[soapbox]
"Instant" my ass!
I am delayed every single time. Once it was only 30 minutes, but usually it is somewhere around 2 hours. The first time I bought a gun where I had to use the NICS was at a gun show. It was late in the day, and I was still waiting when the show closed! I had to drive back almost 100 miles the next day just to pick up my gun! ARRRGGG!!
I can understand getting delayed the first time maybe if your name/SSN is close to some felon's. But once you've bought and bought, you think they'd get the idea. "Oh yeah, it's him again. He's cool." But no....
Well, I'm officially fed up with it, and my CCW license is on the way. No more background checks for me! I'm just glad they included this common-sense alternative. The legislators thought a little bit, at least.