Buying a gun in New York City: how it actually works

There are only a handful of gun shops left inside the five boroughs, and their shelves are small. Most people in New York City who buy a firearm now buy it online and collect it from a licensed dealer. Here is what that looks like when the address is Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx or Staten Island.

The licence comes first, and the city runs its own process

New York City does not use the county system the rest of the state uses. Handgun licences are issued by the NYPD License Division, and rifles and shotguns need a permit from the same office. That paperwork takes months, not days, and nothing you order can be released to you until it is in your hand. If you are starting from zero, start there and shop afterwards.

What you can have transferred here

The city's rules are tighter than the state's, and the state's are tighter than most of the country's. Ordinary bolt-action rifles, most shotguns, and the usual hunting calibres move without drama. Semi-automatic rifles with certain features, and magazines above the state limit, do not. We check every order against the address it is going to before it ships: if something in your cart cannot legally be transferred to a dealer in your borough, you hear from us first and get refunded that day.

Picking the dealer

Any licensed dealer in the city can receive a transfer, and so can a dealer just outside it - plenty of buyers in Queens or the Bronx use a shop in Westchester or Nassau because the fee is lower and parking exists. You name the shop at checkout. If you leave that box empty, we find one near you and arrange it at no charge.

What it costs

The gun costs what the listing says. The dealer who receives it charges their own transfer fee, which in the city usually runs $50 to $100, sometimes more for a handgun because of the extra paperwork. There is no fee from us.

How long from order to pickup

One to two business days for the order to leave, two to five for ground shipping into the city, then whatever your dealer's schedule allows. Long guns are normally cleared at the counter while you wait, provided your permit is in order. Handguns wait for the licence and, in most cases, for the purchase to be added to it.

Ammunition and everything else

Ammunition, optics, cleaning kits, holsters and spare parts ship to your own address where the rules allow it. In the city, ammunition sales are tracked and some deliveries are restricted, so read the note on the listing before you order a case.

Why buy online at all

Price and choice. A storefront in the city carries what fits on its wall. We list tens of thousands of items, from carry pistols to bolt guns to the small parts nobody stocks, at prices that do not have Manhattan rent baked into them. The transfer fee at the far end is usually still less than the difference.

Start with the transfer guide if this is your first time, or walk the whole floor if you already know what you are after.