Fairly recently I received a CHL in the states of Oregon (July, 2021) and Utah (November, 2021). I own three handguns, which were sold to me by a sibling & thus didn’t require background checks. Upon trying to “officially” purchase my first AR-15 lower through my local FFL on September 24th, I was told my background check came back as “Delayed” w/ an estimated wait time to be early-mid November. It’s now almost January and it’s STILL delayed.
IMPORTANT: None of the FFL’s in my area will release a firearm until the background check is Approved
Needless to say, I was shocked that they could delay a gun purchase for this long. The people working at the gun store said they’d never seen a CHL holder get delayed more than two weeks & asked if I recently had a DUI and/or any law-related incident. “I’ve never even had a speeding or parking ticket” was my reply, the implication being that I’m basically a boy scout and haven’t had ANY run-ins with Law Enforcement.
Has anyone ever heard of this happening? What are the potential causes for this? It seems so bizarre that I would get background checked & approved for two Concealed Handgun Licenses in different states, yet be delayed when attempting to make my first FFL purchase.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I’m betting your name is similar to a person with a questionable moral compass. There is a form and process you can go through with the ATF that gives you a personalized number for this problem. Your gun shop should have a pamphlet or a direction for you to find out more.
What @Craig9 said. If you’re not the guy, you look like the guy, and there’s not staff to move through the volume. It might be like trying to get off the no-fly list. Nobody else has my name, so I don’t have first hand experience with the appeal process. Have you looked through these resources for a path forward:
Just to make it clear, my NICS check was only delayed, not denied. So, there isn’t an appeals process for delays in the same manner as denials and the local FFLs / firearms trainers I’ve talked to basically have said my only recourse is an FBI number regarding delays (which I’ve already called). Apparently, people rarely hear back from them.
I guess it’s just a waiting game at this point. I just didn’t realize they could grossly violate your 2nd Amendment rights by making someone with a CHL (so it’s not like I haven’t passed multiple background checks) wait 6 months for a legally purchased firearm. Really frustrating
I understood that your check was only delayed — just that the “delay” seems more than excessive. I’m not experienced with the details, just reading the references. I’m not sure how the County Sheriff and OSP background checks might differ, but they do at least in the sense that different agencies are touching the process. With a fail at the state so soon after success at the county, a couple possibilities occur to me:
– paperwork to or at OSP got tangled or lost;
– Sheriff looks at or into the “delay” and decides to “release” while FFLs decide to “hold”.
With Oregon doing its own NICS, I’m not clear that calling FBI would even be part of your recourse for excessive delay. The Oregon resources certainly say that excessive delay can be appealed — and suggest to me that your filing from September may no longer even exist at the end of December.
"Appealing a Delay
You must include the required information below along with your appeal request:
(1) Complete Name
(2) Complete Mailing Address
(3) A set of your rolled fingerprints
(4) NICS Transaction Number (NTN) or State Transaction Number (STN)
A delayed transaction will be purged from the NICS within 88 days from creation. The NICS Section requires that you wait 30-days from the date initiating the check prior to filing an appeal on a delay to give the NICS Section’s staff time to complete the initial transaction. If your original background check is completed, the Federal Firearm Licensee will be notified with a final status.
I ran across a lady last week, she had her CHL in Oregon, when her background was being reviewed, it later turned to delayed…
She was able to get her CHL but cant get a firearm.
Seemed strange to me, employees of the shop said its happened before.
In Oregon, if you owe child support, your blocked from buying a gun.
The lady that got blocked, i think I heard her talking to herself, wondering if its due to the time she had herself committed…
Have a friend who got delayed when everyone said he should be able to get one no problem. He was delayed a couple months. All the way to late May. Apparently the the delay day is a made up date and they may get around to you when they get a chance…
Yeah, I have two CHL’s for reciprocity reasons while traveling (one in Oregon, one in Utah).
I’ve never been arrested. Never had a traffic citation. Never been voluntarily or involuntarily committed. Not on any medications (anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, opiates, anxiolytic drugs, etc.). I currently have a GF, but no children.
The delay is coming up on 9 months now. Believe me, I’ve racked my brain & spoken with a good pro-2A lawyer about the whole situation. There are some legal remedies for future purchases, but nothing that will help the current situation.
See if the shop who your trying to buy from will dial the number using the store phone to get a hold of the people doing the checks so you can talk with them directly.
