Gun shop Hickory, North Carolina

How buying a gun in Hickory 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 North Carolina law allows.

North Carolina repealed its pistol purchase permit in March 2023, so there is no state permit and no waiting period to buy a handgun or a long gun. At a licensed dealer you show photo ID, complete ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs a federal NICS background check; a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit can stand in for that check. Federal law sets the dealer minimum at 18 for rifles and shotguns and 21 for handguns. Private sales between residents need no state permit, and the state keeps no firearm registry.

Dealers in these communities all work for Hickory-area buyers:

• Newton
• Conover
• Granite Falls
• Maiden
• Claremont
• Long View
• Taylorsville
• Catawba

Carrying a gun in Catawba County

Open carry of a lawfully owned handgun is allowed in North Carolina without a permit. Concealed carry still needs a concealed handgun permit, and the Catawba County Sheriff issues it, not a state agency. You must be 21, have lived in the county at least 30 days, pass a background and mental health check and finish an approved course with live fire and state law instruction. The permit runs five years. Schools, courthouses, law enforcement buildings, state and federal offices and posted private property stay off-limits, and cities may bar firearms from their own buildings and parks.

Hunting near Hickory

The Wildlife Resources Commission splits the state into deer zones. For 2026-27, archery opens statewide on September 12, 2026, and gun season runs October 17, 2026 to January 1, 2027 in the Northeastern and Southeastern zones, November 14 to January 1 in the Central zone and the Northwestern chronic wasting disease area, November 21 to January 1 in the Northwestern zone and November 28 to January 1 in the Western zone. Bows, crossbows, blackpowder guns, shotguns, rifles and handguns are all legal in gun season, hunter orange is required, and the season limit is six deer, two of them antlered. Check the Catawba County listing before you hunt.

Catawba County is in the Northwestern zone, with gun season November 21, 2026 to January 1, 2027. The river bottoms below Lake Hickory and the slopes toward the South Mountains are the usual local deer ground.

Bakers Mountain Park holds the highest ground in the county, and Pisgah National Forest and South Mountains State Park are less than an hour northwest.

Public shooting ranges near Hickory

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission runs or partners on ten public shooting ranges, from Odom on the Roanoke River to the Cold Mountain range in Haywood County. Each issues a range pass at the gate after a short safety orientation; admission is free at several and charged at others, and hours differ, so check the range before you drive.