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Alabama guns and range gear
Buying a Gun in Alabama: Dealer Transfers, ADCNR Weapon Rules and Range Gear
Online gun orders never come to the house: the seller ships to a federally licensed dealer (FFL) of your choosing. At the dealer you fill in ATF Form 4473, the dealer runs the federal background check and charges a transfer fee, and then the gun goes home with you. This page does not summarise Alabama purchase law; it covers ADCNR’s rules on legal hunting weapons, the chain stores we checked and gear for the range.
Photo: Steve Snodgrass (CC BY 2.0)
Ordering a gun online: the federal dealer path in four steps
These federal steps cover the gun itself; an Alabama dealer can explain anything state law adds.
1. Name an FFL at checkout
Pick a licensed dealer near home as the ship-to address.
2. Shipment goes to the dealer
It goes to the dealer’s licensed premises, and the shop calls when it arrives.
3. Complete Form 4473
Bring photo ID, fill in the form at the counter and wait for the background check.
4. Pay the transfer fee
Transfer fees vary from shop to shop; get a quote before checkout.
Federal transfer steps per ATF. Alabama purchase rules are not summarised here; ask the dealer.
Legal hunting weapons in Alabama, season by season
Season by season, ADCNR’s rules on legal weapons, so a new purchase matches the hunt it is meant for.
| Season | Legal | Not legal | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gun deer season | Centerfire rifles and handguns with mushrooming ammunition; PCP air guns .30+; PCP arrow rifles; shotguns 10 ga or smaller with buckshot, slugs or single round ball; muzzleloaders .40+; bows/crossbows; permitted raptors. | Rimfire rifles for deer; fully automatic firearms. | Digest |
| Special muzzleloader and air rifle deer season | Muzzleloading long guns and handguns .40 cal or larger; pre-charged pneumatic air guns .30 cal or larger; PCP arrow rifles with 7/8 in. broadheads; bows/crossbows. | Centerfire rifles and shotguns with buckshot/slugs. | Digest |
| Deer archery season | Long bows, recurves, compound bows and crossbows meeting 220-2-.03 (bows 30 lb peak draw; crossbows 85 lb with working safety; broadheads 7/8 in., 2 sharpened edges). | Firearms while bow hunting, except handguns carried for protection and in either-sex gun season (220-2-.10); electronics on bows except lighted pins, crossbow magnification and computing rangefinders. | Digest |
| Turkey | Shotguns (incl. muzzleloading) 10 ga or smaller with standard No. 2 shot or smaller; bows/crossbows. | Rifles, buckshot or slugs on turkey (may be carried when stalk hunting deer and turkey together, not used on turkey); firearms from an elevated stand (9-11-245); dogs (9-11-238). | Digest |
| Migratory birds | Shotguns 10 ga or smaller plugged to 3 shells with No. 2 shot or smaller; waterfowl with steel or other USFWS-approved nontoxic shot (T or smaller per the waterfowl guide); bows/crossbows; permitted raptors. | Lead shot in possession while waterfowl hunting; rifles, pistols; unplugged guns. | Digest |
| Other game birds and animals (squirrel, rabbit, quail etc.) | Rimfire or air rifles; muzzleloaders any caliber; bows/crossbows; shotguns 10 ga or smaller with No. 4 shot or smaller; handguns; blowguns (breath-powered); slingshots. | – | Digest |
| Bobcat, groundhog, unprotected wildlife, fox, coyote, feral swine | Rifles any caliber; handguns; shotguns 10 ga or smaller; PCP air guns .25+; bows/crossbows; muzzleloaders any caliber; PCP arrow rifles; spear or sharpened blade; permitted raptors. | Lights/night vision except in the nighttime swine/coyote season with the license. | Digest |
| General | Laser range finders with computational capabilities; laser sights for legally blind hunters under 220-2-.02(1)(c). | Fully automatic firearms; lights or lasers projecting forward of a gun/bow and night vision or thermal equipment while hunting any species, except with the nighttime feral swine/coyote license during that season; refusing to show firearms/ammunition to officers. | Digest |
From the Official 2026-2027 Alabama Hunting and Fishing Digest and the ADCNR Regulation Book (Ala. Admin. Code ch. 220-2), checked November 1, 2026. Read the full Digest before hunting. This is not a summary of Alabama purchase law.
Alabama rules that come with a new hunting gun
Hunter orange, road and dwelling distances, written permission, hunter education and the ADCNR range license rule.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hunter orange or pink | During dates and in areas open to gun deer season (including youth deer and special muzzleloader/air rifle seasons), everyone hunting any species on private, leased and open permit-public land must wear an outer garment above the waist with at least 144 sq. in. of hunter orange or fluorescent pink, or a full-size hunter orange or fluorescent pink hat or cap. |
| What counts | Solid colour visible from any angle; a small logo or printing on the front of a cap is allowed. Blaze orange, blaze pink and ten-mile cloth are legal; shades of red, camo orange and camo pink are not. |
| Public roads | No hunting or shooting from, on or across a public road, highway or railroad or its right-of-way; no hunting within 50 yards of the right-of-way with a centerfire rifle, slug or shot larger than No. 4, or a .40+ muzzleloading rifle (landowners and family on own land excepted). |
| Dwellings | No hunting within 100 yards of another's dwelling without permission; no projectile striking a dwelling, occupied building or commercial vessel (landowner/family on own land excepted if no projectile strikes others' property). |
| Landowner permission | Hunting on another's land requires the landowner's written permission in possession or being accompanied by the landowner (day: 9-11-241; night: 9-11-242). Do not trail wounded game onto land without permission. |
| Hunter education | Everyone buying a hunting license who was born on or after Aug. 1, 1977 (the Digest p. 52 says "born after"). |
| ADCNR ranges | No range fee; a valid Alabama hunting, Heritage, fishing or WMA license is required for residents 16-64; nonresidents 16+ need a WMA or nonresident hunting license. |
From regs.json (Digest and Ala. Admin. Code 220-2-.85) and laws.json (Code of Alabama), checked November 1, 2026.
Alabama sporting goods chains, town by town
28 chain stores across 25 Alabama towns, by chain: Academy Sports + Outdoors 18, Dunham's Sports 6 and Bass Pro Shops 4. More than one store in Huntsville, Mobile and Prattville.
| Town | Street | County | Chain | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albertville | 5940 US Hwy 431 Suite 100 | Marshall | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Andalusia | 1413 Drive Martin Luther King Xway | Covington | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Auburn | 2325 Bent Creek Road | Lee | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Birmingham | 4610 US Highway 280 | Shelby | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Cullman | 1706 2nd Avenue Southwest | Cullman | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Decatur | 1205 Wimberly Drive Southwest | Morgan | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Dothan | 3950 Montgomery Hwy | Houston | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Florence | 113 Cox Creek Parkway South | Lauderdale | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Foley | 2410 S McKenzie St | Baldwin | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Fort Payne | 101 Cracker Barrel Row Suite B | DeKalb | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Gadsden | 601 George Wallace Dr | Etowah | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Gardendale | 650 Gayle Street | Jefferson | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Hoover | 2810 John Hawkins Parkway | Jefferson | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Huntsville | 2900 Memorial Parkway SW | Madison | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Huntsville | 7090 Cabela Drive NW | Madison | Bass Pro Shops | Firearm-order notice | source |
| Jasper | 300 Highway 78e | Walker | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Leeds | 5000 Bass Pro Blvd | Jefferson | Bass Pro Shops | Firearm-order notice | source |
| Madison | 7506 Highway 72 West | Madison | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Mobile | 3725 Airport Blvd | Mobile | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Mobile | 7460 Airport Blvd | Mobile | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Montgomery | 8610 Eastchase Parkway | Montgomery | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Ozark | 1177 Andrews Ave Ste F Martindale Plaza | Dale | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Prattville | 1557 Cotton Exchange | Elmore | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Prattville | 2553 Rocky Mount Rd | Elmore | Bass Pro Shops | Firearm-order notice | source |
| Scottsboro | 23041 John T Reid Pkway | Jackson | Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | source |
| Spanish Fort | 20000 Bass Pro Dr | Baldwin | Bass Pro Shops | Firearm-order notice | source |
| Trussville | 1612 Gadsden Highway | Jefferson | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
| Tuscaloosa | 710 Skyland Boulevard | Tuscaloosa | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms + Ammo dept. | source |
Academy Sports + Outdoors rows from academy.com store pages; Bass Pro Shops rows from stores.basspro.com; Dunham’s Sports rows from the store list on dunhamssports.com. Retrieved November 1, 2026. Scheels (refused automated reads), Rural King, Sportsman’s Warehouse (no Alabama store on its locator), Walmart and local gun shops are not in this list; local shops are on the county pages.
Chain departments online, with their Alabama towns
Plain links to the national departments of Academy and Bass Pro Shops, with no affiliate codes; Dunham’s shows its Alabama towns. Ask the store what it can sell you.
| Retailer | Departments or note | Alabama stores |
|---|---|---|
| Bass Pro Shops | Firearms Ammunition Accessories | Huntsville, Leeds, Prattville and Spanish Fort |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | Firearms Ammunition Accessories | Auburn, Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur, Dothan, Florence, Foley, Gadsden, Gardendale, Hoover, Huntsville, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, Prattville, Trussville and Tuscaloosa |
| Dunham's Sports | Firearms not stated | Albertville, Andalusia, Fort Payne, Jasper, Ozark and Scottsboro |
Department links from each retailer site (list checked Oct 9, 2026). Store towns from the Alabama store rows (November 1, 2026).
Ranges and shoots for a first outing
Next pages for a new Alabama gun owner
- Alabama shooting ranges164 listed
- Indoor ranges8 listed
- Alabama shooting events68 still to come
- Trap, skeet and clays46 listed
Alabama gun buying questions
Is a .22 rimfire legal for deer?
No. Rimfire rifles for deer; fully automatic firearms.
Which guns are legal for gun deer season?
Centerfire rifles and handguns with mushrooming ammunition; PCP air guns .30+; PCP arrow rifles; shotguns 10 ga or smaller with buckshot, slugs or single round ball; muzzleloaders .40+; bows/crossbows; permitted raptors.
What may I use for turkey?
Shotguns (incl. muzzleloading) 10 ga or smaller with standard No. 2 shot or smaller; bows/crossbows.
Which bows and crossbows are legal for archery deer?
Long bows, recurves, compound bows and crossbows meeting 220-2-.03 (bows 30 lb peak draw; crossbows 85 lb with working safety; broadheads 7/8 in., 2 sharpened edges).
How much orange or pink must Alabama deer-season hunters wear?
During dates and in areas open to gun deer season (including youth deer and special muzzleloader/air rifle seasons), everyone hunting any species on private, leased and open permit-public land must wear an outer garment above the waist with at least 144 sq. in. of hunter orange or fluorescent pink, or a full-size hunter orange or fluorescent pink hat or cap.
What shot is legal for ducks and geese?
Shotguns 10 ga or smaller plugged to 3 shells with No. 2 shot or smaller; waterfowl with steel or other USFWS-approved nontoxic shot (T or smaller per the waterfowl guide); bows/crossbows; permitted raptors.
Which retail chains does the store table cover?
Store counts: Academy Sports + Outdoors, 18; Dunham's Sports, 6; Bass Pro Shops, 4. Dunham’s store list is silent on firearm sales.
Is Alabama gun purchase law covered here?
No. It covers the federal dealer step and ADCNR hunting rules; an Alabama dealer can explain state purchase requirements.
Will a gun bought online ship to my Alabama address?
No. Under the federal process it ships to a licensed dealer, where you fill in Form 4473 and the dealer runs the background check before handing it over.
Can I buy ammunition through the Amazon buttons?
No. Amazon sells neither guns nor ammunition here; the buttons search for protection, targets, bags and archery gear, and a purchase may earn this site a commission.
What does an Alabama dealer charge to transfer a gun?
There is no set price; each dealer sets its own transfer fee, so call before you order.
After the purchase: ranges and matches
Other photos on this page: simonov (CC BY-SA 2.0); Chris Yarzab (CC BY 2.0); kevin dooley (CC BY 2.0).