What Happens when a Gunshop Closes

[kjeff50cal]

What happens when a gunshop closes? To the point what happens to the yellow forms? Do they stay with the shop owners or do they go to the BATFE? Reason I am asking a few of the stores I did business no longer exist a I am courious about this. And (tin foil hat wearers hold on) if I write a letter to the BATFE (is it me or they adding more alphabet soup to their acronym?) will they send a print-out of my gun purchase (shudder ) activities at said shops?

kjeff50cal

 

[tg_26101]

When an FFL holder ceases business, the yellow forms go to the ATF's "out of business records center", along with the bound book. Different people keep the yellow forms different ways (several are acceptable), so possibly they couldn't find your records, and my guess was if they could, they wouldn't spend the time running down your purchases.

 

[Jim K]

I hate to disillusion the paranoid, but even when BATFE does get hold of those forms and the books, they don't do anything with them except file them. Only if there is a trace required on a specific gun that was shipped to that shop would they dig out the old records and try to find the buyer. (Essentially what they would do at the shop if it were still open.)

Jim

 

[armoredman]

I have seen pics of ATFEs' storage room for 4473s. It would take a miracle to find anything in there, unless they have had a team of professional filers working nonstop in there for a year or two.
Gunshops closing do offer great closeout deals! I got some good stuff from a few.
BTW, any 4473s over 25 years old may now be destroyed...and never turned in.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Like the other guys said, they get sent in. However, odds are slim that anything can/could be found by them.

I've heard a story or two of guys sending in boxes that had been water damaged due to fires or mishaps. No way anyone was going to find anything of note there.

Therefore, I don't think they are going to find anything for you.

 

[kjeff50cal]

I have seen pics of ATFEs' storage room for 4473s. It would take a miracle to find anything in there, unless they have had a team of professional filers working nonstop in there for a year or two.
Gunshops closing do offer great closeout deals! I got some good stuff from a few.
BTW, any 4473s over 25 years old may now be destroyed...and never turned in.

That is incouraging and discouraging. I've heard long ago the 4473 forms were a "form" of make work to justify that department's worth .

kjeff50cal