Texas gun laws - can an overseas visitor buy ammunition?

It’s contrary to US law for an alien admitted on a non-immigrant visa to be in possession of ammo without documentation (such as ATF Form 6 NIA which competition target shooters may have).

[18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5) and (n); 27 CFR 478.32] NOTE: This violation carries a prison term of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

This probably would not apply to you, as you would be admitted under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and the ATF has explicitely said that this regulation does not apply to visitors admitted under the VWP. However, if you did have to apply for a non-immigrant visa due to ineligibility for the VWP, this regulation would apply.

That doesn’t mean that the store won’t happily sell to you, especially in Texas. They don’t have any legal obligation to check or keep records of purchasers AFAIK.

Do not attempt to export live ammo from the US. You can take some spent brass if you like. Canada, for example, is happy to let properly licensed (ordinary firearms possession/acquisition license) citizens enter with up to 5,000 rounds of ammo, but the US can get quite snarky about unlicensed (referring to an export license, which is impossible for an alien to get) exports of ITAR-controlled goods- the potential penalties are very punitive (see above), though most likely confiscation and inconvenience would be the outcome.

At one point (during the shortages some years ago, IIRC) they were reportedly staking out parking lots of shops like Cabelas looking for Canadian license plates.

As others have said, .22LR ammo is very cheap, and 50 or 100 rounds of plinking doesn’t amount to much. Larger pistol and rifle calibers can get expensive.

I suspect you would find a US gun shop rather interesting, maybe go with your friend and pay (cash) for some ammo to use later.

There are very few regulations concerning the sale of ammunition in Texas. There's no age requirement for possession, although I believe most stores will refuse sale to minors.

There are no storage requirements, although I wouldn't suggest leaving it in the car during a Texas summer. Not because it's at risk of going off, it won't be near hot enough for that, but because heat degrades ammunition over time.

I do believe it is illegal for felons to be in possession of ammunition, and it's also illegal to knowingly give ammunition to someone convicted of a felony in the past 5 years.

Another answer suggested looking at WalMart as their prices will be better. This is true, however WalMart is in the process of liquidating their supplies of very common ammunition types and in a few months may have a very limited selection. I'd personally go to an Academy Sports + Outdoors store. They are a large sporting goods chain and have a number of locations in and around Austin. Their prices are often competitive with what you'll find online as well.

since this is something of a novelty to me

Sounds like this is your first experience with firearms. you're in for a good (admittedly noisy) time.

Unless you know exactly what your friend has, there is no way you will buy the right ammo. Do you know the difference between a 22 Long Rifle and a 22 Hornet? They are the same calibre but completely incompatible. Take a couple of examples with the same number from this page and see how vastly different the actual round is.

I see several simple solutions:

• Google for "ammunition near (friends address/town)", choose a big one and get a gift card for $100. Note that Wal-Mart has stopped selling several kinds of ammo after a couple of their stores got shot up.
• casually ask him where he buys his ammo (more focused version of the above)
• just give him some cash. Rather poor taste in the UK, generally ok in rural America.

he’s by no means a “gun enthusiast”

I'm going to guess that he has a .22 calibre rimfire rifle, as pretty much every farmer has one. Ammo for that is dirt cheap, like under 10 cents each. Larger calibres can be around $1 each. Your shoulder won't want to fire all that many of those.

Something you should do for yourself is stop at a home center and pick up some eye protection and earplugs.

If you are having a really good time with the guns and want more, there are plenty of places in Texas that will rent you pretty much anything, up to and including fully automatic military weapons, and there is a place near San Antonio where you can drive and fire a full-size tank and/or 150mm field guns (yes, that is the correct size, 6 inches). Bring your credit card, machine guns go through ammunition REAL fast.

Ammunition isn't regulated in the same way firearms are. In many states as long as you're 18 (or 21 in some states or for certain ammunition types) you should be good to go, but Texas doesn't have that limit. No quantity limits or legal stipulations assuming you haven't been convicted of a felony or other serious crime. Just stop at a WalMart, Gun Range, or local gun store and buy it.

Just a helpful tidbit; the bigger the place, the better the ammo price. Walmart or very large gun store will have better ammo prices than a small gun store/range.

Absolutely, yes, they can buy ammunition in Texas. Is it legal? Maybe not. From my experience (and being a native 3rd generation Texan) you aren't required to show ID when purchasing ammo. This past March I took my Russian brother in law to Academy Sports where he wanted to buy some 9mm ammo to take to the shooting range the next day. I asked the cashier if I needed to make the purchase for him, or if he could do it. The cashier said he could do it, and to his amazement he paid cash and showed no ID.

As we walked to my car he told me how amazed he was that in America he could purchase 9mm ammo without needing a permit. He told me that in Russia it would take a few years to get approval for such ammunition. He is an avid gun collector and it thrilled him very much to purchase ammo in Texas with no problems.