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Not that nutty, as a license holder, you have diminished rights.  An ATF agent CAN come and inspect your books, weapons,ammunition and where you store said items without a search warrant (doesn't matter if the licensed premise is your home they can inspect anyway). They are only required to contact you during business hours.  The good news, as a C&R holder you are not required to keep it all in a safe, you don't have to send in your logs when your license lapses.  Finally you don't have to keep said logs once license expires.  My C&R expires March 1st, I won't be renewing it.

§ 478.23 Right of entry and examination.
(a) [A]ny ATF officer, when there is reasonable cause to believe a violation of the Act has occurred and that evidence of the violation may be found on the premises of any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, may, upon demonstrating such cause before a Federal magistrate and obtaining from the magistrate a warrant authorizing entry, enter during business hours (or, in the case of a licensed collector, the hours of operation) the premises, including places of storage, of any such licensee for the purpose of inspecting or examining:
1) Any records or documents required to be kept by such licensee under this part and
2) Any inventory of firearms or ammunition kept or stored by any licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer at such premises or any firearms curios or relics or ammunition kept or stored by any licensed collector at such premises.
(c) Any ATF officer, without having reasonable cause to believe a violation of the Act has occurred or that evidence of the violation may be found and without demonstrating such cause before a Federal magistrate or obtaining from the magistrate a warrant authorizing entry, may enter during hours of operation the premises, including places of storage, of any licensed collector for the purpose of inspecting or examining the records, documents, firearms, and ammunition referred to in paragraph (a) of this section (1) for ensuring compliance with the recordkeeping requirements of this part not more than once during any 12-month period or (2) when such inspection or examination may be required for determining the disposition of one or more particular firearms in the course of a bona fide criminal investigation. At the election of the licensed collector, the annual inspection permitted by this paragraph shall be performed at the ATF office responsible for conducting such inspection in the closest proximity to the collector’s premises.

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Actually, you're only partly right when it comes to licensed collectors . . . barely . . .  The agent MUST obtain a search warrant to inspect a collectors residence, guns, etc. He can do a routine annual inspection of RECORDS, but you don't have to have the inspection done at your license address. You have the option of bringing your book into the BATF office for a compliance check. If a licensed collector lets an ATF agent poke around in his safe without a search warrant, it's his own damn fault for not knowing the law:




You are right, that is the law now.  That is not the issue, the law is fine as it is. What is it going to be 12 months from now?  That was my concern.  That law could very easily be changed to put law abiding citizens through the ringer, again and again and again.  The reason for not renewing is not related to today's laws, they are fine, no problem there.  The question is what is down the road........???