How buying a gun in Birmingham 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 Alabama law allows.
Alabama requires no purchase permit, no waiting period and no registration, and dealers call the federal NICS system directly. You complete ATF Form 4473 at the dealer with a current photo ID and take the firearm once the check clears, subject to the federal ages of 21 for handguns and 18 for long guns. Online orders ship to the Alabama FFL you choose. Alabama law enforcement also maintains a prohibited-person database used to flag people who may not possess firearms.
Dealers in these communities all work for Birmingham-area buyers:
- Hoover
- Bessemer
- Vestavia Hills
- Homewood
- Trussville
- Gardendale
- Pelham
- Leeds
- Mountain Brook
Carrying a gun in Jefferson County
Alabama dropped its concealed carry permit requirement on January 1, 2023, so eligible adults may carry concealed without a license. Sheriffs still issue the optional pistol permit under the Alabama Uniform Concealed Carry Permit Act, in one-year, five-year and lifetime terms, and it remains useful for reciprocity and for some employers. The permit age is 19, or 18 for service members and honorably discharged veterans. Posted private property, schools and courthouses are still restricted, so read the signs.
Hunting near Birmingham
In Zones A, B and C, which cover most of north and central Alabama, archery deer season opens October 15 and runs to February 10, with a special youth gun hunt in mid-November and gun or stalk hunting from November 21, 2026 to February 10, 2027. Zones D and E open earlier and close in late January. Centerfire rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and air rifles are all legal in the gun season, with dog hunting allowed in certain areas. Check the current zone map and season table for your county before you hunt.
Jefferson County is in deer Zone C, where gun and stalk hunting runs November 21 to February 10 after an archery opener in mid-October. The Cahaba River WMA range near Helena is the nearest state range.
Oak Mountain and the Cahaba River corridor give the metro its nearest public land, and hunters from Birmingham lease timber tracts in Bibb, Chilton and Tuscaloosa counties for a long Alabama deer season.
Public shooting ranges near Birmingham
The public ranges below are run or officially listed by state wildlife agencies, state forests or the national forests in the states we cover. Most ask for a hunting license, a range permit or a small day fee, and hours change with the season, so check the agency page before you drive out.
Source: State wildlife agency and U.S. Forest Service public range lists, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.