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Buying a gun in Duluth & the Arrowhead

We are an online store. You order here, and the firearm goes to a licensed dealer at the head of the lake, or wherever in the northeast is handiest for you.

Duluth is the last big town before a very large woods. Drive forty minutes in most directions and you are on public forest with deer, bear, grouse and a lot of water. People here buy guns to use them, and the counter selection in a town this size cannot cover every model and caliber. That is the gap an online catalog fills: pick exactly what you want, and let a local dealer handle the transfer.

1. Pick your dealer
Any FFL in Duluth, Hermantown, Proctor, Cloquet, Two Harbors or up on the Range that accepts shipped transfers. Ask the fee.
2. Order here
Name that dealer at checkout. We confirm their license before the gun ships.
3. Paperwork
Form 4473 at the counter and a NICS check. Bring a permit to purchase or permit to carry if it is a handgun or AR-type rifle.
4. Take it home
No state waiting period applies to ordinary rifles and shotguns, or to permit holders.

What to bring to the dealer

  • Minnesota driver's license or state ID with your current address.
  • Permit to purchase or permit to carry for a handgun or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon (Minn. Stat. 624.7131). Not needed for ordinary rifles and shotguns.
  • The transfer fee, paid to the shop. Commonly $20 to $50 up here. Call ahead.
  • Your order number.

The Twin Ports and the state line

Duluth and Superior work as one town for most things, but not for handguns. Federal law requires a handgun to be transferred by a dealer in the buyer's state of residence. If you live on the Minnesota side, name a Minnesota dealer for any pistol or revolver. Long guns are more flexible: a dealer in either state can transfer a rifle or shotgun to a resident of the other, provided the sale is legal in both. Minnesota's permit rule for AR-type rifles still applies to Minnesota residents.

Local rules

There are none of consequence. Minn. Stat. 471.633 reserves firearm regulation to the state, so Duluth, Hermantown and the Range cities follow the same law as everyone else. Cities do regulate discharge, and Duluth runs its own managed archery deer hunt inside city limits, which is a bow program and not a firearms season. Private transfers of pistols and AR-type rifles have required the buyer's permit and a record of transfer, or a dealer, since August 2023 (Minn. Stat. 624.7134).

General information, not legal advice. The statutes are collected on our Minnesota gun laws page. A Minnesota attorney can answer questions about your own situation.

Deer in the big woods

The permit areas around Duluth and up the North Shore are in the 100 series, with the longest firearms season in the state, opening the Saturday nearest November 6. Deer numbers in the far northeast rise and fall with winter severity and wolves, and the DNR adjusts antlerless permits by area every year, so read the regulations for your permit area before you buy a license. The hunting itself is close: cutovers, cedar edges, beaver meadows. A rifle that carries light and points fast matters more than one that groups well at 300 yards. See the deer rifle guide for calibers.

Grouse roads

From mid-September the forest roads and hunter walking trails of St. Louis, Lake and Carlton counties are some of the best ruffed grouse hunting in the country, with woodcock flights passing through in October. A light 20 gauge or 28 gauge with open chokes, a pocket of 7½ shot and a pair of good boots is the whole kit. Later on, the harbor and the St. Louis River estuary draw divers, and a 12 gauge that handles 3-inch steel earns its keep.

What people buy up here

.30-30 lever actionsbrush country.308 bolt riflesdeer & bear20 gauge shotgunsgrouse & woodcock.22 riflessnowshoe hare, plinking12 gauge pumpsducks to deerRiflescopeslow power

Deer rifles

Caliber guide →

Lever actions

Search all →

Grouse & field shotguns

All shotguns →

Common questions

Can I buy a gun online and pick it up in Duluth?

Yes. Order here, name a licensed dealer in Duluth or anywhere in St. Louis, Carlton or Lake County, and we ship the firearm to them. You finish Form 4473 and the background check at their counter.

I live in Duluth. Can I use a dealer across the bridge in Superior?

For a rifle or shotgun, federal law allows a dealer in another state to transfer it to you if the sale is legal in both states. A handgun must be transferred by a dealer in your state of residence, so a Duluth resident needs a Minnesota dealer for a pistol or revolver, and a Superior resident needs a Wisconsin one.

Where do I get a permit to purchase in Duluth?

City residents apply at the Duluth Police Department. If you live in a township or a town without its own police department, apply to the St. Louis County Sheriff. It is free, and the agency has up to 30 days to act under Minn. Stat. 624.7131.

Where do I apply for a permit to carry?

At the sheriff of your county of residence: St. Louis County for Duluth and the Range, Carlton County for Cloquet, Lake County for Two Harbors. You need a training certificate less than a year old.

Do I need a permit to buy a deer rifle?

Not for a bolt action, lever action, pump or single shot. The permit to purchase applies to handguns and to semiautomatic military-style assault weapons as defined in Minn. Stat. 624.712. An AR-pattern rifle will usually need it.

What rifle suits the country around Duluth?

Thick aspen, spruce and alder means short shots. A .30-30 or .308 with a low-power scope or a good set of irons covers deer, and the same rifle is enough for black bear over bait. If you also hunt field edges toward Carlton or Pine County, a .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun gives you more reach.

Was Duluth ever in the shotgun zone?

No. Northeastern Minnesota has always been rifle country. The repeal of the statewide shotgun zone from 2026 matters if you also hunt in the south or west of the state, where a county may still choose to keep the restriction.

Where can I shoot or hunt near Duluth?

There are gun clubs with rifle, pistol and trap ranges within a half hour of town. For hunting, St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties hold huge amounts of county tax-forfeit, state forest and Superior National Forest land open to the public. Target shooting rules differ by land manager, so check before you set up a backstop.

More Minnesota guides