How long does Handgun purchase in TX take?

[newbie4help]

I know you have to do the NCIS check - is that days or mere minutes/hours? I don't have to get any special state permit just to buy a handgun if I don't plan on carrying concealed right?

I am coming back from out of state and just want to know everything about the process - I know there are websites but they don't really give you much details about how long it is etc.

Is there anything special about buying ammo for handgun? Do all I need to get the gun/ammo is basically a state DL right?

 

[csmkersh]

If you have a Texas CHL, it's cash and carry after filling out the 4473 and paying the dealer. If you don't have a Texas CHL, it's Dependant on whether or not the FBI okays or says hold. Then it could be up to 5 business days or a denial.
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[newbie4help]

Okay maybe I'm confused. I thought the system was automatic. So it's either like boom you're in or sorry denied. Why would they say "hold" if I don't have anything in my record?

 

[newbie4help]

????

 

[csmkersh]

You might read this thread concerning delayed/denied purchases. As noted, it could be something as simple as a similar name of a flagged individual.
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[newbie4help]

Thanks csmkersh. Sounds screwy.

Is there anyway I can call up the dealer I will be buying from down there in less than a month while I'm here out of state and have him go ahead and run the check on me so it's smooth when I get down?

 

[xplicitfire]

The process depends if you have a record or not. When I bought my handgun it took only 5 minutes for them to ring me up. I think it took longer for me to fill out the paperwork then for them to tell me I was approved. It all depends on your history.

 

[Kindrox]

Last purchase with CHL I knew what I wanted and was in and out in 10 minutes.

The last purchase before I had my CHL I was in and out in 12 minutes. The phone call was about 2 minutes.

My name is a little unique, but I don't give a social or any extra crap.

 

[blutarsky]

every gun i've purchased in stores has taken just a few minutes. i always shop ahead, so when i end up going to the store to purchase, i already know what i want so it's simply a matter of pointing to it, filling out the paperwork, paying, and walking out a happy customer.

i was a bit surprised my first time because i thought it must have been more difficult or time consuming -- but if you have no dings on your record and your check comes back clean, there's no reason you couldn't be in and out in 15 mins. i always put my ssn on the 4473, a lot of people don't but i figure they got dozens of ways to attach it to me anyway and it might help speed up the process, and so far (knock on wood!) each phone call for the check has taken less than 2 mins. indeed, as pointed out previously, the act of filling out the paperwork is the most lengthy portion of the entire process.

 

[newbie4help]

I'm a bit worried because I had a deferred adjudication several years back (nothing serious - Fake ID as a kid) which was expunged. According to Form 4473 (yes I read it) I don't have to report this as a conviction but I hope it doesn't impede the process.

Will something expunged/sealed even show up on the NICS?

 

[ieszu]

I have an FFL, and when I purchase something for myself, I always get delayed... usually get a call the next day to say it is clear, but I have always been delayed.

I put my SSN, and I have even done the phone call myself..... no criminal history (a few speeding tickets, but nothing excessive) and no one at the ATF has given me a reason why.... I applied for my UPIN a week or so ago just to get around this problem.... when I buy a gun I want it NOW

 

[newbie4help]

....

 

[DiN_BLiX]

The last few times I bought one its been a -2 minute phonecall, im probibly out of the store in 20-30 minutes. The is no 3-10 day "make-up period" in texas.

 

[rbernie]

It's not an immediate help, but once you make it back to The Promised Land you really ought to get a TX CHL. It takes a couple of months to get, but its good for up to five years and during that time no Brady calls need be made so long as you present the valid CHL to the selling dealer.

 

[KenW.]

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has nothing to do with your gun purchase. NICS may though...

 

[newbie4help]

Lol. So does anyone have any advice regarding my deferred adjudication/expunged fake ID charge? I know I don't have to report it, but if it somehow pops up in the system could it create a hassle? Could I get in trouble for saying "no" when that comes up?

Thanks!

 

[Nate C.]

Was it a felony?

 

[newbie4help]

I don't know if it was a felony - but that doesn't matter according to ATF From 4473 - all that matters is whether it was expunged or not. I didn't have a a "conviction" it was deferred then charges dropped.

 

[waterhouse]

If your name, or in some cases a similar sounding name with a similar birthday, has been entered into the FBI computers because you committed a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, you will have trouble buying a gun from a dealer who runs a NICS check.

I don't know how to define your legal situation. If it was not a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, you should be walking out with your gun about 2-3 minutes after you sign the 4473.

If there is something wrong, either something that you did or something that someone with a similar name did, you will likely be "delayed" which means that a real live actual person (instead of the computer) will check you out and get back to the dealer within a few days. If that real live actual person clears you, the dealer will call you and you may go pick up your gun.

 

[newbie4help]

So if it was classified a felony in that state, you're saying you think that even though it was deferred then expunged (which is ***NOT*** a conviction either in that state or on form 4473 - that much is 100000% clear) you think it would cause a delay? I guess I'm confused how that could be b/c how would it have gotten into their database since there was no judgment ever entered?

Or did you mean "convicted" when you said committed - in that case yes of course but I have never been convicted of anything in my life. I got deferred then expunged which is not conviction under any jurisdiction.

 

[waterhouse]

I'm not saying anything about your particular legal issues. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know how things that are deferred and expunged are handled.

All I am saying is that there is an FBI database. In that database there is a list of people who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (and more recently some people with mental health issues, possibly, but that is for another thread). If your name is in that database, or if it closely resembles a name on that database, there will be problems with buying a gun. The problems could range from a few days wait to no gun at all to scary black helicopters circling your house.

 

[wadeh]

I was under the impression that there was a set maximum time limit that you have to wait. That is, within 3 or 7 or however many days; your gun purchase must be either approved or rejected. This makes it sound like it you could be strung out indefinitly waiting for someone to say you are OK.

 

[csmkersh]

Yes, wadew, there is a set time for a Delay; it's 3 business days. You can get the FBI's take on NICS here. Pay particular attention to this paragraph:

On the third business day of a DELAYED transaction, the NICS Examiner is required to call the FFL and advise him/her of their rights under the Brady Act to transfer the firearm after the third business day. If the delayed transaction cannot be resolved within the allowed three business days, it is at the discretion of the FFL whether to allow the firearm transfer. However, the NICS Section continues to research the case in an effort to obtain complete disposition information. Business days do not include the day the check was initiated Saturdays, Sundays, and any day state offices in the state of purchase are closed.

I doubt you'll find many dealers who will make the transfer after 3 business days even though the law says they may. They'll be thinking of what kind a crud they'll go through during the next compliance visit by ATF.

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[waterhouse]

I was under the impression that there was a set maximum time limit that you have to wait. That is, within 3 or 7 or however many days; your gun purchase must be either approved or rejected. This makes it sound like it you could be strung out indefinitly waiting for someone to say you are OK.

You cannot be strung out indefinitely, but I was hesitant to put a number of days as it is a little confusing. I believe the wording is something like "before the end of the 3rd business day", the NICS people are responsible for calling the dealer and letting him know whether he may proceed with the sale or whether the buyer has been denied. If no contact is made from NICS in the allotted time span, the transfer may proceed.

In typical government weirdness, they make the 3 days so hard to count that they provide dealers with a chart. You see, a NICS day begins at 12:01 a.m. on the day after the check was initiated. If the dealer calls in a check at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, day one starts on Tuesday and day 3 does not end until just after midnight on Friday morning, so the gun may be transfered on Friday morning if the dealer has not heard back.

Weekends do not count, so if you get a delay on a Friday your dealer may transfers you the gun on the next Thursday.

Thankfully, for me, this has never come up, as I have never had them not get back to me within 48 hours (real hours, not NICS "days") of a delay.

 

[Shadow1198]

In the state of Texas there is no waiting period. All they do is the NICS check, which is a quick phone call. Assuming your record is clean, then typically it should only take ~5min usually to fill out the paperwork and for them to do a quick call. As far as denied/delayed stuff, I don't really know anything about that.