record of Sale system, the Department of Justice runs the eligibility check, and the firearm is released only after a 10-day waiting period. Handguns sold by a dealer must be a make and model on the DOJ Roster of Certified Handguns. Dealers may not sell any firearm to a person under 21, with narrow exemptions for long guns. Private sales also go through a licensed dealer.
Dealers in these communities all work for Sonora-area buyers:
California has been a shall-issue state since Senate Bill 2 took effect on January 1, 2024. The Tuolumne County Sheriff issues carry licenses to county residents, and a city police chief may issue inside their own city. You must be at least 21, pass a background check and an interview, and complete at least 16 hours of approved training, with 8 hours of refresher training before each renewal. Licenses run two years and list up to three handguns. Senate Bill 2 also added a long list of places where licensed carry is barred, and federal courts have narrowed parts of that list, so check the current rules before you carry.
California sells deer tags by lettered zone rather than by county. For 2026 the Fish and Game Commission approved an A zone general season of August 8 to September 20, B zones of September 19 to October 25 for most of the group, C zones opening September 19 with closing dates from October 4 to October 25, and the D-3, D-4 and D-5 foothill zones from September 26 to November 1. Rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and handguns are all legal for deer inside the zone rules, but every round used on game in California must be nonlead. Check your Tuolumne zone boundary on the CDFW map before you buy a tag.
Tuolumne County is in the D-3, D-4 and D-5 tag group, with the 2026 general season September 26 to November 1. The Stanislaus National Forest and the Emigrant country give a lot of walk-in deer ground once the high roads are clear.
The Stanislaus National Forest covers most of the county east of town, and the Big Oak Flat entrance to Yosemite is about an hour down Highway 120.
Ships to FFL$501.96Mossberg
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Caliber: .450 Bushmaster | Capacity: 3
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Caliber: .243 Winchester | Capacity: 4
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Yes. Order here, name a licensed FFL dealer in Jamestown, Columbia, Twain Harte, Sonora or anywhere in Tuolumne County, and we ship the firearm to them. You fill out ATF Form 4473 at their counter and they run the background check.
California has no permit to purchase, but you do need a valid Firearm Safety Certificate and California ID before the dealer near Sonora can start the sale. A handgun also has to be a model on the Department of Justice roster.
Ten days. The dealer submits the Dealer's Record of Sale, the Department of Justice runs the eligibility check, and the firearm cannot be released before ten 24-hour periods have passed, even when the check clears early.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff, and in many cities the police chief as well. Since Senate Bill 2 took effect in January 2024 the license is shall-issue for qualified applicants, with at least 16 hours of training and a two-year term.
We ship every firearm to a licensed California dealer near Sonora that you choose at checkout. The dealer confirms roster status where it applies, runs the background check and releases the gun after the 10-day wait.
No. Ammunition bought for a California address has to be delivered through a licensed California ammunition vendor, who runs a state eligibility check before handing it over. Optics, cases and most parts still ship to your door.
Blacktail and mule deer in the foothill zones are usually taken inside 300 yards, so the .243, 6.5 Creedmoor, .270, 7mm-08, .308 and .30-06 all fit. Every round used on game has to be nonlead, which in practice means a copper or copper-alloy bullet.
Each dealer sets its own fee, commonly $20 to $75. Call before you order to confirm the price and that they accept firearms shipped from an online store.
General information, not legal advice. Rules current as of September 2026. See our California gun law overview and check with Tuolumne County Sheriff or a local attorney about your own situation.