Background check mandatory 3 day wait

My bet would be backlog from the higher number of requests, or an attempt to slow things down. Here in NJ a NICs check has been taking between 5 days to over a week. They say it's due to the high number of purchases, and of course, staff shortages. Pre-pandemic, the wait was usually 5-15 minutes.

Been ten days minimum here in the Republik of California for decades. During the pandemic panic DOJ stretched it out as far as 30 days. If I recall correctly I waited 17 days for one and 22 for another.

“Staff shortages due to a shift to remote working and a backlog due to increased purchases” was their excuse then.

Hopefully it normalizes for you soon.

Stay safe.

Riomouse911 said:

“Staff shortages due to a shift to remote working and a backlog due to increased purchases” was their excuse then.

Click to expand...

Well, the IRS is hiring….

I do suspect .gov slows things down a bit at this particular time every year because of their "concern" over "gifting." I waited 2 hours for approval on an AR lower about this time a couple years ago when it is usually a minute or so. $.02 and worth the paper it's not printed on. Joe

mountain_man said:

head to the local

Click to expand...

Where "local" is may be significant to answering this.
Was in the LGS yesterday, in Euless, Texas (middle of DFW) and none of the three people buying were having any issues. (It was more striking that that many people were in the store buying on the Thursday, really.)

pharmer said:

I do suspect .gov slows things down a bit at this particular time every year because of their "concern" over "gifting."

Click to expand...

Huh?
.gov, ATF, FBI, CIA or Amazon has no idea what the buyer/transferee plans to do with the firearm purchase. Neither does your dealer unless you choose to tell him. It's not part of the Form 4473 or NICS background check.

We've had a huge spike in gun sales since the passage of 114: https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/08/oregon-gun-sales-ballot-measure-114-background-checks/
The state police say they're working 7 days a week but last I heard a buyer is looking to be waiting at least a month. We have fics here in case anyone isn't aware, it's our own state run background check system.

CapnMac said:

Where "local" is may be significant to answering this.
Was in the LGS yesterday, in Euless, Texas (middle of DFW) and none of the three people buying were having any issues. (It was more striking that that many people were in the store buying on the Thursday, really.)

Click to expand...

My wife and I were in our favorite "LGS" (sort of "local" because it's in Idaho Falls - 80 some miles away) yesterday, and except for the store manager, I only noticed one other person at the gun counter. There were two or three other people wandering around the store, but that's normal seeing as how it's a gun store/knife store/pawn shop/coin shop all rolled into one.
Regardless, the only "issue" I had was that the manager told me it might take a year for him to get me a Ruger Flattop Bisley .44 Special - IF he can get it at all. He said he's hardly seen any Ruger revolvers in a while. I did notice he had a lot more semiautos than revolvers in the handgun display case.
I ordered the Ruger Bisley .44 Special anyway. I can wait until next Christmas for it if I have to.

mountain_man said:

Had a coworker head to the local sportsman's store to purchase a rifle the other day. He's not a prohibited person by any means and he has never had a nics delay before. Well this time he got delayed and he said that everyone at the store was getting delayed according to the employees. So I did a little quick googling and some people are claiming there is a mandatory 3 day wait now? Is this true or is it a backlog from everyone buying stuff in Oregon?

Click to expand...

Yep, we Oregonians are making everyone else's nics slow down. You're welcome!

The last I heard the queue in Oregon for background checks was exceeding 37,000 checks waiting to be processed. I am sure the Oregon State Police uses the national NICS for every background check it runs.

MikeInOr said:

Yep, we Oregonians are making everyone else's nics slow down. You re welcome!

Click to expand...

Carry on Oregon, carry on!

For the last few years from Thanksgiving to early January FDLE/NICS checks take much longer. It might just be because of volume but I am a definite conspiracy, tin-foil hat when it comes to .gov intentions. Joe

dogtown tom said:

Huh?
.gov, ATF, FBI, CIA or Amazon has no idea what the buyer/transferee plans to do with the firearm purchase. Neither does your dealer unless you choose to tell him. It's not part of the Form 4473 or NICS background check.

Click to expand...

Ah, Idaho Falls. I remember it well and miss it. Only lived there six months, some 50 years ago, as I was training at The Site. Lunch at the North Highway Cafe (that's cafe son, not café). My first memory was of walking into a pharmacy. There on the right, the usual aisles of cosmetics, sniffles meds, etc. and on the left, the handgun case. Kind of a surprise to an effete eastern soi-boi. But enough... I've bought several bangers at Kittery Trading Post and don't think I ever had to wait more than about 20 minutes. Barely enough time to paint my nails.

No mandatory 3 day wait here that I'm aware of, at least not by state law. Could be a store policy to keep people from calling in about their status? Local Sportsman's gun counter isn't even answering their phones though. The new Oregon legislation on purchase permits really set off a buying spree in a rush to get in before the 12/8/22 date it was originally supposed to take effect so the OSP has been absolutely swamped with requests.

For the first time I'm aware of, some dealers were (maybe still are?) following the federal law allowing them to release a firearm after more than 3 days with no response on the BGC, so they could be picked up before they got stuck in the new (as yet nonexistent) permit system limbo. Could be that's what people were referring to maybe?

I know someone who has had one stuck in delayed status at SW for over 2 months, even before the mad rush. He has a CHL and has bought from them before, I suggested he go in person and see if they will release it to him on the 3 day federal rule. They would never do that before but as I said some dealers reportedly did start doing that in the last several weeks. At least to CHL holders who have succesfully purchased a firearm from them previously.

I started a post a few weeks ago about getting delayed for the first time (mostly I was whining because of the inconvenience). That day everyone without a carry permit at my LGS (in Texas they don't have to run the NICS check if you have a valid carry permit, though I've seen some places that do it anyway) got a delay and we all had to come back 3 business days later to pick up our firearms, which equated to 6 actual days later. This included 2 City of Houston police officers and a county sheriff, all of whom were even more irked than I was.

I was back at the LGS earlier this week to pick up a different transfer and there were no delays for anyone. So its anyone's guess as to what is going on, but as another poster indicated it was probably technological difficulties the first day. However I have heard anecdotal info from some other LGSs that they are getting a lot more delays since the election.

I will say there have been more people buying firearms at the LGS since the election than I've seen since the last big rush a couple years ago. What gives with that? Is that going to be the new normal or is there a panic going on I'm unaware of?

Yesterday I was done in about 20 minutes from filling out 4473 to out the door in Tempe AZ. May your checks be as smooth

Col. Harrumph said:

Ah, Idaho Falls. I remember it well and miss it. Only lived there six months, some 50 years ago, as I was training at The Site. Lunch at the North Highway Cafe (that's cafe son, not café). My first memory was of walking into a pharmacy. There on the right, the usual aisles of cosmetics, sniffles meds, etc. and on the left, the handgun case. Kind of a surprise to an effete eastern soi-boi. But enough... I've bought several bangers at Kittery Trading Post and don't think I ever had to wait more than about 20 minutes. Barely enough time to paint my nails.

Click to expand...

Ha! It's been a while since I've heard what people now call the "INL" the "Site." You're right though - the "Site" is what us long-time Eastern Idahoans know it as. If you were in training there for 6 months, you must have been in the Navy?
I well remember the North HIghway Cafe too. We used to go there for breakfast whenever we were in Idaho Falls.
I don't remember the Kittery Trading Post though. But then again, my wife and I have only lived in Eastern Idaho since 1972. Our favorite gun store used to be Ski's, which was out alongside the highway going to Arco. Since Ski's closed, Ross's Coin and Gun has become our favorite. There have been several more gun stores open up in Idaho Falls since Ski's closed, but Ross's has remained our favorite - and as far as I know, Ross's has been there as long as Ski's. They changed locations 20 some years back, but they're still in Idaho Falls, and I think the same guy is still managing the place. They've had several different friendly dogs in the store over the years too.

I did some trading and got a new Glock 17MOS yesterday in Southern Missouri. Thankfully, the check went as quickly as always and I was out with my new pistol in minutes. I feel for all of you in states that make it so much harder. Hang in there.

citizenconn said:

in Texas they don't have to run the NICS check if you have a valid carry permit, though I've seen some places that do it anyway)

Click to expand...

Large corporation or???

Never heard of them running it anyhow. Nor have had it done to me.

We in Illinois have mandatory 3 day waiting period, with the background checks. I've not had any delays, other than the 9 month wait for my illegal FOID renewal.

Not here we just fill out the Form 4473 they call it in & we get approved then walk out the door with our gun.
I had the NICS check delay for about an hour one time but that was the only problem I've had.

pharmer said:

I do suspect .gov slows things down a bit at this particular time every year because of their "concern" over "gifting."

Click to expand...

dogtown tom said:

Huh?
.gov, ATF, FBI, CIA or Amazon has no idea what the buyer/transferee plans to do with the firearm purchase. Neither does your dealer unless you choose to tell him. It's not part of the Form 4473 or NICS background check.

Click to expand...

....also, in most scenarios, "gifting" a firearm is perfectly legal. It is considered different than a "Straw Purchase". https://www.nssf.org/articles/giving-a-firearm-as-a-gift-some-reminders-from-nssf/

Thanks, .308. Yup, navy, class of 7408. Oh and KTP is in Maine, not Idaho.

No NICS for me in KS for the last 16yrs. I never had one take more than 10min before that, but my legal name is pretty unique, so I don’t hang up much. My adopted brother has a name as common as peanut butter, so he used to get held for an hour or two on every check, until he got his CCHL.