Purchase delayed

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mnshooter

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Feb 12, 2006
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Twin Cities, MN
I have purchased 4 handguns and an AR lower in the last year without issue. I also have a valid carry permit and put down my SSN. Absolutely nothing about my status has changed. Last night I went to buy a new P938 at Cabelas and was delayed by the NICS.
Why would that happen?
Do delays ever get cleared up on Sundays?
Thanks for any insight
 
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I had that happen as well. Didn't clear on Sunday and in fact it took until Thursday that week. The real kicker was I had a purchase permit for a handgun (north carolina thing) that I could have used that would have bypassed the background check but it was my last one and I wanted to save it for a handgun. They are mandatory for handgun unless you have cc permit. (Mine was out of state at time and new residency)

No reason, just got NIC'd.

That was a few years ago. Now with my resident cc permit I am clear on background checks
 
Did you put your SSN on the 4473? We also have a local gun shop that runs the NCIS whether or not you have a CCW

There must be someone with the same or similar name that comes up. Since I put my SSN on the form I never get delayed anymore
 
Did you put your SSN on the 4473? We also have a local gun shop that runs the NCIS whether or not you have a CCW

There must be someone with the same or similar name that comes up. Since I put my SSN on the form I never get delayed anymore

While I'm big supporter of providing as little as possible I admit with name like "John Smith" providing SSN might indeed speed things up.
 
Did you put your SSN on the 4473? We also have a local gun shop that runs the NCIS whether or not you have a CCW

There must be someone with the same or similar name that comes up. Since I put my SSN on the form I never get delayed anymore
I did use my SSN
 
Meh, I get a conditional once, maybe twice a year. Sometimes they clear it up in minutes, once it took two weeks. I have always given them my SSN. It seems to happen less often since they started doing them on the website.

Once I got a conditional at one gunshop, bought another gun at another shop later that day and got an instant approval. Go figure?
 
I think that they just pick a purchase to delay every now and again just because.:cuss: So much for instant IMO. I have a common name and even with a SSN I got delayed on three firearms in a row. Then went 12 before I had it happen again. No rhyme or reason sometimes.:confused: You can apply for an buyer ID number that supposedly stops this from happening but for me it is not worth the hassle.
 
A while back I started getting delayed, but within 30 minutes the approval came back. This happened for about two years. I have always put my SSN on the 4473s.
A delay can be caused by many different things. It could be as little as someone with the same name with an unpaid traffic ticket.
 
I've had that happen twice , 2 years ago and again a week ago. Same FFL , SSN given , no changes in my legal history , both purchases were older revolvers.

I think that there is a random element involved. There is an element of who answers the phone on the other end - do they like the job? Are they having a good vs bad day?

Factors beyond our control. Think DMV.
 
While living in Oregon I never got delayed. However they are a POC state. Living in Texas now I don't have to worry about it since my LTC covers it.
 
OP, I had that happen once when I was picking up a firearm from my "kitchen-table" 01FFL buddy.

IIRC, I had to wait a couple of days before it cleared and I could arrange another trip to Tom's house.

Tom was not able to get any details from the State Police regarding the Why? but he said that it would happen periodically for no apparent reason.

I just viewed it as a minor "Stuff" Happens PITA. :)
 
While I'm big supporter of providing as little as possible I admit with name like "John Smith" providing SSN might indeed speed things up.
I’ve never put my SSN on the form and never waited more than fifteen minutes.
 
I've had that happen like 3 or 4 guns in a row. Someone with the same name did something naughty. Didn't matter that I used my SSN.

They will also delay if they are overwhelmed. I'm guessing Black Friday sales and federal employees using up vacation time has them totally bombed out.
 
I've only been delayed once and it was also the only time I've ever bought a long gun out of state. It took about a week and a half to get approved but it did finally happen.
 
I have been denied only once but it was figured out the next day. A number in my address was given wrong. I personally think a CCW should be enough. It kind of irritates me that my state makes you pay for an extra background check.
 
I have an Illinois FOID, CCW, and certifications from NRA and 4H. I work in retail firearms. Both my boss and I always get delayed. In IL, all firearms purchases have to be submitted via computer to ISP and SSN is not used, only FOID or CCW number. No idea why but it is always approved, usually within hours.
 
I've never been delayed, but I've always provided my SS# as I thought that was necessary to determine a person wasn't behind on his or hers child support.
 
I get delayed every time I buy a gun, and almost always for three or four days. I always give my full SSN. My record is clean.

I buy a lot of guns. I am convinced that once you buy too many guns too fast to suit them, they delay on purpose.

A backdoor imposition of a waiting period.
 
This is one of the busiest time of the year for gun sales; I would bet there are simply way too many for the regular number of staff folks to process like normal.
 
I saw that happen when I worked at a LGS a few times. The prevailing wisdom was that "they" were swamped and it was the easiest answer to give. Also, first time buyers with security clearances granted by the US gov't were frequently delayed (Ft Bragg NC area). The theory on that was that there was a flag due to the clearance and it required a supervisor who could get deeper access to records to figure out the REASON there was "something extra" in the record. Typically this happened with SF guys or MI types holding TS or higher clearances. None of them ever went from "delay" to "deny". Just my experience. I have also heard of this happening to people with common names like John Smith, who don't provide their SSN.
 
I begged a friend to get his CC. He has a common name and always gets delayed. There is no background check in our state if you have a CC permit. Another friend named his son Junior. Well, Junior has a record and guess what? Yep, Mike had to get a CC permit to stop the delays.
 
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