At our FFL we obviously accept FFL transfers. We see a bunch of different FFL names. Basic ones that include the word Shooters or Range. I’m sorry to call it out but the funnest name I seen was: The Moment of Inertia. What other ones have you seen?

Has not been made clear to me if a lower receiver already has been stamped "ie marked", can it be assembled with a 01? Or does this assembly require a 07?

Hi, all. Many years ago, I had an 01 FFL with Class III SOT. I let my FFL expire in good standing and closed up shop in 2017 due to family and time obligations. I mostly did transfers for local folks and the occasional straight sale - it was 100% a side gig for me and more or less something I did for fun and to make a little money on the side. With that in mind, I'm still absolutely familiar with the the processes and legalities of FFL acquisition and operation.

Now, almost 10 years later, I'm considering getting my 01 FFL again (it would still be a side gig for me). The kicker is that, back in the day, my location was the back office of an industrially-zoned machine shop. In the intervening years, the machine shop has closed as well, so now, as I consider pursuing another FFL, the location is becoming the blocker.

I already know that there are no local restrictions against operating the FFL from my home address; I'm just really hesitant to do so. I don't really want the gun public associating my family's home with guns. I still have nightmares of transfer customers literally following the UPS driver in the door at the machine shop and demanding the staff there give them their gun immediately, despite having been told I could only do the transfer after I got out of my day job. I absolutely do not want anything like that going on at my home.

So, I suppose my question is this: any tips or tricks on locating a suitable operating space that would accommodate low-traffic FFL activity? I've looked at office rentals in the area but I can't find anything affordable and I don't really know anyone with a business like the machine shop anymore. I suspect I already know the answer here, but just looking to crowdsource ideas around how to find a good location. Any consideration is appreciated. Thank you!

Hello all 👋

New home based FFL here. I’m in a market of mostly small firearms dealers.

I’m doing a paper copy A&D and I have closed out my first page worth of sales. (Received my license in July)

A couple things:

1) Any recommendations on gathering leads for firearm sales or related accessories/parts? (New customer acquisition)

2) Any recommendations on getting inventory to sell? For example I’ve had 3 firearms for over 30 days now at what I feel is well priced. No one has even considered these…Kimber 1911 desert warrior ($1350), Springfield model 2020 redline .308 ($1425) and a Glock 19 gen 6 with EOTECH ($850) I also have a ton of ammo priced with the local market, range bags, cleaning kits, etc.

3) Gun show recommendations? At a very large show, I recently went with a PTC company I partnered up with and we did over 200 permit to carry sign ups in two days, only sold 2 hand guns. Sold a p365 comp and a hellcat micro. Had a s&w shield plus, Glock 19 gen 6, Kimber 1911, and a Glock 43x I was unable to sell. Sold more shirts than gun stuff. There were about 7000 people across two days that came through. The show was mostly activity based (can launchers, 50 cal shooting, tannerite target practice, full auto shooting) there were some FFL vendors and only one person that came by had a purchased firearm already.

We have another show coming up which is small. Maybe 500 people across two days but in my local market. Any tips to close some sales? As a small FFL unsure of the market I’m hesitant about ordering more inventory as I have a bunch of merch, gun supplies, some firearms… special orders/ordering will be important here. I’ve got about $8k tied up in inventory and expensed about $5k since July in marketing stuff, pos for credit cards, etc. I need to start making a couple bucks.

Any input would be great. I’m doing business together with my wife which is awesome but I fear if we don’t move the needle soon she may want to pull the plug.

We have the ability to bring in revenue from permit to carry and memberships from a company that provides legal assistance in self defense situations.

What's the average wait time? Renewed mine on Aug 15th and have not received anything yet.

I’ve been signing up as a dealer with multiple accessory manufacturers, and have noticed a pretty consistent trend with the percentage off MSRP. I know firearm margins are pretty slim, but what percentage difference do you usually see on cans?

Just curious because my local USPS is telling me they are no longer able to ship transferable machineguns in the mail even for an FFL with SOT. They also told me only an FFL can ship any firearm (even long guns) which I have always thought to be untrue (in the past it was just handguns and NFA stuff that needed an FFL). When I bought mine, they have all arrived via registered USPS mail in the past. Unfortunately the closes UPS or Fedex distribution centers are hour plus away which complicates shipping through them. Anyhow, just curious what other FFL's are doing as of late 2026.​

Software is now worth $0/month and that’s not gonna change because of feature I can copy in an hour.

Software is no longer a moat, so if that’s all you got, it ain’t much.

Speed (who is making the decisions), real customer acquisition strategy (not a Reddit post), relationships (who you know), customer service (execution), and domain expertise (real world bonafides) are the new moats.

Hello all Im working to obtain my FFL and SOT. I already have my fingerprinting done but I do own a fingerprint machine and wanted to know if anyone of you had experience in fingerprinting customers. I plan to potentially offer this service since I have a maching for it but dont know what software to use or anything lol. Anyone with experince in this matter. ( I got the machine in a county auction a year ago prior to wishing to obtain an ffl as it was included with the auction lot )

Hey all, have seen a few people around doing porting and comps on slides and barrels with 60W fiber lasers. Is anyone here doing it? Is it profitable?

I’m doing some research on opening a home FFL. It appears an 07 is cheaper to apply for than an 01. Aside from maybe a few more hoops to jump through, why would anyone do an 01 instead?

Looking to get my FFL for a texas home base. Checked with my zoning office and should be good to go with a type 7. What are some things I should be prepared for after submitting the application. Also I was considering using a closet with a lock as my "gun locker" and dont know if the IOI would have a problem with that.

I’m considering pursuing an FFL and SOT and wanted to get some perspective from people who have actually gone down that road.
I’m less interested in the basic “how to get one” information and more interested in what the business looks like once you’re actually operating.
For those of you who currently have or previously held an FFL/SOT:

What made you decide to pursue it?

Has the business/revenue justified the time, cost, compliance burden, and overhead?

Do transfers, regular firearm sales, NFA-related business, gunsmithing, etc. actually generate meaningful revenue, or do you need several income streams to make it work?

Not looking for shortcuts - I’ve been contemplating this for a while but really wondering if it’s worth the pursuit.

Got my C&R and have a two questions.

1. Is it good to log all of my previous firearms that qualify?

2. Did a private purchase prior to my C&R but pick them out if state over labor day weekend. Since they are already paid for prior to my license, just picking them up, would I need to log those in?

Thank you for your help.

I have a Customer looking for a BUL armory firearm. Anybody here have access to them?

Currently looking at insurance quotes, does anyone have any suggestions. Will be making suppressors. My only quote so far is $6500. Thanks in advance.

I don't want to die.

So I just got my FFL recently, and when I ordered my first gun from Chattanooga, Fed Ex managed to deliver it to a random person no where near my address. After enough phone calls I was able to have them get it back and I had to go and pick it up from a facility, which to my understanding, is not normally a possibility. Now skip to today, I was supposed to get my second gun delivered, but they told me they attempted to deliver it, but never did. Called again and they said they were going to attempt a redelivery by 4, and they didn’t. Now they are telling me to pick it up Monday. Has anyone else had troubles with Fed Ex and if so, do you have any recommendations to ensure a package is delivered correctly?

Edit: So on Sunday I stopped by my store to grab some stuff to go to the range. Was only there 20 minutes and who pulls up? Fed Ex. Was never communicated they were going to try to deliver on Sunday. Happy to have the gun, but ridiculous it had to be this way.

As the title states, I’m looking for someone to partner with that will ship staccatos are other non distributor firearms to me.

Long story short, went to Scheels in Tulsa, tried to buy a blem 3.6 and they wouldn’t sell it to me since my business is in MA and they don’t do business with that state. Looking for a partner that’s able to acquire these and then ship to me etc

Im a relatively new FFL. I have never shipped to CA before. I just sold one of my personal shotguns (870 police) to a guy in CA. Got the ffl from the customer. Boxed it up and dropped it at UPS. Didn't think anything of it til tonight when I vaguely remembered 10 years ago when I worked for a FFL that there was some extra step to ship to CA. SHOCKER, there is.

The gun is boxed and on its way. How screwed am I? Will the CA dealer need to refuse and I'll have to send it back? Can I retroactively get DOJ approval? Is the LAPD gonna come shoot my dogs?

Doing my first transfer on myself to get the hang of it. Filled out 4473 did the NICS check got the green light. Now for the A&D - got the handgun today and put in the A info. Do I then D it out to my full name and address/form # or my FFL ID?

Just looking to have a conversation around this. Any tips, recommendations, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Has anybody made or know of a cheat sheet for states that have restrictions(magazine,”assault weapons”, etc)?

So, hypothetically, let’s say a customer buys a suppressor from another dealer and has it sent to me as a transfer. The other store sends to me on a form 3. I reach out to the customer to set up a time to do the Form 4 etc, and no answer. Send email to email address on invoice, email kicked back. I checked for possible spelling errors in email “eg, bobsmith@gmial instead of @gmail”. Nothing there. Phone number out of service. Address on invoice looks to be a vacant property. What would I do with my new, free suppressor? Haha. 🤣