Absolutely do not tell any cop that you have a firearm in your trunk in CA. That will give him PC to search your car to insure that you are storing them correctly. It will also give him PC to search your whole car even though you have advised him that the firearms were in the trunk.
Keep your permits in a separate wallet from where your driver’s license is. I carry my driver’s license in my left shirt pocket when driving these days so that I don’t have to reach anywhere in the car for it. It’s hard for anybody to say I had a concealed firearm in my shirt pocket. Registration and insurance are in a folder on the visor which I advise the cop of before I reach for it.
As for driving the speed limit, if you are driving the speed limit on any of the interstates or state highways, then be sure to drive in the outside lane. Do not drive the speed limit in the inside, #1 lane as you can be ticketed for impeding traffic and traffic in CA drives above the speed limit any time it is not stop and go. In my opinion, the average speed on intercity interstates such as 101 or 405 or 580 through Alameda County is 72 mph. On I-5 between Bakersfield and Sacramento and above Sacramento it is considerably higher. Still, you are safer driving the outside lane at the speed limit than risking getting stopped with an out-of-state license plate in my opinion.
While on the whole, my experience with California Highway Patrol has been satisfactory, I did have one experience with a real jerk. Keep in mind you never ever win an argument with any cop out on the street. Back in the days when the 65 mph limit was rigorously enforced I was stopped about 0200 on highway 138 which at that time was a really rural route. I watched carefully to make sure the car behind me had the shield on it as the driver opened his door. When the CHP got to the car I told him I had watched carefully for the shield and if his car didn’t have it I was taking off for the Lancaster LASO substation there. That stopping cars on a rural road in the wee hours was what got Caryl Chessman in all the trouble. He looked startled and asked me what I meant. I told him that was Caryl Chessman’s favorite technique, a red light in a car and then killing the male and raping the female and frequently killing her too. In fact he was called the red light killer.
He said, Oh, well I wanted to warn you that I clocked you at 68 mph. I said Oh, I didn’t realize I was going that fast. He told me to watch my speed and have a good night. Probably was bored and wanted to talk to someone and was going to ask me the famous, “Do you know why I stopped you?” That is a sucker punch. Unless you can read minds, the only accurate answer is, “No, I don’t.”
By the way, he wasn’t the real jerk I referred to earlier. After I woke him up to the dangers of early morning hours stops on rural roads, he was pleasant and professional.
If you say, “Yes,” and tell him why you think he stopped you, you have just made his job easier. You have admitted to committing a traffic violation. Frequently he will say, 'Yes, and you also. . ." and add in the real reason he stopped you and now he has two offenses to write on the ticket.
Enjoy your visit to what used to be the Golden State. When I first decided to make CA my home in 1959, it truly was The Golden State. SF was truly Bagdad by The Bay, meaning the Bagdad of Arabian Nights fame, not Bagdad of 2010, I don’t know what the policy is on this site about using toilet expletives, so I won’t describe what I think of CA today. Personal familial circumstances keep me here otherwise I would have joined the hundreds of thousands exiting the state a long time ago.