Home Visit By the ATF

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

RioShooter

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2005
Messages
639
Location
Brownsville, TX
When I arrived home from work today, my wife informed me that a representative from the BATF called on our home this afternoon. He hand delivered a letter to her that was addressed to me. He told her that he knew I have guns because I have a C & R license. He also told her not to be concerned by his visit because he is not from the division of the ATF "that kicks-down doors" when they go to someone's house.

The envelope contained a copy of a brochure about illegal gun sales.

He traveled from Houston to deliver the letter. I live in Brownsville, and that makes the trip about 300 miles. I wonder why he didn't just mail it?
 
Maybe he was delivering them to multiple people in your area and people in between Brownsville and Houston.
 
With all the border concern, I would not be surprised that they would be taking a more "hand on" approach with all dealers, just letting them know someone is watching.
I'm sure you are not the only licensed person in Brownsville he went to see.

The media has been all over the stories about the number of straw purchases made on behalf of Mexican gangs etc. So, this is ATF's way of "doing something".

That's my guess anyway.
 
Call BATF and confirm.
I suspect your house just got cased by a con-man/burgler.

I suspect he knew or guessed you have a Curio&Relic license either because you put it on some paperwork to a non-government outfit, or you subscribe to some magazine/newsletter/fly-by-night parts store.

The only justification I can imagine, would be if they want to verify that the C&R license holder listed a residence rather than a place of business. But why bother?
 
first, call the BATFE office and ask to talk to him.
this will both confirm hes a legit agent, and you can ask what the reason behind the visit was.

you can do this, or have your lawyer do it if your really paranoid
 
I used to give out other people's business cards from time to time when I didn't want to be identified.

I'd confirm the visit with a non-confrontational follow-up call to BATFE.

What a nifty way for a guy to get into your home, meet your family, confirm you possess guns and, if he's REALLY lucky, get you to surrender a few for inspection or tracing.
 
No doubt he gets a mark in the book whenever he does a check on any license holder. Could be part of the reason for the visit.
 
...or you could relax and just talk to the guy.
You do maintain an FFL, ya know.
This is what they do.
p
 
I'll call the BATF on Monday; I got home after business hours today. I'm not really concerned, but the general consensus on C & R forums is that ATF agents never visit FFL 03's.
 
This is the second person I've heard tell about this. There is a C&R guy on our local board who just had the same thing happen.

Inspected by the ATF
I have a C&R FFL and was recently inspected by my local ATF office.

Here is the story:
An inspector came by my house (unannounced) and spoke to my wife when I wasn’t there. His communication skills are somewhat lacking so she wasn’t sure what he wanted but took his card and then gave me a call.

That afternoon, I called his office and left a message. A couple days later he returned my call and asked to schedule an inspection. I told him sure but I prefer to do it at his office. (Note: I’ve heard from previous collectors that all they want to see is the paperwork…aka the bound book.) The inspector insisted that I bring in all my C&R firearms to his office. When I asked if I could just bring in the paperwork, he threatened me with "getting a search warrant"...so I agreed to bring in the guns

Read more about it HERE at Bayou Shooter
 
@ nickatnite,Good bad,right or wrong I am shy of a possible spam post.Which room and thread is you?I do not care to signup at more forums just to read a post.
 
No spammer here at all.

I've been stalking around here for a while.

I actually tried to use the "quote original poster" for RioShoter; but, it's not applicable for me yet.

The thread I was quoting was from a gent on our local board, his screen name is "CalvaryJim" on BS.com.

You should be able to go directly to the post I hotlinked. The only reason why I made reference to it in THIS post, is that I wanted RioShooter to be aware that apparently he was not singled out...

So pugmug, does this ATF search pertain to you as well?
 
If asked by a BATFE agent to bring guns to his office, I would call his supervisor (agent in charge) immediately. If you confirm that the agent is legitimate, ask if he is not aware that it is a criminal offense for an unauthorized person to carry or bring a gun into a federal building?

(I admit that there would be a humorous side to showing up at a federal building with a panel truck full of guns and watching the reaction, but I suspect they would find some excuse for locking you up and throwing away the key.)

Do NOT take your guns anywhere. Tell the agent in charge that you and your attorney will bring in your bound book upon request.

P.S. Business cards? Official letters? Hey, guys, this is the computer era. I can make up business cards showing that I am Santa Claus, the King of Sweden, or Sean Penn. And back it with a letter of introduction from Queen Elizabeth II, complete with royal seal.

Jim
 
When you do call to verify this mans position with the batf, DO NOT call the number on his card. Find the number in the phone book, online, or call information. Anyone can have a business card printed with any number they want and simply set the message on their answering machine to sound legitimate, or even answer the phone in a manner that will give the impression of legitimacy. I suspect foul play, burglar, or gubernment. I am not an ffl holder, but have purchased A LOT of guns on paper recently. The other day a man approached my wife when she was checking the mail and he claimed to be a federal marshal. He showed her a picture and asked her if she knew the guy, told her he was wanted for jumping bond......I call BS. I was born in the dark, but not LAST night. Perhaps I should get my tinfoil hat, but I fear a massive power grab is imminent and will happen in the foreseeable future.
 
+1 on recent border problems and BATF trying to have an increased presence. They are probably contacting all people along the border that have any FFL to warn them against selling to possible gun runners. A lot of the Mexican drug gangs send people into the US to do there arms buying and bring them back across. A popular gun store in Houston inadvertently sold something like 20 AR-15s to straw men for a drug cartel. When you hear hoofbeats think horses not zebras.
 
If a branch of the Federal government wants to communicate with you they can do it in writing via your attorney.
 
I have a couple of friends who are ATF. One is a supervisor, the other is an administrative guy who just checks paperwork and such. You probably encountered the latter. I've also run into several other ATF agents in the course of my work, and most were pretty good guys.

The guys I have encountered are nice folks to deal with. There are bad apples in any barrel, but I bet the guy who came calling is just doing a spot check on the papers. Be cool, and I bet it comes off as a big nothing.
 
Likely legit. No reason not to call and double check. Heck call tomarrow and confirm he is a "agent" Just tell the truth that a unknown claimed to be and you want to confirm he was.
 
It always intrigues me when we advise someone to get an attorney everytime a government employee speaks. As long as the fee isn't coming out of our pockets, we don't care how much the lawyer costs you.

Next time you register your car, think about hiring an attorney to do it. It isn't necessary to hire legal counsel every time a government employee passes wind.



RioShooter: You did sign up for a special license issued by the federal government. Now you have to expect them to do their job and administer your license. We cannot reasonably expect them to ignore these licenses like a common driver's license. We also cannot expect them to visit every license holder daily. So they make random checks, to which any and all license holders may be subject randomly. They don't just perform the convenient checks on the few license holders who happen to live down the street from the regional office. This time, your number came up. Let us know what happens on Monday, friend.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

L
  • Locked
ATF on the prowl
2 3 4 5
Replies
118
Views
7K
Carl N. Brown
Carl N. Brown
C
  • Locked
ATF Visit (Alaska)
Replies
21
Views
1K
Casca
C
E
  • Locked
Romanian PSL-3 Recall?!?
Replies
2
Views
1K
Ethereal
E
M
  • Locked
ATF Out of Control
Replies
11
Views
1K
ArfinGreebly
ArfinGreebly
W
  • Locked
Abusive ex-boyfriend, threat & unannounced visit
Replies
15
Views
1K
BullfrogKen
B
Back
Top