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What NFA Items Can I Buy in Illinois?

The National Firearms Act was pressed into legislation by gun control fanatics who sought to regulate the kinds of guns that American citizens could own. Unfortunately, Illinois follows most of these regulations to the letter. There are still a few NFA restricted firearms you can own within this state, however:

• Short-barreled rifles. These rifles are some of the few you can purchase – a rifle qualifies if it has a barrel of fewer than 16 inches. However, regular private citizens cannot purchase these firearms. You have to have a Curios or Relic license, meaning that you need to have a license to own a short-barreled license for collection-only or historical reenactment or military reenactment purposes. In other words, you won’t be able to use these for hunting or target practice. This does mean that its use in a self-defense situation or for anything other than a reenactment is slim to none. You’ll also have to pay another $200 fee in addition to the main asking price.
• Destructive devices. A destructive device is something like a grenade, a bomb, or a landmine, in addition to larger explosive weapons like mortar launchers or rocket launchers. You can own these so long as you get prior approval and you have a tax stamp from the ATF. However, getting approval to own these weapons is usually contingent on being a former or current military or state police member. It’s unlikely most private citizens can get the required approval to own one of these devices. If you do get approval, you’ll need to pay another $200.
• Any Other Weapons (AOWs). An AOW is any kind of weapon that doesn’t fit into the other NFA restricted weapon categories. They also qualify as concealable weapons or devices that might fire a projectile or cause an explosion. They incur an additional $5 fee if you purchase one from a licensed Class III dealer. However, you have to have prior approval for one of these just like you do for a destructive device.

Illinois restricts automatic firearms, short-barreled shotguns and suppressors or silencers. Note that shotguns with barrels longer than 18 inches are not restricted by the NFA. Furthermore, weapon platforms like an AR 15 are not necessarily regulated as a machine gunner automatic firearm – if it’s built as a semiautomatic rifle, it may still be legal within Illinois.

Getting an Illinois Gun Trust

An Illinois gun trust is a type of legal instrument that provides you with a number of benefits. For starters, it makes it much easier to buy multiple NFA regulated firearms or devices. For another, it allows those weapons to potentially be passed on to other members of your estate – say, your son or daughter who you take with you on hunting expeditions.

A gun trust can also, depending on whether the other members of your estate are licensed to carry NFA restricted firearms, allow them to purchase their own firearms relatively easily. In this way, it can be a useful family-focused document. You can equip multiple hunters within your family without everyone having to go through individual checks and licensing restrictions every time.

The downside is that Illinois’ limitations on NFA regulated firearms make this a lot less attractive and less pertinent compared to more gun-control-free states like Texas and Vermont. Still, getting an Illinois gun trust is pretty simple if you find a worthwhile gun law attorney. These attorneys are usually well-versed in gun trust creation and may offer it as a staple service for a small fee.

They might even let you fill out the necessary information for a gun trust online, then let you download the document within a few minutes. Ultimately, there are plenty of gun law attorneys to check out – consider asking around to see if anyone has their own gun trust or looking up reviews online.

Class 3 Firearms for Sale in Illinois

As with gun trusts, it’s a little trickier to find Class III dealers in Illinois compared to other states, largely because of the heavy gun-control legislation. However, there are a few brick-and-mortar and online Class III retailers that can allow you to purchase some NFA restricted firearms like short-barreled rifles and destructive devices. There are pluses and minuses to both types of retailers.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are nice because you can interact with the store owners and ask them questions about their wares. Furthermore, you’ll be able to physically check out and possibly hold the weapon before you actually buy it. This could give you more information about whether you want to go through with the purchase or if you want to move on.

Additionally, brick-and-mortar Class III dealers often allow you to place custom orders. If you really know your firearms, you can have them order you a custom piece that uses multiple parts from different manufacturers or which otherwise works exactly as you like. These types of orders can usually only be filled out in person so that the gun store gets all your details down perfectly.

Online retailers are a little less reliable in some respects. You don’t get to check out the weapon before it’s shipped to your door. But you do get to order NFA firearms from the comfort of your own home. This could be useful if you aren’t near any of the few Class III dealers located within Illinois, so online stores might be a better bet unless you want to take a multi-hour drive in both directions.

Buying from an Illinois Class 3 Dealer

There are only a handful of Class III dealers from which you can buy NFA restricted firearms and devices in Illinois. However, just because there are a few doesn’t mean you should default to the one that’s closest to your home.

Instead, it’s a much better choice to do some thorough research regarding a potential Class III dealer before buying anything from them. For instance, check out their online reviews and see what other customers have to say about their service. You might also pay attention to their FFL or restocking fees – some vendors charge an arm and a leg just because they’re out of a particular part. Others are a lot more budget-friendly.

Also pay attention to how fast they are when it comes to filing your application to the ATF. Vendors that go faster on this point are usually more worth your time and money since it’ll already take the ATF about a year to process your application.

How to Get a Class 3 License in Illinois?

But what if you don’t want to buy weapons? What if, instead, you want to add your own store to the small handful of licensed Class III dealers in Illinois? Given the fact that there aren’t that many competitors, you could potentially make tons of cash selling legal NFA firearms to enthusiasts like yourself.

But you’ll need an Illinois Class III or FFL license in order to get your shop up and running. This license will allow you to:

• Buy both NFA and non-NFA firearms at wholesale prices, meaning you buy them in groups or in bulk instead of for retail prices. You can use these for your business or buy them for your collection to save some money
• Earn full or part-time income by selling NFA devices and firearms, particularly since there aren’t many stores in the state right now
• Protect your current gun collection, as this license will prevent your weapons from being confiscated or banned as easily
• Construct your own NFA devices and weapons
• Operate a top-tier and legitimate Illinois Class III dealer business right from your own home or storefront

FFL123 is the perfect resource if you want to get your Illinois Class III license fast! We’ve already helped thousands of other Americans get their own FFL licenses and begin Class III weapon businesses right from their homes. We offer not only comprehensive guides to help you acquire your licensure, but we also guarantee that you’ll be able to get your FFL using our resources or we’ll give you a 150% refund.

Click right here to get started. We have a selection of specialized guides that can help you learn everything you need to know about the Illinois FFL and SOT you need to start selling NFA firearms!