Cheap firearms dealer in Maryland for an out of state FFL transfer

Crashtard

I live in the Baltimore area, and I'm looking at buying a handgun from an out of state private seller. The cheapest price I've been able to find is $50 for the transfer, which seems like it's a little high (it's $30 on the sellers end). Does anyone that lives in the area know of a dealer I can get it done cheaper? I'm on the north side of Baltimore near Towson, and I work on the south side near the intersection of I-95/I-695, so I've got that range for dealers. Anything of that range probably isn't worth drive to to save 10 or 20 bucks, but if you know a place around the area I'd appreciate the tip!

3lwap0

Greeting sir.

I live in Baltimore, Towson to be exact, and just underwent this very process. So here's the skinny - 50 is actually cheap. Continental arms, and Free State Gun Range are both 65 bucks for a FFL transfer, and those are the two biggest reputable FFL dealers I know in our area. But wait, it doesn't stop there. Once you have your gun shipped to them, you have to buy a $25 dollar barrel lock - that's state law, and you also have to submit a shell casing to the MD State Police, which is usually another $25. Those prices might fluctuate by +/- $5 or so, but that's what I paid. Once all that's done, and the paperwork filled out, you wait your 7-10 days.

Darkewolfe

Yeah, $50 is pretty cheap/standard.

You also have to remember that the gun shop handling the process is going to spend 10-15 minutes running your check and helping you, plus some time on paperwork. They don't want to set a punitive price or anything, but the shop needs to make something for their time since you aren't even buying any of their firearms.

Crashtard

3lwap0 wrote: »

Greeting sir.

I live in Baltimore, Towson to be exact, and just underwent this very process. So here's the skinny - 50 is actually cheap. Continental arms, and Free State Gun Range are both 65 bucks for a FFL transfer, and those are the two biggest reputable FFL dealers I know in our area. But wait, it doesn't stop there. Once you have your gun shipped to them, you have to buy a $25 dollar barrel lock - that's state law, and you also have to submit a shell casing to the MD State Police, which is usually another $25. Those prices might fluctuate by +/- $5 or so, but that's what I paid. Once all that's done, and the paperwork filled out, you wait your 7-10 days.

So what it's really sounding like that I might be better off buying the gun from a local place. If I'm going to spend 50-65, PLUS 25 to submit the shell casing, PLUS the 30 on the sellers end, I might better off taking the extra $100 and look for a $400 gun in the area. The only issue is, since it's my first gun, I'm not exactly well educated on what to look for with a used gun. I guess depending on the price new may not be out of the question either. Guess I need to figure out what I'm going to do and work from there. Thanks for the responses guys.

Edit: I live in Cockeysville if that matters for any reason to anyone.

Daemonion

You can always check on Gunbroker. They have a list of FFL dealers in your area with their fees. Just call them/send them an email and ask if they'll do non-Gunbroker transactions. I'm sure they will.

Also, what kind of gun are you thinking of getting, and why/what for? What guns have you shot and liked?