How buying a gun in Jacksonville works
Pick an FFL dealer near you that accepts shipped transfers and name it at checkout. We confirm their license and ship the firearm to them. Ammunition, optics and parts ship straight to your door where Florida law allows.
To buy any firearm from a Florida dealer you must be 21 or older and pass an FDLE background check at the dealer when you pick up. Handgun buyers must be Florida residents under federal law. State law sets a waiting period of three business days, or until the check clears if later, on all dealer sales; Concealed Weapon License holders, trade-ins and long-gun buyers with a hunter safety card are exempt, and some counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Alachua and Hillsborough, set five days. Triggers, barrels, slides, sights, uppers and magazines are parts and ship to your Florida address with no check and no wait.
Dealers in these communities all work for Jacksonville-area buyers:
- Orange Park
- Jacksonville Beach
- Fernandina Beach
- St. Augustine
- Middleburg
- Yulee
- Atlantic Beach
- Green Cove Springs
Carrying a gun in Duval County
Since July 2023 anyone who meets the eligibility rules for a Florida Concealed Weapon License may carry a concealed handgun without one, carrying valid ID. Open carry has been lawful since the September 2025 appeals ruling in McDaniels, which the state did not appeal, and since June 2026 adults of 18 to 20 may apply for the licence. The licence is still issued by the FDACS Division of Licensing, with applications at many Duval County Tax Collector offices; it adds reciprocity and skips the three-day wait. Courthouses, schools, polling places and the other places listed in section 790.06 stay off limits.
Hunting near Jacksonville
Florida splits deer hunting into Zones A, B, C and D with different calendars: Zone A in the south opens general gun in September, Zone C in early November and Zone B not until December. Centerfire rifles, shotguns, handguns and muzzleloaders are legal for deer and rimfire is not; antler rules follow the deer management unit around Duval County. Wild hogs on private land may be taken year-round with landowner permission and no licence, which is why AR uppers, short barrels and threaded pistol barrels sell so well here. Check the FWC season pages for the current zone dates.
Duval County is in Zone C with general gun from early November; the Osceola forest and the Nassau pine flats are the nearest big public tracts, and the St. Johns holds ducks.
Mayport and NAS Jacksonville keep a deep AR and pistol community here, and the Osceola FWC range west of Lake City is the nearest state rifle facility.
Public shooting ranges near Jacksonville
These public ranges are run by or with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, several of them on wildlife management areas and national forests. Fees, hours and supervision differ, so check each range page before you go; Cecil M. Webb needs a management-area permit or a day entry fee.
Source: FWC-Managed Public Shooting Ranges list, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.