Ammu-Nation

"Manufacturer of weapons - and reasons to own weapons, Ammu-Nation has zealously defended arms profiteering for over 50 years."

- Description at Bawsaq.com.

Ammu-Nation (BAWSAQ: AMU) is a major chain of gun shops featured in all Grand Theft Auto 3D Universe games, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Grand Theft Auto V.

Overview
The chain primarily specialized in offering the player an assortment of firearms from pistols to a Minigun, as well as armor, in exchange for money. Ammu-Nation also sells various other types of weapons, like machetes and RPGs. In the beginning of the game, Ammu-Nation stores tend to have only weak weapons in stock; more powerful weapons are unlocked as the player progresses through the storyline.

The name Ammu-Nation is a portmanteau of ammunition and nation, which implies the store is patriotic. In many Ammu-Nation stores, battle flags of the Confederate States of America can be seen on the walls. Ammu-Nation was founded in 1963.

The chain is notably absent in Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes, explained to have been shut down as a result of strict gun control laws passed by then mayor Julio Ochoa. According to Dimitri Rascalov, Ochoa closed the franchise and also tried also to shut down Ammu-Nation in other states of America. As alternatives, players may either purchase weapon from illegally operating gun shops or out of the back of mobile gun cars (Little Jacob and his Virgo in GTA IV, Terry Thorpe and his Slamvan in The Lost and Damned, and Armando Torres and his Cavalcade in The Ballad of Gay Tony).

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Ammu-Nation resurfaces but has shifted its operations online. In Chinatown Wars, the player can also find, while driving around the city, many Ammu-Nation trucks carrying weapons and supplies. This trucks have the Ammu-Nation logo on their back and a red arrow above them. Once the player finds one of these trucks, he can hijack the vehicle and take it to the nearest safehouse to open it, and collect what is inside. Be aware that the truck's driver will be heavily armed.

Ammu-Nation has been brought back in Grand Theft Auto V with the return of San Andreas. Ammu-Nation stores are much more common and can be found all throughout the state. As of 2013, Ammu-Nation is selling many illegal military-grade weapons to the general public. The player can also purchase stocks from them in the Bawsaq.com website in GTA V.

Grand Theft Auto III
Weapons are bought by walking over a floating weapon pickup inside Ammu-Nation stores. When the player enters the store, the camera switches to a fixed position at the corner of the store until the player exits the store. The clerks carry Shotguns and will attack the player if the player is aggressive (i.e. the player shoots the clerk with any kind of firearm). In Grand Theft Auto V the clerk will even attack the police if they come in with their weapons drawn.

Ammu-Nation is featured in GTA III's official website, in the Portland section of the website. It includes an audio advertisement and a pop-up to Ammu-Nation's website. Ammu-Nation also sponsors the TV show Liberty City Survivor.

Phil's Army Surplus is another arms store which sells heavy weaponry not found in Ammu-Nation stores.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Weapons are bought by standing in the pink marker inside Ammu-Nation stores. Each clerk at each store carries a different weapon which include the Mac (Ocean Beach), Uzi (North Point Mall) and .357 (Downtown).

Phil’s Place is another arms store which sells heavy weaponry not found in Ammu-Nation stores.

Ammu-Nation seems to have connections with Mr. Black and his contract killing company, since during a mission in GTA Vice City, protagonist Tommy Vercetti is hired to kill a businessman, steal a briefcase he's carrying and deliver it to the owner of an Ammu-Nation local in Downtown.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Weapons are bought by standing on the red marker inside Ammu-Nation stores. A menu to choose the weapon is displayed. The player can preview the weapon by selecting the weapon without buying it and the clerk will bring up the weapon to display. Ammu-Nations only open up after the mission Doberman. All clerks wield dual Pistols, and will open fire at the player when aimed at or if the player fires a weapon inside the store. It is also impossible to perform a stealth kill if the knife is equipped.

The player will often hear the clerk telling Carl Johnson to not tell anyone where he got his guns/armor from. This could mean Ammu-Nation's weapons are illegal in the state.

A music can be heard playing in any Ammu-Nation shop. The music is the Marines' Hymn.


 * Note: prices are 20% higher than listed at the Ammu-Nations in Las Venturas.
 * There is an unused Ammu-Nation interior in San Andreas. It has two floors and can only be entered using certain cheats or with cheat devices. The store is functional if entered properly. Some mods may also bring the shop back into gameplay by making it enterable.
 * Of the mounted weapons behind the clerk, the more noticeable weapons are Tec-9's (purchasable), MAC-10's (used in other GTA III era games and later cut from GTA:SA and unpurchasable), Thompson Submachine Gun (also known as the 'Tommy Gun'; unpurchasable), the French-made FAMAS (a bullpup-styled assault rifle; unpurchasable), G3A3 rifles (unpurchasable), and several revolvers that appear to be various Smith & Wesson models of revolvers (unpurchasable).
 * Advertisements in Ammu-Nation reference a High Velocity Rifle, A Grenade Launcher, Land mines and a Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher.

Grand Theft Auto Advance
Weapons are bought by standing on the marker in front of Ammu-Nation stores. The game pauses and a menu appears to let the player purchase weapons. The store itself cannot be entered, so no clerk appears in this game.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Ammu-Nation stores in GTA Liberty City Stories distinctively combines design traits from both GTA III's and GTA Vice City's Ammu-Nation. Just like in GTA III, the same fixed camera view returns which makes the players unable to use first person view weapons like Sniper Rifle or Rocket Launcher; however, the game requires the player stand on the yellow marker in front of the counter to purchase weapons, and utilizes GTA Vice City's weapon selection system. Clerks carry shotguns and will attack the player if aimed at or the player fires a weapon inside the store.

Ammu-Nation is featured in GTA Liberty City Stories' official website in an e-mail under the name "Y2K is Coming!"

Phil Cassidy's Fully Cocked Gun Shop is another arms store which sells heavy weaponry not found in Ammu-Nation stores.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
The Ammu-Nation stores in GTA Vice City Stories functions exactly the same as in GTA Vice City. But all clerks inside the stores carry Shotguns similar to GTA III and Liberty City Stories. The cost inside the parenthesis is the discounted price of the weapons after completing Phil's Shooting Range.

Stonewall J's is another arms store which sells light weaponry not found in Ammu-Nation stores.

Grand Theft Auto IV
There are no Ammu-Nation stores in GTA IV, being replaced with Underground Gun Shops. However, there are certain Pedestrians who wear clothes bearing the Ammu-Nation logo on the back.

During an alternate dialogue with Dimitri in the mission Do You Have Protection?, Niko will mention hearing about the Big American Supermarket where you can find shopping carts full of AK-47s and flame throwers. It is possible that Ammu-Nation's fame was already overseas before Niko arrived to America.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
There are no stores, but weapons can be purchased on the Ammu-Nation website via the PDA that will be delivered to the nearest safehouse. The website service is unlocked after the mission "Pimp His Ride".

Ammu-Nation scratch cards can also be purchased at various stores, and the player can win body armor or various weapons. Ammu-Nation apparantly sponsors a "Guns For Ca$h" amnesty program with the LCPD, although the player cannot make use of this.

Grand Theft Auto V
Ammu-Nation has made a return in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. Stores appear around Los Santos and Blaine County. The player can purchase stocks in Ammu-Nation via bawsaq.com. The player can also buy various modifications for most weapons, such as silencers, flashlights and extended magazines, as well as various tints. Most firearms bought from Ammu-Nation (aside from the Stun Gun, Grenade Launcher and Minigun) are granted with three magazines in reserve. Vending Machines are found inside, to restore player's health.

The player can also purchase different tiers of body armor (Super light, light, standard, heavy, and super heavy) with varying effectiveness, and even shades and jackets from racks around the stores. Shooting ranges make a return in two stores at Downtown Los Santos and Cypress Flats.

The player can rob the cash registers from Ammu-Nation stores. They must equip a weapon before entering and push the doors open slightly and aim at the clerk. Be aware, however, as the clerk will then pull out an Assault Shotgun, requiring to be killed quickly. This method may also be used for obtaining his Assault Shotgun and, if at an Ammu-Nation with a shooting range, a Combat Pistol.

The Ammu-Nation outlets in Los Santos with shooting ranges play songs from Channel X, other Ammu-Nation outlets in Los Santos play songs from Los Santos Rock Radio, and the outlets in Blaine County play songs from Rebel Radio.

There will be several products in the Ammu-Nation stores that are unavailable for purchase. These include machetes, alcohol, ear protectors and more.

Clothing
In GTA V, Ammu-Nation also have various clothing and accessory racks around the store, allowing the player to purchase shades (Can only be bought from a rack in the corner by the armor section) and jackets (Can only be bought from a clothing rack opposite to the armor section).

Shooting ranges
Shooting ranges can be found in some Ammu-Nations throughout the GTA III series and in GTA V. These places test the player's skills in handling weapons, and can be used simply to improve gun handling skills. Passing the shooting ranges offers the player a small sum of money as a reward, and completion of a shooting range is often necessary for 100% completion of the game.

Clerks
Ammu-Nation's clerks differ from game to game.
 * GTA San Andreas: A military-looking guy wearing an army-green shirt and has a mustache.
 * GTA Liberty City Stories: American guy, says the same thing as the GTA III clerk but in an American accent.
 * GTA Vice City Stories: Generic store clerk. Fat, balding, and wearing a brightly-colored polo shirt and matching glasses.
 * GTA V: Melvin works in the Sandy Shores branch and a ex-military looking man who is interested in gang life works in the branch closest to Franklin's starting safehouse, the rest are re-skins of these two. Some of the clerks will engage in conversations with the protagonists when they enter in the Ammu-Nation
 * For example, sometimes the clerks will say the store used to be independent until Ammu-Nation took over. They will also state that they love the TV show Republican Space Rangers.
 * The clerk in Pillbox Hill (Downtown Los Santos) will talk with Franklin when he is in the shop. The conversation will usually center around the clerk's jealousy of Franklin's involvement in the gang life. This batch of conversations will be triggered after completing the mission "The Long Stretch"; In another possible conversation with Franklin, he will mention how "I [he] barely exist outside this store." This could be a reference of how his character model is never seen out side of Ammu-Nation.
 * The clerk in Sandy Shores will talk with Trevor when he is in the shop. Their conversations normally consist of Trevor insulting or degrading him, or him begging Trevor to behave himself in the store.

Commercials
Ammu-Nation has a commercial in every 3D Universe game. It can be heard on Rockstar's website for GTA III, and on the radio for GTA Vice City onwards.

Ammu-Nation radio commercials make it clear that the store is run with a right-wing paranoia philosophy, describing itself as the "store leading the fight against communism". The store also seems to promote the purchase of its products for illegal purposes, even suggesting they be used to kill one's mother-in-law if she is "being a bitch". There's also one in GTA Vice City that mentions an anti-aircraft gun 'actually used when we whooped Australia' ass!'

In GTA San Andreas, the stores themselves broadcast a constant feed of advertising, which among other things promotes their selection of grenade launchers and flamethrowers; though grenade launchers haven't appeared in the GTA series until The Lost And Damned, and while flamethrowers have been usable weapons, they haven't been sold by Ammu-Nation.

In GTA Vice City Stories, there's an Ammu-Nation radio commercial about Saturday Safety Fun With Guns with Derek the Dodo.

In GTA V, an Ammu-Nation radio commercial mentions Predator drones, becoming the first time a real-life vehicle is mentioned in the GTA series.

Infinite Ammunition Glitch
There is an interesting glitch in GTA: San Andreas. If the player goes to any Ammu-Nation with shooting range, they can double the ammo until it becomes infinite.
 * 1. Go to any Ammu-Nation with shooting range.
 * 2. Buy a weapon that shares slot with either pistol, Micro SMG, shotgun or AK-47, but is NOT the gun itself, otherwise its ammunition will be depleted.
 * 3. Go to the Shooting Range and leave it directly before starting the challenge. The player will have probably doubled the ammo.
 * 4. Keep doing this, until the ammo becomes unlimited.



General

 * Ammu-Nation sells fully automatic weapons, though in real life, these are outlawed (if made after May 1986) to sell to normal civilians in the United States due to the Hughes Amendment. Also, destructive and explosive devices are sold at the store, which would be also be highly illegal in the real world. Fully automatic weapons in the United States may only be obtained via Class III licenses which are very costly and difficult to obtain.
 * In GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas, there are 2D textures on the walls of Ammu-Nation stores which depict unusable weapons, such as the AUG A1, FAMAS F1, Galil SAR, M1921 Thompson, Barrett M95, M4A1 SOPMOD, M1903 Springfield, AKS-74U and the Walther MPL. Some of the weapons on the shelf were not manufactured during the game's timeline, including the Barrett and M4A1, and would be unusual to find in an American gun store as most of them were manufactured in Europe or the Middle-East, such as the Galil and AUG.
 * A popular rumor thought the clerk in GTA III and GTA Vice City was actually modeled after Dan Houser or Sam Houser. However, Rockstar has since commented that it was not and "it does look (but not sound) like a relative of" Dan Houser..
 * Oddly is possible to buy things that are not firearms, like flashlights, pipe wrenches, pool cues and even gasoline. This was made for convenience's sake as multiple shop would be annoying.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City



 * Inside the Ammu-Nation in Downtown Vice City in GTA Vice City, an easter egg with a picture of American president Ronald Reagan can be seen doing a thumbs up while wielding a pistol that was clearly used to fire at a bulls-eyed picture of Soviet head of state Mikhail Gorbachev. However, the picture is hidden behind a wall and is not normally seen during gameplay. To see it, the player must stand at the inner end of the store's counter, aim a rocket launcher out towards the street, then turn around while still aiming so they can see through the wall.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

 * A target cutout in the Ammu-Nation stores bears a likeness to GTA San Andreas protagonist Carl Johnson dual-wielding TEC-9s. The cutouts are derived from an early pre-release screenshot of the game.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

 * The Fully Cocked License in Chinatown Wars could be a reference to Phil Cassidy's Fully Cocked Gun Shop.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * If the Ammu-Nation clerk becomes provoked, whether it be by the player or something else, and cops are dispatched, the clerk and police officers will began firing at each other, despite the fact the clerk was only using self-defense from a robbery. This is possibly due to the anti-government propaganda inside Ammu-Nation.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * It seems that the more the player purchases from a category, the higher the chance that the store clerk will eventually say "you have racked up more Ammu-Nation Rewards points!"
 * If the player exits and reenters Ammu Nation when the clerk says that "you gained reward points", they can see that they have gained a permanent discount percentage for purchases.
 * The store clerk will protect the player from attacking players as long as he does not have a wanted level.
 * As of Patch 1.30, Ammu Nation cannot be accessed during Contact Missions.

Reference
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