GTA Online weapons: where to buy them, what to take on heists and how the Gun Van works

Online has three places that sell guns, each with its own rules.

• Ammu-Nation. The store chain in Los Santos and Blaine County. It carries most standard weapons, ammo, armor, suppressors, scopes and tints. Part of the stock is rank-locked: the Heavy Sniper, for example, costs GTA$38,150 and unlocks only at rank 90 (GTA Wiki, GTABase). Online prices are higher than in story mode: the same Heavy Sniper costs $9,500 in the campaign - compare on our GTA 5 weapons page.
• Gun Van. A mobile shop that parks somewhere new every day. It sells weapons at a discount, including models Ammu-Nation doesn't stock, and has no rank requirement. Details in the next section.
• Agency Armory. An optional upgrade for the F. Clinton and Partner agency: essentially your own Ammu-Nation with an owner discount, armor and Mk II conversions. Guests and organization members can use it, but without the discount.

You pick weapons from the weapon wheel; regular ammo can be bought through the Interaction Menu, while special Mk II rounds are only sold at a Weapon Workshop.

The Gun Van is a grey Speedo Custom with an arms dealer in the back. Rockstar added it on January 12, 2023, as part of the Los Santos Drug Wars continuation.

• Where it parks. There are 30 possible spots across Los Santos and Blaine County. Every day at around 06:00 UTC the van moves, and the new spot is the same for every player. You see it in any fresh session started after the move.
• How to find it. Without GTA+, the van's icon only appears on the map when you're close (within 500 m, according to GTA Wiki). GTA+ members see it on the map all the time, from anywhere.
• What it sells. Weapons, throwables and body armor. The lineup changes every Thursday with the weekly update. Regular appearances include the Railgun, the “space” weapons from Christmas updates, and models sold nowhere else (Tactical SMG, El Strickler).
• Discounts. The standard discount is 10%, 20% for GTA+; one featured item each week is often 30-50% off. For November 5-11, 2026, the Knife and Baseball Bat are free, while the El Strickler, Sweeper Shotgun, Widowmaker, Knuckle Dusters, Pipe Bombs, Proximity Mines, Molotovs and all body armor are 10% off (20% for GTA+).

We don't publish today's exact spot: it changes every morning, so any address goes stale within a day. What the van is selling this week is listed on the GTA Online weekly update page. The general map of the city and businesses is on the GTA Online map page.

The table lists the weapons guides most often recommend for PvE: heists, contracts and missions against NPCs. Prices are base prices in GTA$, and only those that match across two independent sources (GTA Wiki plus GTA Boss or GTABase).

Our advice: don't buy everything at the start. One modern rifle (Military Rifle or Heavy Rifle), a shotgun for interiors and a Heavy Sniper Mk II for cars and helicopters cover most heists. Pick up the rest from the Gun Van in a week when it's discounted. Which heists pay most is covered on the GTA Online heists page.

Mk II weapons are upgraded versions of base guns. You don't buy them in a store: you buy the standard model and convert it to Mk II at a Weapon Workshop. That unlocks special ammo (armor piercing, incendiary, explosive, hollow point, FMJ), new scopes, suppressors and liveries.

Where to make Mk II weapons:

• Mobile Operations Center (MOC) with a Weapon Workshop bay - requires a Bunker.
• Avenger with a workshop - requires a Facility.
• Terrorbyte - requires a Nightclub.
• Kosatka - the workshop replaces the brig.
• Agency Armory.
• The Freakshop - free, after the first mission of Dax's First Dose. The cheapest route to Mk II for a new player: nothing to buy.

Each conversion costs extra. According to GTA Wiki and Deltia's Gaming, the Pistol Mk II costs GTA$73,750, the Combat MG Mk II 119,000 and the Heavy Sniper Mk II 165,375. Some modifications unlock only through Bunker research; how that works is covered in our Bunker guide.

The most useful Mk II weapons for PvE, according to guides: the Heavy Sniper Mk II with explosive rounds (destroys vehicles from range), the Special Carbine Mk II and Combat MG Mk II for firefights, and the Pump Shotgun Mk II for close quarters.

Some weapons look nothing like regular guns and are only sold by the Gun Van:

Prices per GTA Wiki and GTA Boss. These weapons are flashy but not needed to make money: the same sum buys a business or an upgrade that pays for itself.

Some weapons are free rewards for tasks. The best-known example is the Navy Revolver: you get it by finding five clues and solving the Los Santos Slasher case (GTA Wiki, GTABase, GamesRadar).

• GTA+ (from $7.99 a month) gives two weapon perks: the Gun Van is always visible on the map, and its discount is 20% instead of 10%. Other membership perks are on the GTA Online price page.
• Weekly sales. Every Thursday Rockstar changes the van's stock and discounts; it pays to wait for a 30-50% sale on expensive weapons rather than buy straight away.
• Rank. If the gun you want is rank-locked at Ammu-Nation, check the Gun Van: it has no rank requirement. How to level faster is in our GTA Online rank-up guide.
• Don't use “weapon menus”. Third-party tools that spawn weapons or money break Rockstar's rules; on PC the BattlEye anti-cheat has been active since September 2024. Why story-mode cheat codes don't work here is explained on the GTA Online cheats page.

Money for your arsenal is easiest to earn through heists and contracts - see GTA Online missions and how to make money in GTA Online.