In California not sure about back in the 70s but not now at the very least. Ya have to find the dubiously sane redneck and buy it at a premium. Note if the ATF asks then ya say you found it in the desert cause if ya snitch you will become very aware of the fact that a surprising number of California Rednecks "went backpacking in Ireland" during the troubles and brought back what they learned if ya catch my drift.

I mean kinda, but you gotta sit for a background check

lol no. Maybe in the past but now there's a background check and often a mandatory waiting period before you can just walk out with a gun.

Question about the pistol here, is the mount reliable enough to keep it zero'd and accurate? That's a huge pistol and the kickback on the slide would be nuts, lots of energy moving around there to knock something loose, or at least a little off center, I feel like.

No. But if you're a Californian driving to Nevada or Arizona, yes.

Buying a gun - B99

I'm looking for a really big gun that holds a lot of bullets.