This page originally announced a seven-day Thanksgiving sale we ran back in 2017. Those coupons died with that November, so instead of leaving an expired countdown clock on the internet, I’ve turned this into the advice I give every fall: how to actually come out ahead during Black Friday and the holiday gun sales.
I’m Lance Rankin, owner and gunsmith at Western Sport in Roanoke, Texas, just north of Fort Worth. I’ve been on the selling side of a lot of Novembers, so consider this a look behind the curtain.
The holiday window is real, but uneven
The stretch from Black Friday through Christmas genuinely is the best buying season of the year for guns and gear. Manufacturers run rebates, distributors clear inventory before year-end, and dealers compete hard for your attention. But the discounts are uneven. Some items are marked down because they’re genuinely good deals, and some are marked down because nobody wanted them in July either. The difference is invisible unless you did your homework beforehand.
Decide what you want in October
The single best Black Friday strategy costs nothing: pick your target early and learn its normal street price. When the sales hit, you’ll know within seconds whether that banner discount is real. Shoppers who show up cold on Friday morning buy whatever’s framed as a doorbuster. Shoppers with a list and a price in mind get the actual bargains. If you’re building a rifle rather than buying one, my 15 best AR-15 upgrades list is a fine place to build that wishlist, since parts and accessories see some of the deepest holiday cuts.
Expect background check delays
Here’s the part nobody advertises: Black Friday is historically one of the busiest gun-buying days of the entire year, and the NICS background check system feels it. Checks that clear in minutes during a quiet week can stack up into delays when half the country is at a gun counter. If you need a firearm in hand by a specific date, buy early in the season, not on the peak days. Texans can get familiar with the whole process ahead of time in my guide to how to buy a gun in Texas.
Online deals still need an FFL, so plan the handoff
Some of the best holiday prices live online, and buying that way is easy once you’ve done it: the seller ships to a licensed dealer near you, and you complete the paperwork there. I wrote the full walkthrough in how to buy a gun online. Two planning notes for the holidays. First, transfer fees vary by shop (ours is $40 plus a $10 NICS check, explained in our FFL transfer fee post), so fold that into your price comparison. Second, receiving dealers get slammed in December. If a rifle needs to be wrapped and under a tree, don’t have it shipped on the 20th.
A word on gifts
Buying a firearm as a genuine gift for someone who can legally own one is lawful. Buying one for someone who can’t pass a background check is a straw purchase and a felony, no matter what day of the year it is. When in doubt, a gift card or a paid deposit at the shop keeps everyone on the right side of the paperwork, and lets the recipient pick exactly what they wanted anyway.
Where our deals show up
When we run holiday promotions, our email subscribers hear about them first, and some offers only ever go out by email. You can join the list right from the footer of this page, or just keep an eye on the shop as the season gets close. However you shop this year, do it with a plan, and have a happy Thanksgiving with your people. Questions? [email protected] or 817-393-4000.
Lance Rankin is the owner and Chief Gunsmith of Western Sport, a family-run Type 07 FFL and Class 3/SOT dealer in Roanoke, Texas, serving shooters since 2007. Born and raised in Texas with over 50 years of experience handling firearms, Lance purchased Western Sport in 2017 and turned his lifelong passion into his profession. He specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 platform rifles, manufactures Western Sport’s own AR-15 line under the Rankin Industries brand, and runs the shop’s in-house Cerakote coating operation. When he’s not behind the counter or the workbench, you’ll find him on his ranch deep into the night, hunting coyotes with an AR-15 and thermal optics. Lance holds an MBA and personally shoots and tests the products Western Sport sells.
