How Redland Rifle Co handles federally regulated sales and transfers — what the law requires of us, what it requires of you, and where we cannot make exceptions.

Last updated: 7 August 2026

We are a licensed dealer.

Redland Rifle Co holds a Federal Firearms License and operates from 4755 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242. Every firearm we sell or receive passes through our bound book and is subject to federal record-keeping.

We send a signed copy of our licence directly to any dealer who needs it for a shipment. If you or your dealer need it, email transfers@redlandrifle.com and we will send it the same business day.

A firearm never ships to your door.

This is the part people are most often surprised by, so it is worth stating plainly. When you buy a firearm — from us or from anyone else — it is shipped to a licensed dealer, not to your home. You complete the paperwork and the background check in person with that dealer, and you take possession there.

Non-firearm items such as optics, cleaning gear and most accessories ship normally. See Shipping & Returns.

Two directions, two different rules.

People mix these up constantly, so it is worth separating them.

  • Buying from us and shipping out. We ship firearms nationwide to any licensed dealer, minus the states listed in Shipping & Returns. You take possession at that dealer.
  • Sending a firearm to us for transfer. This is our $50 transfer service, and it is Alabama residents only — you are collecting in person at our counter in Birmingham, so you need to be able to get here.

So we sell to the whole country, and we receive transfers for our neighbours.

Transfers.

We accept incoming transfers at a flat $50 per firearm, with no hidden costs. The full walkthrough lives on our FFL Transfers page; the essentials:

  • Have the firearm shipped to Redland Rifle Co. We log it into our bound book and contact you, usually within 3–5 business days of arrival.
  • You complete ATF Form 4473 in person and pass a NICS background check.
  • Alabama residents only. We cannot transfer to out-of-state buyers.
  • Pick up within 30 days. See the abandoned-firearm section below.
  • NFA items carry additional fees and considerably longer processing times.

What to bring.

  • Valid government-issued photo ID — an Alabama driver licence or state ID.
  • Your concealed carry permit if you have one. Optional, but it speeds things up.
  • Your original purchase receipt or order confirmation email.
  • Payment for the $50 transfer fee — cash, card, or check.

Eligibility and the background check.

Every firearm transfer requires a federal background check through NICS. Federal law sets the minimum ages: 18 for rifles and shotguns from a licensed dealer, 21 for handguns. Other conditions — including certain criminal convictions, restraining orders, and adjudications — make a person a prohibited purchaser under federal law.

We do not decide who passes. NICS does. If your check is denied or delayed, we follow the federal process and will explain your appeal options, but we cannot override the result.

When we will stop a sale.

We will refuse or cancel any transaction where we cannot lawfully proceed, or where we have a good-faith concern. That includes:

  • A denied background check.
  • Any indication of a straw purchase — buying on behalf of someone else. This is a federal felony for the buyer and for us, and Form 4473 asks the question directly. Answering it falsely is a crime.
  • Invalid, expired, or mismatched identification.
  • Any circumstance where we believe in good faith that completing the sale would be unlawful or unsafe.

This discretion is not negotiable and is not a judgement of you personally. It is the condition of holding a licence. Where a sale is refused, we refund in line with Shipping & Returns. If a background check is denied, the transfer fee is not refunded — the firearm has already been received, logged into our bound book and stored, and that work is done either way. We will explain your options for the firearm itself.

Firearms not picked up.

Transfers must be collected within 30 days of our notifying you that the firearm has arrived. A firearm sitting in our safe is still our regulatory responsibility, which is why the window exists.

If we cannot reach you and 30 days pass, we will keep trying to contact you before doing anything else. After that we may return the firearm to the sender at your cost, or transfer it into our own inventory, in each case only as Alabama and federal law allow. We would much rather just hand it to you — if you need longer, call us and we will work something out.

NFA items.

Suppressors, short-barrelled rifles and shotguns, and other NFA-regulated items follow a separate federal process with its own registration, tax stamp, and wait. Timelines are set by the ATF, not by us, and they are long.

We handle NFA transfers in-house. Our fee is $150 per NFA item in addition to the federal tax stamp, which is paid to the ATF, not to us. Approval times are set by the ATF and are routinely several months. If you are buying through a trust, bring the trust paperwork with you and we will walk through it.

Records and privacy.

Federal law requires us to record every firearm we acquire and dispose of, and to retain your completed Form 4473. These records are open to ATF inspection and must be produced to law enforcement in the circumstances the law specifies.

We cannot delete a completed 4473 or a bound-book entry at your request, and we would not claim to. What we can control, we protect — see our Privacy Policy.

Safe ownership.

Every firearm we sell comes with a conversation about storage and access, not a lecture. We are a SAFER Together partner and we would rather spend ten minutes on your home setup than sell you something and wave you off. See Responsible Ownership.

Questions.

If you are unsure whether something can be transferred, ask before you buy. We would far rather answer a question early than turn you away at the counter.

Redland Rifle Co, 4755 US-280, Birmingham, AL 35242
(205) 797-1911 · transfers@redlandrifle.com
Tue–Fri 9:00am–6:00pm · Sat 9:00am–5:00pm · Sun & Mon closed

This page explains our own policy. It is not legal advice, and firearm law changes. If you need to know whether something is lawful for you specifically, speak to an attorney.