The cleanest way to plan a buy list is to start from what becomes unavailable. After July 1, 2026 the following can no longer be sold, manufactured, imported, purchased, or transferred in Virginia: any semi-automatic centerfire rifle with one listed feature, any semi-automatic centerfire pistol with two listed features, any semi-automatic shotgun with one listed shotgun feature, any magazine over 15 rounds, and any semi-auto centerfire firearm with a fixed magazine over 15. Stripped lowers and individual parts that are not complete assault firearms are a separate risk question; do not treat them as a substitute for owning the finished configuration before the cutoff without legal advice.

What is still legal to buy after July 1 is the inverse: featureless semi-automatic rifles (no pistol grip, no collapsible stock, no threaded barrel), all manually operated firearms (bolt, pump, lever, slide), pump shotguns in any configuration, conventional semi-auto shotguns that clear the shotgun feature test, rimfire semi-autos, sub-15-round pistols, and any magazine of 15 rounds or fewer. That is the menu Virginia retailers will be selling from on July 2.

For full statutory definitions of the feature test and the exclusion list, see the companion article on the signing and what HB 217 actually bans.

Magazines are the highest-priority buy because nothing else on this list is irreversible the way magazines are. A complete rifle can be reconfigured to featureless and remain in Virginia commerce. A magazine over 15 rounds cannot be reduced, modified, or recategorized. Once the cutoff hits, the only legal path to a 30-round PMAG in Virginia is to have already owned it on June 30.

The realistic target for an AR-15 household is 10 to 20 standard-capacity magazines. Magpul PMAG 30 Gen M3 at $12-$15 each is the default. Duramag stainless 5.56 magazines are the alternative at a slight premium with better corrosion resistance. For pistols, factory magazines are the only recommendation: 5 Glock 17 mags for a G17 or G19 owner, 5 Sig 17-round magazines for P320 owners, 5 Smith & Wesson 17s for M&P 2.0 owners. Aftermarket extended baseplates that push a 15-round magazine over the cap fall under the same ban, so buy factory full-cap directly.

For the full magazine breakdown including the cost-per-round math and which brands to avoid, see our best AR-15 magazines guide.

If you only buy one rifle before July 1, buy a complete, duty-configured AR-15. The reason is the feature test: pistol grip, collapsible stock, and threaded barrel are the three features Virginia owners actually want, and acquiring all three on a single grandfathered receipt is cheaper and cleaner than retrofitting later. The mid-tier price point ($1,000-$1,800) covers the rifles that will hold value and survive a high round count.

The mid-tier picks below span $620 to roughly $2,200. Any of them is a duty-configured AR-15 in the box that gets you onto a Virginia 4473 before July 1. Inventory will move fast over the next 45 days; check the link on each card and have a backup pick if your first choice is out. Local Virginia FFLs that stock these brands are also worth calling directly, since their counter inventory often does not appear in online retailer feeds.

The single best dollar-for-dollar move in the next 45 days is picking up two or three stripped AR-15 lowers on separate 4473s. A stripped lower is a firearm under federal law, but it is not a complete rifle and does not yet have any of the listed features. Transferred before July 1, each one is a grandfathered firearm slot for ownership documentation. The cleaner approach is to pair the receiver with the parts needed for the finished configuration before July 1 rather than rely on a later assembly theory.

Aero Precision, Anderson, and PSA stripped lowers run $60-$100 each. At $80 a 4473, two extra lowers cost less than a single PMAG case. The play is to acquire the receivers now, stage the parts kits (LPK, BCG, charging handle, barrel, handguard, stock) in your safe, and document the pre-cutoff ownership trail. If the plan is to assemble after July 1, get jurisdiction-specific legal advice first; the statute's text is about assault firearms, but the risk turns on the complete configuration.

The constraint to watch is upper receivers and barrels with listed features. A threaded barrel is a feature when it is part of a covered semi-auto centerfire rifle. The statute regulates the assault firearm, not ordinary small parts in isolation, but staging parts now keeps the ownership record simple and avoids relying on untested post-cutoff assembly assumptions.

The pistol side of HB 217 is more permissive than the rifle side. A semi-auto centerfire pistol needs two listed features to qualify, and most stock duty pistols (Glock 17, Glock 19, Sig P320, S&W M&P) ship without features that count under the statute. A bare Glock 19 is not a banned pistol. But the magazines that come with it are: any pistol magazine over 15 rounds is banned for new sale, importation, or transfer after July 1.

The practical move is to buy the host pistol with factory magazines now if you do not already own one, and to buy spare factory full-capacity magazines regardless. A Glock 19 Gen5 ships with three 15-round magazines (right on the line), but you want a few 17-round Glock 17 magazines too, which run in any G19 with a minor grip overhang. P320 buyers want spare 17-round magazines specifically; the X5 ships with 21-rounders, which are over the cap.

The Ruger RXM at $499 is the value play if you do not own a Glock-pattern pistol yet. The PMAGs in the box are 15-round compliant, and the multi-footprint optic cut means you do not need an adapter plate to add a red dot later. See our Ruger RXM review for the 200-round write-up.

The feature test is platform-agnostic, which means AKs fall in scope along with ARs. A WASR-10, PSA GF5, or Kalashnikov USA KR-103 in standard configuration has a pistol grip (sufficient by itself) and ships with one or two 30-round magazines (over the cap). If you have been deferring an AK purchase, the 45-day window is the deadline.

The supply picture for AKs is structurally tighter than for ARs. WASR imports are limited by Romanian production and ATF approval cycles, the KR-103 is the only US-built AK-103 clone with broad distribution, and the PSA GF5 line is the domestic mid-tier option. Expect Virginia AK inventory to clear faster than AR inventory once the buying wave starts. Magazines are easier: standard 30-round AK mags from Magpul, Korean steel, and the Bulgarian circle-10 polymers run $12-$25 and should be bought in bulk before July 1.

Most aftermarket parts that bolt onto a grandfathered receiver are not separately regulated under HB 217. The statute targets complete firearms and magazines, not lower parts kits, triggers, or charging handles. That said, a few categories are worth front-loading because Virginia retailer inventory will compress as the buying wave hits.

Drop-in triggers (LaRue MBT-2S, Geissele SSA-E, ALG ACT) are the highest-value upgrade per dollar and will be in tight supply in Virginia after the AR buying surge. Threaded barrels and complete uppers with threaded barrels are themselves listed features when installed; buying them now and parking them in your safe is fine for personal use on a grandfathered receiver. BCGs, charging handles, and gas tubes are not features and are not directly affected, but the same inventory pressure applies.

HB 217 does not create a registry. The grandfather defense is not automatic; it requires the owner to demonstrate the firearm or magazine was lawfully owned before July 1, 2026. Three categories of documentation cover most realistic enforcement scenarios.

For firearms, keep your 4473 receipts and dealer purchase records. Photograph each serialized firearm with a timestamp metadata-intact image; iPhone EXIF data and Google Photos date stamps both work. For magazines, retain the retailer receipt, the shipping invoice, and a photograph of the magazines in your possession with a date marker (a newspaper front page or a smartphone clock visible in the frame). For build parts (uppers, barrels, BCGs, triggers), keep the order confirmation emails and credit-card statements that show the pre-July 1 purchase date. None of this is required by statute; all of it is the defense if there is ever a question.

Concealed handgun permit holders in Virginia retain CHP privileges; the misdemeanor penalty under HB 217 triggers a three-year firearm prohibition, but only on conviction. The ordinary CHP renewal cycle continues as before. Federal NICS background checks on firearm purchases continue unchanged; HB 217 does not alter the underlying federal transfer regime.

A few categories are not actually threatened by HB 217 and do not need to be on the 45-day list. Bolt-action rifles, pump-action and lever-action firearms are explicitly excluded from the statute. Semi-auto shotguns are covered only when they have a listed shotgun feature, so a conventional fixed-stock, tube-fed home-defense shotgun remains the low-urgency path. If your preferred shotgun uses a separate pistol grip, folding or telescoping stock, detachable-magazine feed, or fixed magazine over 15 rounds, treat it like a pre-July-1 purchase.

Rimfire semi-autos are also outside the definition. A Ruger 10/22 or S&W M&P 15-22 in any configuration remains legal to sell and transfer in Virginia. The 10/22 with a 25-round BX-25 magazine is the awkward case: the rifle is fine (rimfire), but the BX-25 magazine itself is capacity-restricted because the magazine ban applies to centerfire ammunition only. Read the statute carefully here; .22 LR magazines over 15 are not banned.

Suppressors are separately regulated under the National Firearms Act and are unaffected by HB 217. With the federal NFA tax now at $0 and eForm 4 approvals running in days under OBBBA, the suppressor pipeline is open and Virginia law does not slow it. The host rifle for a suppressor is the constrained item; the can itself is not.

Maryland residents face a separate but related deadline: Governor Moore signed SB 334 on May 26, 2026, banning the future sale of Glock-style pistols with cruciform trigger bars starting January 1, 2027. The NRA, FPC, and SAF filed a federal lawsuit the same day. See our Maryland Glock ban coverage for the full timeline and what it means for Maryland pistol buyers. Colorado buyers face an August 1, 2026 deadline of their own under SB25-003; our Colorado pre-ban buying guide covers what to lock in before the permit and safety-course requirement kicks in.

The Virginia buying decision over the next 45 days reduces to three questions. Do you have enough magazines for the firearms you already own? If no, buy a case of factory mags this week. Do you want a duty-configured AR-15 on your receipt? If yes, complete the 4473 before July 1; a complete rifle is faster than a stripped lower plus parts kit. Do you want optionality for future builds? If yes, pick up two or three stripped lowers as $80 firearm-slot insurance.

Run our rifle builder to lock in the parts list for the build you actually want, then take the configuration to a Virginia FFL or local dealer. The lawsuits filed within 24 hours of the signing will not resolve before July 1; plan against the statute as written. Anything you can prove you owned on June 30, 2026 is yours to keep.

Virginia background checks more than doubled year-over-year in May 2026, with the state ranking second nationally for NFA checks. Our Virginia NICS surge breakdown covers the month-by-month data and what specific categories are selling fastest, with context on why suppressors are part of the run-up despite not being covered by the ban.

After July 1: post-ban buying options. For the platforms Virginia FFLs can still transfer after the cutoff (featureless Mini-14, Dark Storm DS-15 Typhoon fixed-mag AR, conventional semi-auto shotguns, Marlin 1895 Trapper / S&W 1854 / Henry Big Boy X tactical levers, and Q Mini Fix / LaRue BAR*NONE bolt rifles), see our best VA-legal tactical firearms guide.

Update June 25, 2026: A Lancaster County judge granted a preliminary injunction in Crump v. Katz, blocking enforcement of the ban through at least December 31, 2026. See our Crump v. Katz injunction coverage for what the order does and how long the buying window stays open.