If you are looking for a way to make some more money without having to put in too much effort, then gunrunning is a good passive way to make income in GTA V Online. It won't make you mega rich, but having your bank account tick upwards in the background is still a nice feeling, isn't it?
It's important to note that gunrunning won't prevent you from having to actively make money through heists and such, but it is a good little backburner project to keep you slightly more flush. On average you can expect to make between $39,000 and $79,000 per GTA hour, which also includes expenses.
There are a few steps to setting up this side of your business empire, so here's what you will need to do.
Buy Yourself A Bunker
To get yourself set up you will need to purchase a bunker. In order to do this, you will need to be either a VIP, a CEO, or an MC President. You can brush up on how to do this using our how to become an MC president guide.
There is a range of bunkers to choose from and they will vary in location and price. Your bunker will be the place where you launch your gunrunning missions, and will also be your base of operations. Once owned, you will be able to pump more money into it to upgrade it for better facilities.
Which bunker is best will depend on your playstyle, but three of the best we can recommend are: Route 68, Raton Canyon, and Chumash.
Route 68
If you want to be spawned nearer to the action when your gunrunning starts then Route 68 is a good choice, but it isn't without its disadvantages.
Pros: Places you closer to the action than Raton Canyon or Chumash does.
Cons: Is in a hotspot for PvP, and so you are more often than not going to get rushed when doing the missions. This can get a bit frustrating.
Price: $1.9 Million
Raton Canyon
Raton Canyon takes the cake in terms of cost, as it is the second cheapest bunker you can get. It is also a sweet spot for seclusion, so you are less likely to get harassed in comparison to Route 68.
Pros: High security due to its position being in a mountainous area. Resupply missions are close, and there is less likelihood of being tailed when doing missions.
Cons: It isn't everyone's first choice so it can leave you on your own a fair percentage of the time.
Cost: $1.45 Million
Chumash
If you are a player running multiple businesses at once then Chumash may be the ideal bunker for you due to its proximity to the city. If you are constantly going from job to job then this will leave you with less travel time.
Pros: Situated closely to other job hotspots for quick driving times.
Cons: It is fairly popular and quite exposed, meaning it isn't as secure as Raton Canyon. Chances of entering into a firefight are more likely because of where it is.
Cost: $1.65 Million
Once your bunker has been purchased you will be able to go on your first setup mission to procure supplies for production. This will be free of cost and can be started from the Disruption Logistics terminal inside your bunker.
Manufacturing and Research
There are two options you can choose once you have your bunker up and running. There is either Research or Production.
Research: This entails having your staff look up more information first so that you can unlock upgrades that can't be accessed anywhere else.
Production: This is where your crew will get straight to making the weapons so that they can be sold to your customers.
You can choose to do research and production at the same time, but a better way to do it is to be a bit more patient and focus solely on research first. That way you have more at your disposal before starting to produce the guns.
Researching upgrades takes between four to six real-world hours, so it is not the quickest endeavor where GTA is concerned, but it will be worth it in the long run. There are 45 research projects in total, but they will become available on a completion basis. The more you do, the more you unlock.
You can in fact speed up the research projects by using the fast-tracking option, but it will run you $225,000 each time you want to speed up one project. After use, there will also be a 3-minute, real-time cooldown period.
To Steal or to Buy?
There are two options where gathering your supplies are concerned, good old commerce or good old theft. Buying supplies will offset your profit margin by the cost of supplies needed, whereas stealing them is, well... free. It will come at the cost of time though.
Stealing: If you choose to steal you will be sent on random resupply missions, which will have you obtaining the goods for your business first hand through illegal acquisition. It may not cost money, but it will require you to take time away from your other businesses to complete the mission.
The pick-up will require you to collect 20 units for your stock, but with an associate helping you, there is a chance of gaining even more during your run.
Buying: If you choose to purchase them and be slightly more legitimate in that respect, then a cut of your earnings will be re-purposed for supplies. It is a quick option if you value your time, but it is a little bit heftier for your bottom line.
A full bar of supplies is needed to start manufacturing your products. In order to fill the bar up it will cost you $75,000 if you wish to buy all of the supplies rather than steal them.
A good way to tackle this is to dabble in both. Sacrifice your time for the first few supply missions so that you get some gameplay in as well as some money to keep you afloat, and then switch to buying them thereafter so that you can achieve other things whilst it works in the background.
Supplies and Stock Production
Contrary to how it looks at first glance, the amount of units produced does not mean the number of units shipped. Rather than being based solely on the units, it is based on time instead. Thankfully, there is a way you calculate this so that you can make the most of your gunrunning efforts.
Another thing to note is that when you start any sort of mission regarding gunrunning, whether that be selling or resupplying, the production process is halted for the duration of that mission.
Supply Calculations
The more time previously spent on research, the more time you will have later on for production which also means that all of your staff will be able to assist with it—making it more time-efficient. If you still have some staff on research that is absolutely fine, it will just take a little longer in that case.
Completion times per unit are dependent on how much you have upgraded your bunker, here are the timings per unit for each upgrade level:
- No upgrades: 1 unit = 60 seconds
- Partial upgrades: 1 unit = approximate 72 seconds
- Full upgrades: 1 unit = 84 seconds
Factoring in these units, it means that stock resupplies will need to occur at different times depending on upgrade level as well:
No upgrades: Restock required every 1 hour and 40 minutes (100 minutes total)
Fully upgraded: Restock required every 2 hours and 20 minutes (140 minutes total)
Bunker Capacity
Each bunker can hold a maximum of 100 units, so keep in mind these rates so that you don't hit capacity and stall your operations:
- Non-upgraded: Sub 17 hours to fill the bunker. Stock unit = $5,000 within Blaine County and $7,500 outside of Blaine County.
- Partially upgraded: Sub 15 hours to fill the bunker. Stock unit = $6,000 within Blaine County and £8,500 outside of Blaine County.
- Fully upgraded: Sub 12 hours to fill the bunker. Stock unit = $7,000 within Blaine County and $10,500 outside of Blaine County.
Please note: the stock level is built over time whilst playing within GTA Online, if you choose to go into GTA V Story Mode production will pause.
With that you should be ready to get your guns running! Looking for more content? Check out the best businesses to run in GTA Online.
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GTA V Online Gunrunning Guide
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