Posted: 12/3/2005 7:43:05 AM EDT
The last two times I have had firearms transferred by my local FFL it has been delayed. I had it happen the other week, and again a little bit ago. I understand that both times there have been gun shows going on. Is this the problem? I have never been delayed before. I have a 100% clean record and a carry permit. It has always gone right thru. 
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Wouldn’t think it was the gun shows – they just slow things down. Best guess would probably be someone with a similar name as yours just got himself in trouble. Still, there’s really no telling. About 5 years ago I got delayed overnight - haven't a clue why. Never happened before; hasn’t happened since. Not a big deal per se, though it could really mess things up if you’re trying to make a purchase at a gun show on Sunday or at a good distance from your home! |
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When I got my CCW, the very next purchase was delayed. A friend of mine has a Top Secret clearance approved, and his next pruchase got delayed. They were unique instances of delays, that never happened since... I think the more of a trail you make the more the database must check. |
I've had the exact opposite experience. The first purchase after I got my CCW was approved immediately but every other time I get delayed and have to wait an hour or so for a call back. Even the one time I got the intant approval I found something else in the case that I wanted and it was delayed even though I'd just had an instant approval a few minutes before. |
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I suspect there's something going on wherever this takes place...maybe new people or new rules or not enough people maning the phone. The last three months have SUCKED for me and my friends. We were all commenting on it too. We used to go right through; now for all three of us, there is usually a one to three hour delay. One of them is a FED LEO too. 
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| I work at a gunstore (I have a seller ID), have a carry permit for VA and Utah, have a C&R FFL and I still get delayed everytime, I've never been an 'instant' but usually my call back takes no more than 1 hour. The owner of the gunstore where I work gets delays everytime too. |
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At the last Hampton Gun Show, 2 people from the State Police were there doing checks. Dealers could apparently call in like we usually see, or take the form over to this little office and the 2 people would do the check there. I walked into their little room and asked one guy if he had a moment to answer a question, and he said sure. I told him about how a few years ago all my checks started getting delayed, usually by a half hour or so. He said if I was making a purchase at the show, he could have gone through my check and let me know what was up. I wasn't buying a gun that day, so he wasn't allowed to pull my info. He said criminal record databases are checked and something called Soundex is used as well, so if your name "sounds like" a bad dude's, that could trigger a delay. He said that was the most likely cause. I had wondered about the security clearance angle myself - apparently that's not relevent. Also, check this link for info: www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/gunbuyer.htm |
| My last 2 transactions, which happened to be at the last Chantilly show got delayed. Each was about an hour for callback. I have the CHL so I figured it would go through quicker. Oh well. I went back one time and told them I seem to buy another item every lap around the show, and if VSP doesn't call back soon I won't have enough money to buy the gun. Funny how fast the callback came in after that. MJD |
I don't doubt the first one, but I'm pretty sure about the second one not being right. I'm pretty confident that there isn't someone out there with a name like mine. . . . . ETA: Looked at the link to the FBI's website.
It's the fingerprinting getting run through NCIC that's the issue. . . . |
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Here is some information that might help with NICS delays. I was asked this by a VCDL member yesterday: You can contact Donna Tate with VASP and ask her: 804-674-2210 Here is some stuff from the FBI on it (from the VCDL Update for Oct 8th): ********************************************************** 10. Help for gun owners who have problems with NICS delays ********************************************************** When I attended the NRA convention in Houston earlier this year, I got a packet from BATFE. In the packet was a brochure on what you can do if you are often delayed during NICS checks due to a similarity between your name and a criminal's name, etc. Several of you have had problems with delays, so I hunted around on the FBI's site and found the electronic version of the brochure: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/nics/gunbuyer.htm |