How buying a gun in Los Lunas 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 New Mexico law allows.
New Mexico has no permit to purchase and no gun registration. Every sale, including most private sales, needs a federal NICS background check through a licensed dealer, and state law adds a seven-calendar-day waiting period before the dealer can hand over the firearm. Holders of a valid New Mexico concealed handgun license, FFL holders and immediate family transfers are exempt from the wait. At pickup you show photo ID and complete ATF Form 4473. Dealers sell rifles and shotguns from age 18 and handguns from 21.
Dealers in these communities all work for Los Lunas-area buyers:
- Belen
- Bosque Farms
- Peralta
- Tome
- Meadow Lake
- Rio Communities
- Jarales
- Albuquerque
Carrying a gun in Valencia County
Open carry of a handgun is legal in New Mexico for adults who may possess a firearm, and a loaded gun may be kept in your own vehicle without a license. Carrying a loaded concealed handgun on foot requires a concealed handgun license issued by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, not the county. Applicants must be 21, live in New Mexico and finish an approved course of at least 15 hours. The license costs $100 and is valid for four years. Schools, preschools, courthouses, licensed liquor establishments and tribal land carry extra limits.
Hunting near Los Lunas
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife, called Game and Fish until July 2025, sets hunts by Game Management Unit and hunt code. Most deer, elk and pronghorn licenses come through the annual big-game draw; the 2026-27 draw closed March 18, 2026. Rifle deer and elk hunts mostly fall between October and December, with exact dates printed for each hunt code in the 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information booklet. Any centerfire firearm .22 caliber or larger with expanding bullets is legal for big game; full metal jacket and tracer ammunition are not.
Los Lunas sits on the line between GMU 13, west of I-25, and GMU 14 to the east. The Manzano Mountains in the Cibola National Forest are the nearest timbered big-game country.
Belen and its BNSF rail yard are a few miles south, and the Manzano Mountains fill the eastern skyline.
Public shooting ranges near Los Lunas
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife runs free rifle ranges at Tres Piedras and Clayton and helped fund shotgun ranges in Albuquerque, Clovis and Las Cruces; the BLM and the Forest Service list more, including Albuquerque's Shooting Range Park. Hours and fees vary, so check with each range before you go.
Source: New Mexico Department of Wildlife, BLM and U.S. Forest Service public range lists, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.