Illegal Gun Shop

Illegal gun shops are underground firearm dealers in Grand Theft Auto IV that effectively take over the role traditionally held by the Ammu-Nation gun store chain in GTA IV's predecessors.

Interior of the illegal gun shop in Broker in GTA IV, also used as the Alderney outlet's interior.

Description

A crackdown spearheaded by Liberty City mayor Julio Ochoa against firearm ownership in Liberty City and its surroundings has led to closure of legalized gun shops. As a result, illegal weapon dealers are the only source for purchasable weapons in GTA IV and its episodes. Given their covert nature, illegal gun shops are often far less visible than Ammu-Nation stores, usually having nondescript frontages and are only easily located by gun icons on the city map (or in the case of physical maps, scribbled markers).

 
"Examining" a weapon at a illegal gun shop in GTA IV. Selection of a new weapon will prompt the player character to enter an animation cycle where he will "examine" the weapon until the player purchases the weapon or cancels their selection.

Much like Ammu-Nation, the player must enter the gun shop before they can select and buy weapons. Different weapons are laid out all over the interior of the gun shop, requiring the player walk to a specific point to select a specific weapon; players will only be able to purchase a weapon when they have selected it, and if the player already has the same weapon in hand, the player can only purchase additional ammunition for smaller sums of cash; newly purchased weapons start out with only a single set of rounds. Players can find and access these gun shops at any point of the game, but in the case of GTA IV, most weapons are simply "Display Models" until the player completes specific missions in the game; episodic packs however make all of them except the RPG available from the start.

The gun shops present other weakness when compared with gun cars; prices of weapons from the gun shops are charged in full, whereas gun cars offer discounts - and gun cars are far more mobile as they can be dispatched to the closest point to the player. In addition, the gun shops in the episodic packs do not offer any exclusive weapons otherwise available from gun cars.

Like gun cars, players will have no access to gun shops when they have a wanted level of one star or above.

Locations

There are a total of three illegal gun shops in Liberty City, each located in three major segments of the city:

  • A single storey corner shop at Montauk Avenue and Dillon Street, accessible off an alleyway off Dillon, Downtown, Broker, labeled inside as a "Lock & Load".
  • In the basement level underneath "Body Canvas Tattoos" at the Bismark Avenue-Cavity Lane intersection in Chinatown, Algonquin.
  • A single storey shop at Odhner Avenue and Traeger Road, accessible off an alleyway off Odhner, Port Tudor, Alderney. As it shares the same interior as the Broker outlet, it is also labeled inside as a "Lock & Load".

List of weapons

Item Cost Availability (GTA IV)
Baseball Bat $5 Do You Have Protection?
Pistol $600; $35 for 17 additional rounds. Do You Have Protection?
Combat Pistol $1,500; $100 for 9 additional rounds. Museum Piece
Molotov $500 each. The Master and the Molotov
Grenade $1,000 each. Deconstruction for Beginners
Pump Shotgun $1,200; $100 for 8 additional rounds. Search and Delete
Combat Shotgun $2,500; $200 for 10 additional rounds. Blow Your Cover
Micro SMG $1,200; $100 for 50 additional rounds. Do You Have Protection?
SMG $2,500; $150 for 30 additional rounds. Luck of the Irish
Assault Rifle $3,500; $80 for 30 additional rounds. Deconstruction for Beginners
Carbine Rifle $5,000; $100 for 30 additional rounds. Three Leaf Clover
Sniper Rifle $6,000; $800 for 5 additional rounds. Luck of the Irish
Combat Sniper $8,500; $500 for 10 additional rounds. Luck of the Irish
RPG $10,000; $5,000 for 1 additional round. Babysitting
Body Armor $500 No Love Lost

See also