Purchase Ammo online need help

[hypnos9mm]

Hello everyone,

I am new to shooting and looking to learn more about buying ammunition online to save on extra local fees and taxes.

Could anyone walk me through the step-by-step process of purchasing ammo online?

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time and guidance.

 

[Z Arms LLC]

If you don't have your FFL03 + COE you can buy ammo online (Target Sports is the most common) and have it shipped to an FFL for pickup. 99.99% of FFLs will charge you a fee for doing this. My LGS charge anywhere from $25-50 per 5,000 rounds

 

[FCRII]

If you want to are able to ship to yourself & save you need an FFL 03 & a COE...and depending on your location, a CCW as well. If you want to order online without those things you have to have it sent to a local store & will still pay transfer fees/taxes which can negate any savings.

 

[Gawernator]

If you're near Sac or Placer county then PSC members can receive ammo for free

 

[Davis378]

You can have it shipped to a local gun store. But if you are concerned with avoiding taxes and fees, and know you enjoy shooting and want to stick with it, I recommend getting an FFL-03 and COE. Here's a good guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QRxBSn7e0OZlgE9GDz2XnhdJS9lKqbvSV7wlNTUmaeg/
It takes a few weeks and $140 give or take, but will pay itself back in no time. When you go to buy from an online store you will just have to send them those documents, either after checkout or while setting up your account, to allow them to ship to your home. There are a lot of shops who flatly refuse to ship to CA residents, but there are enough good ones to make it worth it. "Outdoor Limited" and "Wild Horse" to name two.
Here is a spreadsheet of FFL03/COE friendly vendors: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ehUyc4w43PwLHM5cM6AF97eujr4djGdnPP8vsvhc3b4/
Another nice thing is these documents allow you to buy C&R guns (any over 50 years old) without a 10 day wait, and long guns you don't even need to go through a shop.

 

[BontaLicious]

You're still going to be paying state/federal tax and the newsom extortion tax regardless of weather you purchase ammo online or in-person as it needs to be transferred to you via an FFL.
I don't have a FLL03 + COE, so I purchase nearly all of my ammo online and send it to my LGS. Fortunately, they don't charge me any extra fees other than what the gooberment asks for, but I'm sure that's not the way it is for most people here.
If you factor in taxes, shipping costs, and FFL transfer fees, you're not going to see much savings, maybe just a couple cents per round cheaper than what you can get in stores on name brand stuff.
If you're still sold on buying online, I recommend using a catalogue site ammoseek to find the ammo you're looking based on price, casing, grains, etc.

 

[lopez1171]

By the time I paid transfer fees and both taxes it wasn’t worth the headache. Keep you eyes open for sales at a LGS

 

[jesse]

Get that ffl03 bro

 

[hypnos9mm]

thank you for all your input ! really appreciate it, FFL03 is what I will look into now.

 

[Bobalover209]

thank you for all your input ! really appreciate it, FFL03 is what I will look into now.

This is definitely the way to go. Just to clarify what others have mentioned, an ffl03/COE exempts you from excise tax and allows you to ship ammo online straight to your door. This saves you the 11% tax extra tax as well as allows you access to cheaper ammo online compare to what is available in store most times.

What this does not exempt you from is CA sales tax, you are still on the hook for that as you would be anything else, even if the vendor does not charge it to you. If they don't charge it, it falls on you to report it on your annual tax returns. This is a common misunderstanding or purposefully ignored by many people, you'll see plenty of comments or posts that promote buying from certain vendors that do not charge CA sales tax to get the absolute cheapest ammo.

 

[RustVendor]

You should also check with some loca FFLs, there's a guy near me that will accept ammo for 10 dollars. You do have to pay tax through the FFL though but the FFL03 takes a while

 

[RustyIron]

thank you for all your input ! really appreciate it, FFL03 is what I will look into now.

Good call.
It costs a bit, but for those who shoot even a moderate amount, you can save money. The other benefit is the convenience. You no longer need to shop around to find a local store that has the ammo you want. Nor do you need to plan far in advance. If you're getting a hankerin' to shoot a particular gun and it turns out you don't have enough ammo on your shelf, just go online and click the button. In a few days you'll be good-to-go.