Free shipping over $999 · Firearms ship to your Texas FFL dealerShipped to your Texas FFL dealerShipping & FFL · Contact
Help & FAQ
Home / Austin

Buying a gun online in Austin

Order here, pick it up at a licensed dealer in Austin or the towns around it. Same rules as the rest of Texas, and the Hill Country starts at the city limits.

Austin has fewer gun counters per head than Houston or Dallas, which is exactly why buying online works well here. You compare a live catalog at home, then use whichever dealer in Travis, Williamson or Hays County is convenient, and a lot of people find the suburbs faster. What Central Texans buy follows the land: bolt rifles for the whitetail and axis deer that overrun the Hill Country, compact 9mm pistols for carry in a city that is warm ten months a year, light shotguns for dove and quail, and AR-15s for the hogs in the Colorado River bottoms.

1. Pick your dealer
Any FFL in Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Kyle, Buda or San Marcos that accepts shipped transfers. Ask the fee.
2. Order here
Name that dealer at checkout. We get a copy of the license before the firearm ships. Parts and ammunition ship to your door.
3. Paperwork
ATF Form 4473 at the counter. The dealer runs the FBI NICS check or, at their option, accepts your Texas LTC.
4. Same visit
Texas has no waiting period. A clear check means the gun goes home with you.

What to bring to the dealer

  • Government photo ID with your current address. Austin renters move often; if the license shows an old address, bring a lease or utility bill the dealer accepts.
  • The transfer fee, paid to the shop, commonly $25 to $50 around Austin. Call ahead.
  • Your order number so they can match the package to you.
  • Your LTC, if you have one. It can replace the NICS call at the dealer's option.

Travis County rules

There are none beyond state and federal law. Local Government Code 229.001 bars cities from regulating the sale, ownership, carrying or storage of firearms and ammunition, and 236.002 does the same for counties. Austin has tested that line more than once, and the state has pushed back each time, so the rules for buying and carrying inside the city are the Texas rules: no permit to buy, no registration, no waiting period, no magazine limit, and permitless carry for qualifying adults 21 and older. The city keeps its discharge ordinance and its authority over city buildings and parks facilities, and businesses on Sixth Street post a lot of 30.06 and 30.07 signs.

General information, not legal advice. The statutes are collected on our Texas gun law page, and a Texas attorney can answer questions about your own situation.

Hill Country deer and exotics

The limestone hills from Dripping Springs out to Llano and Mason carry more whitetail per acre than almost anywhere in the country, and the deer are small-bodied and close. Shots on a Hill Country lease are often under 150 yards through cedar and live oak, so a .243, 7mm-08, .270 or .308 in a handy bolt gun does everything. Axis, fallow and blackbuck are exotics with no season and no bag limit on private land, and a lot of leases treat them as year-round meat hunting. Feral hogs are on every creek. The hog and deer rifle guide lays out the calibers.

Carrying in a warm city

Austin is shorts weather from March to November. A pistol that is comfortable at 95 degrees gets carried; one that is not stays home. Compact and micro-compact 9mms in a quality inside-the-waistband holster win here, and an optics cut is worth having if you shoot enough to use it. Whether you carry under permitless carry or with an LTC, read the signs on private doors, and know that the University of Texas campus is license-holders-only under Government Code 411.2031. Our License to Carry guide explains both paths.

Hunting seasons that matter here

Dove opens September 1 in the Central Zone and the milo fields toward Taylor and Bastrop are the local openers. Whitetail general season opens the first Saturday of November and runs into early January. Quail season opens the last Saturday of October, though the good quail ground is a long drive northwest. Hogs need no license on private land. TPWD publishes everything in the Outdoor Annual each August.

What people buy here

Whitetail rifles.270 / .308 / 6.5Carry pistols9mm & .380F1 Firearms partshandguards & receivers.300 Blackouthog & axis.22 riflesHill Country plinking20-gauge shotgunsdove & quail

Hill Country deer rifles

Caliber guide →

Carry pistols

License to Carry guide →

Common questions

Can I buy a gun online and pick it up in Austin?

Yes. Order here, name a licensed dealer anywhere in Travis, Williamson, Hays or Bastrop County, and we ship the firearm to them. You complete Form 4473 and the background check at their counter and leave with the gun the same visit if it clears.

What do I need to bring?

A valid government photo ID with your current address, the transfer fee, and your order number. A Texas LTC can replace the NICS call if the dealer chooses to use it.

How long does a transfer take in Travis County?

Usually one visit. Most NICS answers come back in minutes and Texas has no waiting period. Shops inside the city are fewer than in the suburbs, so many Austinites use a dealer in Round Rock, Cedar Park or Buda; the fee and the wait are often shorter there.

Does Austin have its own gun laws?

No. Local Government Code 229.001 preempts city regulation of firearm sales, possession, carry and storage, and the Texas Attorney General has challenged Austin ordinances that pushed at that line. Purchase and carry rules in Austin are the same as in the rest of Texas. The city does regulate discharge inside city limits and can bar firearms from its own buildings and meetings.

Do I need a permit to buy a handgun in Austin?

No. Texas has no purchase permit, no registration and no waiting period. Dealers sell handguns to buyers 21 and older and long guns to buyers 18 and older, provided you are not prohibited under Penal Code 46.04 or federal law.

Can I carry in Austin without a license?

Yes, if you are 21 or older and not disqualified under Penal Code 46.02. Permitless carry has applied statewide since September 2021. Watch for 30.05 signs on private businesses, which exclude unlicensed carriers, and for 30.06 and 30.07 signs, which exclude license holders. The University of Texas campus follows Government Code 411.2031: concealed carry by LTC holders only, under campus rules.

Where can I shoot near Austin?

There are indoor pistol ranges around the city and in Cedar Park and Pflugerville, and outdoor rifle ranges to the east and south with lanes out to several hundred yards. Public land shooting is scarce in Central Texas; most rifle work happens on private leases. Check each range on caliber, rapid fire and steel before you go.

Can I hunt near Austin?

The Hill Country west of the city holds the densest whitetail population in Texas, along with axis deer and other exotics that have no season, almost all on private leases. Whitetail general season opens the first Saturday of November. Dove opens September 1 in the Central Zone, and feral hogs on private land need no license. TPWD sets the seasons; see our hog and deer rifle guide.

More Texas guides