Buying a gun in Portland and Multnomah County

Portland buyers have the same rights as everyone else in Oregon and a couple of extra local rules to know about. This guide walks through ordering a firearm online for pickup at a Multnomah County dealer, where Measure 114 stands right now, the city ordinance on loaded firearms, the state storage law, and where people in the metro area actually go to shoot and hunt.

How an online order works

You choose the firearm here, pick a licensed Oregon dealer at checkout, and we ship it to that dealer. Ammunition, optics, cases, cleaning gear and most parts ship straight to your address in Portland. When the firearm lands, the dealer calls you in, you show photo ID, you complete ATF Form 4473 at the counter, and the dealer requests a background check through the Oregon State Police Firearms Instant Check System. The check costs $10, most come back within minutes, and once the state police issue an approval number the firearm is yours to take home.

Dealers in Multnomah County charge a transfer fee, usually a flat amount per firearm, and it is worth asking about that fee, their hours and their receiving policy before you order. Pick a dealer you can get to on a weekday; most do transfers by appointment.

Measure 114 and what applies today

Measure 114 would require a permit to purchase and would restrict magazines over ten rounds. It has never taken effect. A Harney County court blocked it in 2022, the Oregon Court of Appeals held it constitutional in March 2025, and the Oregon Supreme Court heard argument in November 2025 without ruling as of September 2026. House Bill 4145, signed in April 2026, separately delays the permit and magazine provisions so that they do not apply to transfers before January 1, 2028.

The practical answer for a Portland buyer in September 2026: no permit to purchase, no magazine limit, no fixed waiting period, and a background check at the dealer. The practical caution: this is the most likely part of Oregon law to change, so check the Oregon gun laws guide before a big purchase.

The Portland loaded-firearm ordinance

State law at ORS 166.173 allows a city or county to prohibit possession of loaded firearms in public places, and it exempts concealed handgun license holders from those ordinances. Portland is one of the Oregon cities with such a rule. In plain terms, an unlicensed person carrying a loaded handgun openly in a Portland park or street may be breaking a city rule that does not apply to a license holder, and the exemption is the main reason metro residents apply for a license. Read the current Portland City Code and your own county's rules, because local ordinances change more often than state statutes.

Getting a Multnomah County CHL

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office issues concealed handgun licenses to county residents who are 21 or older, pass a fingerprint background check and show proof of handgun safety training. You apply online, then book a fingerprint appointment at the sheriff's office on Northeast 170th Place; walk-ins are not taken. The office has published fees of $115 for a new license and $75 for a renewal, and it runs its own online CHL preparation course. The statute gives the sheriff 45 days to decide and the license runs four years. Full detail is in our Oregon CHL guide.

Storage at home

Oregon has required secure storage since 2021: an engaged trigger or cable lock, a locked container, or a gun room whenever the firearm is not carried by or under the control of an authorised person. In a house with children or shared tenants, a small quick-access safe by the bed and a larger cabinet for the rest is the usual arrangement. Buy the lock or safe at the same time as the firearm rather than later.

Where to shoot near Portland

Oregon's wildlife agency runs no rifle or pistol ranges. The state's only agency-run facilities are the shotgun range and archery park at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area north of Corvallis, about 80 miles south, both needing a wildlife area parking permit. For rifle and pistol practice, metro shooters use club and commercial ranges, or drive out to public forest land.

Dispersed target shooting is allowed on much of the Mount Hood National Forest and in the Tillamook State Forest, but there are no designated sites and the rules are strict: daylight hours only, a solid earth backstop, commercially made non-exploding targets, nothing within 150 yards of a road, campsite or occupied area, and you pack out every target and case. Closures appear around popular trailheads, so call the Zigzag or Hebo ranger district, or the Oregon Department of Forestry, before you drive up.

Hunting from Portland

Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, ten miles northwest on Highway 30, is the closest public waterfowl ground and sits inside the Northwest Permit Zone with its own goose rules. West of the city the Scappoose Unit and the Tillamook State Forest hold blacktail and Roosevelt elk, and the Mount Hood National Forest east of the Sandy River is Cascade deer and elk country. Season dates and legal rifles are in the deer and elk guide, and duck, goose and upland details are in the waterfowl and upland guide.

Ready to start? Browse the full catalog, see the local page for Portland, or pick another city under gun shop by city.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.