What have the wait times been ?

Ten days on a F2, 2-3 weeks on a F3, 4-6 months on a F4.

4 months on form 1, 3 on form 4

Bubbles said:

Ten days on a F2, 2-3 weeks on a F3, 4-6 months on a F4.

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Nailed it. I've had 4 Form 4's come back this week. Some from October/November, some from January.

April too, still waiting.

Sent mine off in February. Still Waiting. I got Mr. Shipman, who I have spoken to on the phone. He seems to be a very polite and thorough man with one helluva overload. On some other boards he has a reputation for being 'not at work' most days. Apparently the examiners have other duties, too.

It hurts my heart to think that Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed in me for having asked permission from my government (for anything).

I just recently (Late April) got my Form 4 back from August 2010. 8 months.

1. NFA Item: AAC M4-1000
2. Form Type: Form 4
3. Transferee Type: Individual
4. Forms Sent: Feb. 4, 2011
5. Check Cashed: Feb. 8, 2011
6. Pending Date: March 10, 2011
7. Approved Date: April 28, 2011
8. Forms Received: May 4, 2011
9. Examiner Name: Jason M. Frushour


1. NFA Item: SBR
2. Form Type: Form 1
3. Transferee Type: Individual
4. Forms Sent: Feb. 4, 2011
5. Check Cashed: Feb. 23, 2011
6. Pending Date: March 18, 2011
7. Approved Date: May 18th
8. Forms Received: May 19th
9. Examiner Name: Sandra Snook.

Wait time on what?

I've heard from many people, that the examiner means everything!

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The ATF could make a heck of a lot of extra money if they had an extra $10 "Pick your examiner" option.
Actually, no, that would probably overload the "fast(er)" ones.

My suppressor has been waiting 5 weeks just to transfer from the manufacturer to my dealer! I haven't even been able to start the paperwork :-( Now that sucks.

I sent my F1 in mid December and it was approved almost exactly 3 months later.

Method: Trust
Sent: 03/25/2011
Received: 3/28/2011
Check cashed: 4/1/2011
Pending : 4/9/2011
Approved: 5/9/2011
Examiner: William Shipman
Tax Stamp Received: TBD



Still no stamp. No idea why it's taking so long to show up. Every time I see his name next to a file it shows a one month time from approved to arrived. Makes no sense.

DoubleTapDrew said:

The ATF could make a heck of a lot of extra money if they had an extra $10 "Pick your examiner" option.
Actually, no, that would probably overload the "fast(er)" ones.

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This would NOT work for three reasons.

1. As you already said - examiners that temporarily move faster than other examiners will be flooded with applications, negating any positive effect.
2. Each examiner is different. What one examiner requires to process forms in a timely fashion can be superfluous or insufficient for another.
3. Every TRANSFEROR (SELLER) is assigned an examiner. Just because you have an assigned examiner does not mean you are going to get that examiner every time. I am a "G" - and like all "G" businesses I have Christina Farris. So when I buy stuff from Gemtech, she approves the transfer from Gemtech and then when I sell to someone else, she approves the transfer to the next person. HOWEVER - due to caseload reassignment this can change. I have gotten forms in from THREE other examiners this month - so the phrase "The examiner is everything" holds true IF you get the same examiner 100% of the time which does not happen.

WOOOO HOOOO it's in.

Method: Trust
Form 4, Suppressor
Mailed: March 18th
Check Cashed: March 29th
Additional Requested documents mailed: April 18th
Form 4 approved: May 9th
Form 4 arrived at Dealer: May 24th
Examiner: William Shipman.

67 days, start to finish.

flking said:

Method: Trust
Form 4, Suppressor
Mailed: March 18th
Check Cashed: March 29th
Additional Requested documents mailed: April 18th
Form 4 approved: May 9th
Form 4 arrived at Dealer: May 24th
Examiner: William Shipman.

67 days, start to finish.

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THAT is impressive. I'm still waiting on some forms from December/November.

The ATF recently announced that examiners would now be assigned by state of residence, not last names any longer. So previous track records are pretty much out the window now.