Skip to content Skip to footer

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer Service

LOCAL FIREARMS REGULATIONS - IN MICHIGAN:

NEW GUN LAWS GO INTO EFFECT IN MICHIGAN ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH, 2024:

PISTOL PURCHASE:

IF YOU ARE PURCHASING A PISTOL AND DO NOT HAVE A CONCEALED PISTOL LICENSE (CPL), YOU MUST FIRST GO TO A LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OBTAIN A LICENSE TO PURCHASE (RI-010A) WHICH WILL BE A FORM IN TRIPLICATE. YOU WILL BRING THAT COMPLETED FORM TO OUR STORE. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SEPARATE OR CUT THE TRIPLICATE FORM. WE MUST FILL THAT OUT FOR YOU. IF THE FORM IS ALTERED OR SEPARATED, IT IS NO LONGER VALID AND YOU WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE LEO AND GET A NEW ONE. WE WILL CONDUCT A BACKGROUND (NICS) CHECK. IF YOU HAVE A CPL, THERE ARE NO CHANGES IN THE WAY YOU PURCHASE A PISTOL FROM AN FFL/GUN SHOP.

RED FLAG LAWS (DON’T GET US STARTED ON THIS ONE, WE ALREADY KNOW…):

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? IT WILL ALLOW FAMILY MEMBERS, POLICE, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, ROOMMATES, AND FORMER DATING PARTNERS TO PETITION A JUDGE TO REMOVE FIREARMS FROM THOSE THEY BELIEVE POSE AN IMMINENT THREAT TO THEMSELVES OR OTHERS. THE JUDGE WOULD HAVE 24 HOURS TO DECIDE ON A PROTECTION ORDER AFTER A REQUEST IS FILED.

SCENARIO: YOU AND A FRIEND GET INTO AN ARGUMENT. IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT, YOU THROW A COFFEE CUP AGAINST THE WALL IN ANGER. FRIEND CONTACTS THE POLICE AND STATES THEY BELIEVE YOU TO BE AN IMMINENT THREAT. YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVE OTHERWISE, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, A JUDGE WILL ORDER YOUR FIREARMS REMOVED FROM YOUR IMMEDIATE ACCESS.

WHERE WE COME IN: YOUR FIREARMS CAN BE SAFELY STORED WITH US FOR SAFE KEEPING UNTIL YOU’VE CLEARED YOUR GOOD NAME! SHOULD THIS MISFORTUNE ARISE, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND FIREARM(S) STORAGE SOLUTIONS.

SAFE STORAGE:

THE STATE OF MICHIGAN IS NOW MANDATING A “SAFE STORAGE LAW”, WHICH IS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS AS FEDERAL LAW. THIS STATE LAW ALSO REQUIRES THE OWNER KEEP GUNS LOCKED UP AND AWAY FROM THOSE THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE ACCESS TO THEM, ESPECIALLY MINOR CHILDREN. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT THE STATE LEVEL WILL NOT BE GOING DOOR TO DOOR TO MAKE SURE YOUR GUNS ARE SAFE AND SECURE. HOWEVER, SHOULD A MINOR CHILD OR SOMEONE THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR FIREARM GO OUT AND INJURE, MAIM, OR KILL SOMEONE, THIS WILL NOW ALLOW AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE. THINK “JENNIFER CRUMBLEY”, WHICH HER RECENT JURY VERDICT HAS NOW SET PRECEDENCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE NEW GUN LAWS IN MICHIGAN, PLEASE CONTACT US.

You must be 18 years old to purchase a long gun and/or rifle ammunition and be 21 years old to purchase a pistol and/or ammunition for a pistol. A valid Drivers License will be required for all ammunition purchases. You must be a resident in the state of Michigan with valid Michigan identification to purchase a firearm and fill out ATF Form 4473 for an FBI/NICS check, as well as successfully pass a background check to take legal possession of a firearm. Unless of course, you live outside the state of Michigan and are purchasing a firearm from us and transferring to your receiving FFL. For information on our PRIVACY POLICY, please click HERE.

If a DELAY notification is received, the minimum wait time with no further response from ATF under the Brady Act is 3 business days (10 business days for anyone between the ages of 18 and 21), before we could “potentially” release the firearm(s) to you. We reserve the right to NOT release a firearm to you for ANY reason we deem necessary, and are not required to transfer a firearm to you even if passing a background check successfully.

As of March 3rd, 2020, a valid Concealed Pistol License (CPL) is no longer a NICS alternative. Please click HERE for more information.

For additional firearms related information in the state of Michigan including CPL requirements, applications and instructions, Firearms laws of Michigan, Reciprocity, etc., please click HERE. If you are needing a reciprocity map for travel outside the state of Michigan, click HERE.

LOCAL FIREARMS REGULATIONS – ALL OTHER STATES:

Please verify with a local FFL Dealer that the firearm you are looking at is legal to own in your area. FIREARMS MAY ONLY BE SHIPPED TO A LICENSED DEALER (FFL HOLDER). A copy of a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (conceal carry or purchase permit) or copy of a Driver’s License is REQUIRED for all ammunition purchases, even if being shipped to the few states that require an FFL. This shall include all parties involved in the transaction, should there be different identification information for a billing and shipping address. We do not retain your information. It is only used to verify that you are of legal age for ammunition purchases going across state lines and is required per state and federal law. You must be 18 or older to purchase rifle or shotgun ammunition and 21 or older to purchase handgun ammunition. All ammunition will be shipped ground with adult signature required. Check your local laws for any other regulations. Always make sure to use the correct ammunition for your specific firearms. ALL AMMUNITION SALES WILL COMPLY WITH LOCAL AND STATE LAWS AND WILL NOT BE SHIPPED TO ANY RESTRICTED AREAS.

We do not substitute/change magazines (unless otherwise stated), make any alteration to firearms (unless otherwise stated), or ship to areas where the item is prohibited. Do not purchase high-capacity magazines if they are not legal to own in your area. Any returns of high-capacity magazines are subject to a 20% return fee and buyer will be responsible for return shipping cost. Insurance is applicable if the magazine is part of a firearm. Insurance would apply to any firearm. Unless you have a lawful and valid reason to buy ammunition and/or firearms and be able to prove this PRIOR to your purchase, we will not ship to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, or the District of Columbia. We will accept FFL Dealer Transfers from these states. Additional fees may apply for FFL Transfers to the states referenced above, due to additional paperwork that is required. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THE LAWS OF YOUR STATE! THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS!

GENERAL FIREARM SALES AND THE FFL PROCESS:

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: WE DO NOT CONDUCT TRANSFERS FOR ARMS UNLIMITED, INC., OR ATLANTIC FIREARMS. WE NO LONGER ACCEPT TRANSFERS FROM PRIVATE PARTIES. ALL TRANSFERS SHIPPED TO US MUST BE SENT BY AN FFL. ANY FIREARM RECEIVED FROM A SENDING FFL THAT HAS NO CUSTOMER INFORMATION INCLUDED WITH THE FIREARM, THE CUSTOMER WILL INCUR AN ADDITIONAL $25.00 TO OUR NORMAL TRANSFER FEE. ADDITIONALLY, ANY FFL TRANSFER WE RECEIVE THAT INCURS ADDITIONAL TIME TO PROCESS DUE TO PACKING IN PEANUTS, MISSING PAPERWORK, ETC., WILL BE CHARGED ACCORDINGLY. UNFORTUNATELY, YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE THIS UP WITH YOUR SELLER. FINALLY, PLEASE DO NOT SHOW UP LATER THAN A HALF AN HOUR BEFORE WE CLOSE FOR YOUR FIREARM(S) TRANSFER.

All firearms, magazines, receivers, and restricted law enforcement items are sold and shipped in accordance with all existing federal, state, local laws, and regulations. Many of the firearms, magazines, and parts for sale on this website may be restricted or prohibited in your area. Please check your local and state regulations before ordering. You must be 18 years or older to purchase a long gun and 21 years or older to purchase a handgun per ATF rules, but state and local laws may differ, and you will need to check your local laws before purchasing a firearm.

All new firearms are shipped in the original manufacturer’s box, with magazine(s), accessories, and applicable warranty. Firearms requiring warranty work must be returned to the factory within 1 year of purchase for repair. Accessories and special-order items not normally sold by our store will not be covered under warranty even if these products are part of an integrated firearms package unless we have guaranteed the entire package in writing. Please contact the original manufacturer for warranty information on all accessories and special-order items. For more information on our RETURN POLICY, please click HERE.  ANY LAWSUIT NAMING DORCHESTER GUN SHOP OR ANY OF ITS ENTITIES AS A DEFENDANT, WHEREBY DEFENDANT PREVAILS IN SAID LAWSUIT, PLAINTIFF WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL OF DEFENDANT’S LEGAL EXPENSES, INCLUDING ACTUAL ATTORNEY FEES.

IF YOU PURCHASED A FIREARM FROM US AND/OR ARE CONDUCTING A FIREARM TRANSFER WITH US: We typically charge $35 – $50 for the transfer of any pistol or rifle, including NICS. NFA transfer information is located in the next bolded heading below titled: “NFA TRANSFER PROCESS”.

IF YOU PURCHASED A FIREARM FROM US ON GUNBROKER OR FROM OUR WEBSITE, AND WE ARE NOT CONDUCTING YOUR TRANSFER: If you have selected an FFL that has their FFL information on file with GunBroker, their information will be sent to us electronically at the conclusion of the listing. There is nothing further you need to do. If you have NOT selected a default FFL, and/or one that has their FFL information on file with GunBroker, please have your receiving FFL contact us by phone or email after your gun purchase so that we may verify their FFL information. If you purchased your gun from our website, please have your receiving FFL contact us by email or fax to provide their FFL information.

IF YOU PURCHASED A FIREARM FROM A SELLER ON GUNBROKER OR OTHER ONLINE/OFFLINE SELLER: If you are using us for the transfer, our FFL information is on file with GunBroker so there is nothing further you need to do. If you are using another online seller or FFL, either the seller will reach out to us and request our FFL information, or you can contact us with the seller’s information and we’ll reach out to them directly, whether by email, fax, or phone. Once we receive your item, please allow 1 business day for us to log in the firearm and reach out to you via phone and/or email to  advise you that it’s ready for pickup. We process many transfers daily and we won’t forget about you! PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU PURCHASE A GUN ELSEWHERE THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, OUR TRANSFER FEE IS $50.00. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS! ADDITIONALLY, ALL TRANSFERS FROM PALMETTO STATE ARMORY ARE $50.00.

IF YOU PURCHASED YOUR GUN FROM A PRIVATE SELLER: A private seller will need to utilize the services of an FFL to send a firearm. We will no longer accept a firearm transfer from a private party. If a firearm is received from a private individual and not an FFL, the item will be surrendered to ATF immediately. THIS IS OUR POLICY AND THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS!

 

Once we receive your item, please allow 1 business day for us to log in the firearm and reach out to you via email and/or phone advising you that it’s ready for pickup. We process many transfers daily and we won’t forget about you!

MORE ON THE FFL PROCESS: DON’T LIE FOR THE OTHER GUY – BUY A GUN FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN’T, BUY 10 YEARS IN JAIL! Straw purchases are a big NO NO!

ADDITIONALLY:

1. We will not sell you a gun if we learn it’s for someone else. We will happily sell you a gift certificate that can be utilized by the other person to purchase the firearm.

2. If you’re buying a gun as a gift for someone else who is of legal age, we will be conducting a NICS check for that individual, not you.

3. DO NOT COME INTO OUR SHOP SMELLING LIKE MARIJUANA. IT IS STILL ILLEGAL AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. CELL PHONE USAGE IN OUR STORE IS ALSO NOT ALLOWED UNLESS WE GIVE YOU EXPRESS PERMISSION. IF YOU SMELL LIKE MARIJUANA OR USE YOUR CELL PHONE AT ANY TIME, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK.

We always reserve the right to DENY any firearm(s) transfer (in state or out of state) if we get a “funny feeling”. Additionally, if we receive a DELAY notification from NICS and this notification has NOT changed to PROCEED after 3 business days, we also reserve the right to NOT transfer the firearm to you at the conclusion of this 3-day grace period. In fact, we reserve the right to NOT release a firearm to you for ANY reason we deem necessary, and are not required to transfer a firearm to you even if passing a background check successfully. If we receive a DENY response from NICS, we will attempt to return the firearm to the sending FFL Dealer. Remember, you are subject to the seller’s return policy if they have one in place. Should the sending FFL Dealer or private party refuse to accept the firearm as a return, we will only pay you Fair Market Value (FMV) less 20% and transfer fee. FFL Dealer transfer fees are NOT refundable under any circumstance. This policy is NOT negotiable.

Gun Consignments

NFA TRANSFER PROCESS:

 

We will transfer your item to your preferred local FFL/SOT dealer in your state of residence. After your order is placed, your selected dealer must provide us their FFL/SOT information via email or fax. Unless otherwise stated, we conduct Form 3 transfers within 24 hours of receiving your payment and dealer information. Once approved for the transfer (ATF approves the transfer, not us) to your local dealer, you may contact them to begin the Form 4 transfer to yourself, trust, or corporation once they have received your NFA item. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND CREATING A TRUST AND WE CAN DO THAT FOR YOU AT A COST OF $60.00. Your local dealer will collect the $200 ATF Ransom per NFA item, your trust/corporation documents and responsible person information for trust/legal entity transfers or, your full legal name for individual transfers. Your dealer will also collect a transfer fee for himself for handling your Form 4 paperwork and storing your items. If you do not have a dealer in mind, you may contact us and we can recommend or assist in the location of one in your area.

IF YOU ARE CONDUCTING AN NFA TRANSFER WITH US: We charge $229.99 for any initial NFA transfer (this means a new customer conducting their very first transfer with us), including NFA Trust ($169.99 with no Trust), Fingerprints and Passport photo. This also includes the filing through eForms from start to finish. Any subsequent NFA transfer and submission after that is only $129.99 as we already have your fingerprints and passport photo on file, as well as your trust if you purchased one from us or elsewhere. Our standard NFA transfer fee is $75. This covers the transfer only. Transfer fees do NOT APPLY if you purchase a suppressor or any NFA item from us.

If you are utilizing our SilencerShop Kiosk and purchasing your silencer through SilencerShop, our protocol is to charge $40 for use of our Kiosk. Once the NFA item arrives at our shop, the $40 charge is refunded by a company check within 10 days of certification and successful submission of your Form 4. If you are using the SilencerShop Kiosk only for the processing of your eForms (i.e., they have your fingerprints and passport photo on file), but you purchased your suppressor elsewhere and had it transferred to us, we will charge you $75 for the transfer and $40 to use the Kiosk. At this cost, we are completely hands off. This means that we do the pre-certification that SilencerShop will prepare for you, along with the eForms submission that we do with you and that’s it. If you decide to do a trust, one can be completed in a very short amount of time and we will charge you $60 for that. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING A TRUST, WHICH YOU CAN USE FOR ALL OF YOUR TITLE I FIREARMS AS WELL!

You may have noticed that we have mentioned creating a Trust a couple of times? We would not recommend doing something that we wouldn’t do ourselves.

A FEW BENEFITS OF HAVING A GUN TRUST:

1. Eliminates the barrier to ownership and provides privacy.
2. Facilitates the transfer and sharing of weapons during lifetime.
3. Facilitates the transfer of weapons upon death.
4. Facilitates the transfer of weapons upon incapacity.
5. Avoids probate which keeps your information private.
6. Potentially avoids future restrictions on gun transfers.
7. VERY IMPORTANT – NFA Compliance!

A Gun Trust allows multiple person ownership where you can add new owners at any time. You also enjoy property protection with the ability to pass trust assets to future generations (Not just your children, but their children, and their children). With a NFA Gun Trust, NFA firearms are registered to the NFA Gun Trust, which also means that multiple citizens are allowed to use and possess the NFA firearms through the life of the NFA Gun Trust. You are able to pass on the NFA items onto beneficiaries in the event that you are incapacitated, upon death, or unable to manage the NFA Gun Trust. THIS CAN BE DONE USING ATF FORM 5.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF A GUN TRUST?

Some have said that gun trusts are just too complex and difficult to set up. Well, we have simplified the process and made it super easy to set up, administer, and update whenever needed! We have many happy customers doing this after their gun trust has already been created. EASY PEASY!

All too often, we have had customers come in and not heed our advice, then come back later and decide to do a trust and say, “I should have listened to you!” Just remember that if you change your mind later, you will have to pay another $200 ATF Ransom to move each of your NFA items from your individual name into your trust. If you want to do this, we will have to submit paper forms to ATF as it cannot be done electronically via eForms. You’ve assumed correctly that we will also charge a fee to assist with doing this, if you are unwilling or not knowledgeable in handling it yourself. So our advice again is to DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AND NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN!

Due to exorbitant wait times with SilencerShop and their FULLAUTO™ process over the last couple of years, the certification/submission process has been a daunting one. We have had to contact SilencerShop Technical Support with every customer due to certification/submission failures. The issue is that SilencerShop is trying to ram way too much information at once on the ATF eForms Website, eventually crashing the certification process on our end, requiring the connection to be reset. When we call SilencerShop to have the attempted failed submission reset, on average this has taken up to an hour to complete and in some cases, up to 2 hours when the process should have been completed in a matter of minutes! This takes valuable time away from our in-store customers and as they say, time is money! Therefore, if we have to get on the phone with their Technical Support Team to reset your certification, we will charge an additional fee, up to $75 per hour. If the situation is resolved in 30 minutes, we charge an additional $37.50, so our fee is pro-rated. We apologize in advance, but this is of no fault of ours and why we are doing everything in house now, including LIVE SCAN Fingerprints. Our NFA submission process from start to finish takes approximately 30-45 minutes. You come to our shop only ONCE. This is an eFiled submission including your fingerprints to ATF and  YOU’RE DONE!

IF WE HAVE TO SEND YOUR NFA ITEM BACK TO YOUR SELLER DUE TO ANY DISPUTE YOU HAVE WITH OUR FEES AND/OR PROCESS, WE WILL CHARGE YOU THE TRANSFER FEE OF $75.00 REGARDLESS! You will be responsible for the fees associated with the ride back, whether we generate a shipping label, or a pre-paid shipping label is sent by your seller. You will need to obtain pre-approval from your seller for the return as we will not do that for you.

PLEASE BE SURE YOU CAN LEGALLY OWN NFA ITEMS IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AND FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PURCHASING PROCESS PRIOR TO YOUR COMMITMENT TO BUY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, IT’S BEST TO ASK FIRST PRIOR TO DIVING INTO THIS ENDEAVOR!

For our SHIPPING POLICY, click HERE!

For our RETURN POLICY, click HERE!

For our PRIVACY POLICY, click HERE!