Odd luck in a background check?

I have an extremely uncommon first name and have never had any sort of delay with a BC. Might be coincidence, might not. I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

Mars5l said:

Went to pick up 2 handguns from my LGS today. They had been layaway and decided just to finally get them today. I had imagined the background checks were probably running a little behind. I was informed the website was saying 27 hour wait time and they had ppl from the day before still waiting on an okay. They surmised from all panic buying still plus they finally had a large gunshow was pushing it all back.They'd get me going and text me when they got the okay. Well I wanted to check out some ammo before heading out, turns out 5 minutes was all I needed. LGS said that I've been only person the entire day that went thru like that.

I kinda do think it's because I have an odd spelling to my name, well my first and middle and my last isn't a common name either.

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Count your blessings.
I've been on a gun buying hiatus. I am going to continue it until this calms down.

Odd name sometimes helps, but lately about 90% have gone into "pending" and have taken an hour or four.

Mars is a very common first name.

My background checks usually take an average of 5-10 minutes due to the fact that I have to use a UPIN and my checks always go for further review. I got quite the surprise two weeks ago when it actually took longer to fill out the 4473 than it did for the background check to clear. The clerk took my ID and my UPIN and started the check on the computer while I filled out the paper 4473 and by the time I finished and handed her the paperwork, the check had cleared on the computer. The time before, back in April, it took 1 1/2 hours for my background check to clear. The longest delay I have had since getting my UPIN was 24 hours. As you can see there is no rhyme or reason on how long it takes for a background check to clear.

My name is Dirt Common, I have to explain constantly that I'm not related to some Common or another, I have worked with a few organizations where I had to go by a nickname to cut down on confusion, (it never works) I have had a boss run my name through the court records and apparently I have an evil twin who is Dirtbag Common and have received emails for the Captain America of us Commons, and is apparently doing great things for Democracy and the American Way.

I always use my SSN and I always expect a delay and I always get waved through even when the conventional wisdom says we are all panic buying and no one is getting through.

There's really no rhyme or reason.

2 out of the 3 last purchases were delayed, requiring me to come back and pick up the gun a couple days later.
Most recent purchase / BGC went through immediately.

I have a common name and the #2 man for Al-Qaeda in Africa used my name as an alias at one point. We blew him up 5 or 6 years ago.
Made getting back into the USA over the past 10 years a pain for me. I'd get pulled off to the side when going through customs and border patrol.

Last 2 trips back to the USA I had no issues.

It's the yeas or nays on a more common name such as Bob Jones. Robert Williams. Brown, Smith, George, White. Or add double trouble to any of those by adding Jr. .

Nay- things like this NICS, or the heavens forbid, a credit check. Or correcting a credit foul up.
Yea- you can be the 'gray man' , blend in very well.

drobs said:

2 out of the 3 last purchases were delayed, requiring me to come back and pick up the gun a couple days later.
Most recent purchase / BGC went through immediately.

I have a common name and the #2 man for Al-Qaeda in Africa used my name as an alias at one point. We blew him up 5 or 6 years ago.
Made getting back into the USA over the past 10 years a pain for me. I'd get pulled off to the side when going through customs and border patrol.

Last 2 trips back to the USA I had no issues.

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Probably took several years for him to die in the security system.

OrangeCat said:

There's really no rhyme or reason.

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There you go.

I will ALWAYS be suspicious of background checks. The reason......... I purchased 50 firearms with no delays over many years at many different FFL's. I had #51, 52, 53, 54, all delayed 3 days. Guns purchased from diffetent FFL's over the course of six months. After that no wait when purchasing many more. I do have a semi common name but always use my SSN on the 4473. I do not think it was just bad luck either. Before this I always thought one of the BGC opperators always delayed wether you passed or not just to throw in that wild card and sometimes the FFL got that operator. You decide.??

I doubt name has much to do with it, but maybe.
I always have trouble on my 4473 with the name, not so much that I don't know what to put but the ffl doesn't. first name - very common, last name pretty uncommon but the middle name is tough for them. My middle name is just a single letter, not an initial or anything like that- don't ask why, there's no good reason past my parents were hippies. So I put my middle name (R) where it goes, they tell me to put the full name, I explain and some times they'll add -I.O. (initial only), next to it so effectively looks like my middle name is Rio. Some times they put -M.I.O. (middle initial only) which further confuses , sometimes nothing at all and just scratch they're head and think about it. Only time it's a pain is buying guns, it's just so moronic - thanks mom.

Took about ten seconds for me a week ago.

Mars5l said:

Went to pick up 2 handguns from my LGS today. They had been layaway and decided just to finally get them today. I had imagined the background checks were probably running a little behind. I was informed the website was saying 27 hour wait time and they had ppl from the day before still waiting on an okay. They surmised from all panic buying still plus they finally had a large gunshow was pushing it all back.They'd get me going and text me when they got the okay. Well I wanted to check out some ammo before heading out, turns out 5 minutes was all I needed. LGS said that I've been only person the entire day that went thru like that.

I kinda do think it's because I have an odd spelling to my name, well my first and middle and my last isn't a common name either.

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all you people with only a few minutes, or an hour for a background check, and you are done.

here in my state, it was 7 days, now it is 8 days...but when the panic buying started, the governor put into place an "up to 30 days IF NEEDED"..........waiting time, as the police depts were swamped.

now for me, and my new gun???

i pick it up this friday, after the 8 day wait.

so, "i am lucky" that i have the "odd luck" in this waiting game....

my last gun? i was able to pick it up ONE DAY, before the governor's new ruling took effect.

Purchasing 2 handguns at the same time (actually within a 7 day window) sends up a lot of red flags and may well result in a visit from one of the alphabet agencies. If not to you to the gunshop. Doing it with 2 or more long guns or a long gun and handgun at the same time is usually less of a problem. I've purchased 2 at the same time before, but on the advice of the gun shop owner waited a week before picking up one of them.

Bfh_auto said:

Probably took several years for him to die in the security system.

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Remember the No Fly Lists after 9/11? A lot of people ended up on that List despite not doing anything that warrants being on such Lists.

jmr40 said:

Purchasing 2 handguns at the same time (actually within a 7 day window) sends up a lot of red flags and may well result in a visit from one of the alphabet agencies. If not to you to the gunshop. Doing it with 2 or more long guns or a long gun and handgun at the same time is usually less of a problem. I've purchased 2 at the same time before, but on the advice of the gun shop owner waited a week before picking up one of them.

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I have never had such an issue. I bought two handguns together a few weeks back. Background check returned in less than a minute.

I once had the LGS order me six Hi Points. I had enough sense to pay for and do a BGC for one every week on random days.
Seems the USA needs a common sense reset! This would help with the onerous firearms laws big time.

Our government is slow, clumsy, inefficient and expensive in all of it’s endeavors; if a “proceed” takes a minute or a year, no citizen living in this country should ever be surprised - our government in most of it’s processes is laughable.

Computers and data base software work great, but it requires a human to enter the data into the system. That's the fly in the ointment. A friend in the Army had a very common name. He was a senior Staff Sergeant with an exemplary service record but was well overdue for promotion. He spoke to our Sergeant Major about the problem and his recommendation was to physically go to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, personnel records were maintained there, and to physically see his service record they had on file. Understand this was before computers. There was another soldier with the same name and you probably guessed it by now. His namesake was a bum. Copies of non-judicial punishment, poor efficiency reports and a court martial for the namesake were in his file and all my friend's letters of appreciation, high efficiency reports and medals were in the bum's records. Guess who had been promoted? The bum naturally.
I would imagine a lot of this happens in the NICS office also. You have to worry if some human corrects the errors or just ignores it. Garbage in, garbage out, an old term but still true.

Obturation said:

I doubt name has much to do with it, but maybe.
I always have trouble on my 4473 with the name, not so much that I don't know what to put but the ffl doesn't. first name - very common, last name pretty uncommon but the middle name is tough for them. My middle name is just a single letter, not an initial or anything like that- don't ask why, there's no good reason past my parents were hippies. So I put my middle name (R) where it goes, they tell me to put the full name, I explain and some times they'll add -I.O. (initial only), next to it so effectively looks like my middle name is Rio. Some times they put -M.I.O. (middle initial only) which further confuses , sometimes nothing at all and just scratch they're head and think about it. Only time it's a pain is buying guns, it's just so moronic - thanks mom.

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Rio sounds like a good hippie name.

Picked a pistol up last week. I don't know if it was because it was around 5PM MST (which would be 8PM EDT, 7PM CDT) or not, but the NICS went through in a flash. I was surprised as I was expecting a delay due to what I've been seeing from people online.

OrangeCat said:

I always use my SSN and I always expect a delay and I always get waved through even when the conventional wisdom says we are all panic buying and no one is getting through.

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I just noticed the other day that SSN is optional. Do most people not provide it when purchasing? I've always used mine on the 4473.

Can't speak for "most people," but I have never provided mine.