How buying a gun in Elizabethtown 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 Kentucky law allows.
A drop-in trigger group is a part, not a firearm; it ships to your door in every state. The rules below apply to the rifles and lowers in the catalogue. Kentucky has no purchase permit, no registration and no waiting period. The dealer runs the federal background check when you complete ATF Form 4473. Federal age limits apply: 21 for a handgun from a dealer, 18 for a long gun. The firearm ships to the Kentucky dealer you name, who charges their own transfer fee.
Dealers in these communities all work for Elizabethtown-area buyers:
- Radcliff
- Fort Knox
- Vine Grove
- Glendale
- Hodgenville
- Bardstown
- Leitchfield
- Brandenburg
Carrying a gun in Hardin County
Kentucky has allowed permitless concealed carry since June 2019 for adults 21 and over who are not prohibited, and open carry is lawful. Schools, courthouses, police stations and posted property remain off limits. The concealed deadly weapon licence is still issued by the State Police through the Hardin County Sheriff and adds reciprocity.
Hunting near Elizabethtown
Kentucky's modern gun deer season opens on the second Saturday in November and runs sixteen days in Zones 1 and 2 and ten days in Zones 3 and 4. Since March 2026 a free range permit is needed to shoot at Fish and Wildlife managed ranges. Centerfire rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and handguns are legal statewide.
Hardin County is knobs and farmland beside Fort Knox, Zone 1 with a sixteen-day gun season from the second Saturday in November; the Taylorsville Lake WMA range is an hour north-east.
Fort Knox's armour school makes this a rifle-literate town; the state's WMA ranges now need the free range permit.
Public shooting ranges near Elizabethtown
These ranges are run by or officially listed by a state wildlife agency, a state forest or a national forest. Most ask for a hunting licence, a range permit or a small day fee, and hours change with the season, so check the agency page before you drive out to test a new trigger.
Source: State wildlife agency, state forest and U.S. Forest Service public range listings, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.