Looks like if you play your cards right, are a little creative, and are nice to the NFA folks, you can get batch processed for way less then 9+ outstanding items.

Here is my story:
- I read all the "rumors" about batch processing, and having 5 outstanding (including 1 for a Machine Gun) decided to be proactive
- The last one I put through was an E-form for a Form 1 SBR
- A few days after I mailed my prints in, I used "Ask the expert" to verify that they had received my prints and also told them that I had heard that they were potentially batch processing and gave them the serial numbers and submit dates of the other 4 items I had outstanding
-  After 13 days, my E-form Form 1 was approved

- 2 Paper Form 1's were approved the next day (after ~6 months)

- 1 Paper Form 4 (Silencer) was approved 10 days later (after 5.5 months)

- 1 Paper Form 4 (Machine Gun) was approved today (but would have been approved the same day as the Silencer but for a question / issue with the Form 4 that took 2 months to resolve)

- But I still got this Form 4 back approximately 100 days (yes....100 days) after I sent it in

All the forms were approved by the same person, Ted C.  Also kudos to Greg S. at the NFA for being really easy to work with on the Form 4 issue for the Machine Gun.

So that is my story.  YMMV.

from my experience the examiners are actually really easy to work with and very helpful.

i had two form 4's and a 1 approved within 5 days of each other and my examiner from my two form 4's emailed the examiner from my form 1 to scoot it along(with a FBI BGC # probably)

Good to know... I've talked to Ted Cl. a couple of times. I've got 4 pending right now and I will be submitting a Form 1 this week. I will give this a try...

Tried with my last 2 F4 approvals a got nothing but crickets.

And I went over the top on sweetness.

I was receiving Form 1 approvals with "DRAFT" watermarked in the background. This happened quite a few times.

He is always ricky tick about fixing it.

Most recent batch of forms 4, when I got proceeded on an FBI background check on the earliest one, I kindly asked the examiner on that one if she could also approve the others. All of them were approved within two weeks of the first approval.

I submitted two form 4's through silencer shop at the same time, received them both back on the same day without any input on my part and both were approved on the same day (19 July 2019, went pending 26 September 2018) by the same examiner.

I bet Ted works three or four times as hard as every other employee there combined.

That is fairly common, with SS or paper.