How buying a gun in Columbus 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 Georgia law allows.
A stripped or complete lower receiver is the serialized part of an AR-15 and is a firearm under federal law, so it follows the rules below exactly as a complete rifle does; lower parts kits, triggers, stocks and grips ship to your door. Georgia has no purchase permit, no registration and no waiting period. Federal age limits apply: 21 for a handgun from a dealer, 18 for a rifle or shotgun. A Georgia Weapons Carry License does not replace the check, so plan on a short wait at the counter. The firearm ships to the Georgia dealer you name at checkout, who charges their own transfer fee. The dealer runs the federal background check when you complete ATF Form 4473 at pickup.
Dealers in these communities all work for Columbus-area buyers:
- Phenix City
- Fort Moore
- Midland
- Cataula
- Hamilton
- Cusseta
- Smiths Station
- LaGrange
Carrying a gun in Muscogee County
Georgia adopted permitless carry in April 2022: any lawful weapons carrier, generally an adult 21 and over who could qualify for a licence, may carry a handgun openly or concealed. Courthouses, jails, polling places, government buildings with security and posted private property remain off limits. The Weapons Carry License is still issued by the probate court in Muscogee County and is worth holding for reciprocity.
Hunting near Columbus
Georgia's firearms deer season runs from mid-October to mid-January statewide, with archery opening in September and a short primitive-weapons window before the guns. Feral hogs can be hunted year-round on private land; read the current Georgia Hunting Regulations for Muscogee County either-sex days. The statewide limit is two antlered and ten antlerless deer, and the Northern and Southern Zones differ only in a few dates and either-sex days. Centerfire rifles .22 calibre and larger, shotguns with slugs or buckshot, muzzleloaders and handguns are legal.
Muscogee County is Chattahoochee fall-line country beside Fort Moore; the river bottoms and the plantation pines to the south hold deer and hogs year-round on private land.
Infantry school graduates make this one of the most AR-literate towns in the South, and the hog leases across the river in Alabama are year-round.
Public shooting ranges near Columbus
These ranges are run by or officially listed by a state wildlife agency, a state forest or a national forest. Most ask for a hunting licence, a range permit or a small day fee, and hours change with the season, so check the agency page before you drive out to zero a new build.
Source: State wildlife agency, state forest and U.S. Forest Service public range listings, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.