First Time Gun Buyer Checklist: What to Know Before You Buy in Arizona

Buying a first firearm is less complicated than the internet makes it sound and more involved than the guy at the counter makes it sound. This is the whole thing, in order, from the questions you should answer before you spend anything to what you should do in the first month after you bring it home.

Before you shop: answer these three

1. What is the job? Home defense, concealed carry, range practice, hunting, and competition point at different guns. A gun bought for a vague sense of all of the above is usually good at none of them. Pick the primary job and buy for that.

2. Where does it live when you are not holding it? Answer this before you buy the gun, not after. If the answer involves children, roommates, or a house that other people come into, the storage decision shapes the purchase.

3. What is the real budget? Not the price of the gun. The gun, a holster or storage, a light if it is for defense, eye and ear protection, and several hundred rounds of ammunition to actually learn with. Plan on the firearm being roughly half of what you spend.

Are you eligible

Federal law sets the baseline for who may purchase and possess a firearm, and it covers more categories than most people expect. Arizona layers its own rules on top, including different age rules for different types of firearm and different types of carry. If there is anything at all in your history that might matter, find out before you go to a counter rather than during a background check.

How the purchase actually works

Buying from a licensed dealer in person is straightforward and takes about as long as renting a car:

1. Pick the gun and hand over ID. A valid government issued photo ID with your current address.
2. Fill out the federal form. ATF Form 4473. Answer every question honestly and carefully. Lying on it is a federal crime, and the questions are less obvious than they look, so read them rather than skimming.
3. The dealer runs the background check. Usually the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which most of the time comes back in minutes. Sometimes it comes back delayed, which is normal and not an accusation.
4. Pay and go. Waiting periods are set at the state level and Arizona has not added one on top of the federal process, so in most cases you leave with it the same day. That is the kind of thing that can change, so confirm it against the sources named in the notice above rather than treating this line as current.

Buying online: what ships where

This is the part that confuses most first time buyers, and it is genuinely simple once you have seen it:

• Firearms ship dealer to dealer. You buy online, the seller ships to a licensed dealer near you, and you complete the 4473 and the background check in person at that dealer. The dealer charges a transfer fee. Arrange the receiving dealer before you order, not after.
• Almost everything else ships to your door. Optics, mounts, lights, cases, and accessories are not firearms and go straight to your address. That is most of what we sell: browse optics, lights and lasers, mounts, and accessories.
• Some items have their own rules. A handful of parts and devices are regulated differently and may be restricted by state or shipped only to a dealer. Product pages say so where it applies.

What to buy alongside the gun

• Secure storage. A lock box, a cable lock, or a quick access safe. This is not optional and it is not an upgrade for later.
• Eye and ear protection. Buy your own. Range rentals are worn out and never fit.
• A holster, if you will carry. Rigid, molded to your exact gun and light combination, with full trigger guard coverage. See the beginner handgun setup guide.
• A light, if it is for home defense. You cannot make a decision in the dark about something you cannot see. Read the weapon light buyer's guide.
• Ammunition, in two flavors. Cheap practice ammunition in volume, and a smaller amount of quality defensive ammunition if that is the job. Confirm the defensive load runs reliably in your gun before you trust it.
• Cleaning kit and lubricant. Most new guns ship dry or nearly dry. Read the manual.

The first month

1. Read the manual cover to cover. Including the part about how to unload it. Especially that part.
2. Learn the four rules and never break one. Treat every gun as loaded. Never point it at anything you are not willing to destroy. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. Know your target and what is behind it.
3. Go shoot it. Two or three hundred rounds in the first month, in short sessions. A tired shooter learns bad habits.
4. Get coached early. One session with an instructor at the start saves years of practicing mistakes. This is the single highest return thing on the list.
5. Dry practice at home. Verified unloaded, no ammunition in the room, a safe backstop. Ten minutes of dry practice beats fifty rounds of unfocused range time.
6. Store it the way you said you would. The plan you made in step two only counts if you keep it on day thirty.

Where to go from here

If you carry or plan to, read the Arizona CCW guide next. If you are building an AR-15 rather than buying a pistol, start with red dot vs LPVO.

And when you are ready to actually learn to shoot it, our lessons cover first range days for brand new shooters, in person around Phoenix or live over video. Send an inquiry and we will come back with the details.