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Thread: Longer wait times at the NFA Branch?

  1. #1
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    Longer wait times at the NFA Branch?

    Hello Everyone,
    I am new to the forum and fairly new to the world of NFA. I bought my first can last year. When I bought it, my class III dealer said the wait times were very long and it took 6 months to get my paperwork back. Now that I have the bug for NFA weapons, I have paperwork in for 2 more silencers and an SBR. The Form 1 and 4s are both being filed as an individual. I watch www.nfatracker.com every day and the wait times seem to have expanded to 8 months now! When I check the internet for any conversations about this I can not find any. Are these wait times a sign of a new "normal" or just a backlog due to all the anti-gun stuff that happened this year? Will we ever see a 4 month wait time again?

    I do want to also say that I have called the NFA Branch and they have always been polite and professional. They just tell me my paperwork is still pending and that is all they can do. Once the lady on the phone told me that the new goal time to process applications is 9 months. I have called my Senators and member of Congress to express my concerns. I live in Texas and I am blessed to have very pro-2nd amendment representatives.

    I would enjoy hearing anyone's insight into what the current state of the wait times are. Thanks in advance for anyone responding!
    Last edited by jason8844; 08-13-2013 at 04:06 AM.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by title ii View Post
    9 months is the new normal. Its better to forget it exists and enjoy other aspects of your life. Hopefully the new eforms will help in the near future especially if and when payment can be made electronically. Your wife/girlfriend can give you a child in the time it takes to get your approved stamp back. No joke.
    I sure hope 9 months is not the new normal. That is unreasonable. People can die, dealers can go out of business, laws can change, and people can move in those long time frames. 4 months is reasonable, but when you start getting close to a year, that is simply the government interfering with LEGAL commerce and people trying to comply with the law and pay taxes. I am surprised more anti-gunners do not like the NFA more. They get everything they want.... gun registration and more taxes being paid.

  3. #3
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    I received a Colt 1921 TMG about a month ago. My total waiting time was 7 months , 2 1/2 months with the Maryland State Police, 2 weeks at the ATF Atlanta Bank and 4 months after the check had cleared or "the pending date"
    Most time frames are quoted after "pending"

    I agree with titleII,,,forget about it,, it will be a nice surprise when it does happen, like found money:-)
    -Darryl

  4. #4
    As more and more folks get the NFA bug, the sheer volume of applications at NFA Branch increases exponentially. Although they really have made tremendous strides in efficiencies and the number of forms they process, the mountain keeps growing. It's 9 months, on average for a Form 1 and slightly less for a Form 4. That number will continue to rise and I fully expect times to hit a year in short order. ATF got permission to hire new examiners, but they didn't hire enough to account for attrition and the number is basically static. We *do* have contractors acting as research assistants and that has helped, but there was a steep and painful learning curve.

    If a real solution is to be found, it is going to be via hammering Congress, especially the House, to appropriate more funds and authorize the hiring of more DOJ employees for these positions. Listen to me when I tell you that this is just like the foothills of the Himalayas. This mountain may seem big, but it is going to be dwarfed when/if the CLEO signature requirement goes away.

    Jeff Folloder

    NFATCA Executive Director
    www.nfatca.org










  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by ExecDirector View Post
    If a real solution is to be found, it is going to be via hammering Congress, especially the House, to appropriate more funds and authorize the hiring of more DOJ employees for these positions. Listen to me when I tell you that this is just like the foothills of the Himalayas. This mountain may seem big, but it is going to be dwarfed when/if the CLEO signature requirement goes away.
    Well, I have been doing my best. My Representative sits on one of the big appropriations committees. She is always emailing us and asked what we suggest she should take a look at. I have called and emailed. I am even thinking about dropping by her local office. Maybe a face to face meeting with a staffer will help push the point even more. At least they know we in the NFA community are engaged and care about solving this problem.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by title ii View Post
    As with most aspects of life as I age I find that the key is communication in getting your needs met. If you move or anything changes while you are waiting on a pending transfer keep the NFA Branch abreast of new developments in your life with email/phone calls. They will work with you. They must know you have a problem though in the first place in order for them to be of help to you. I have moved while applications were pending and I had to request they send the documents back to me for a new signature with the new address on it. You now part of a select few of Americans who do the right thing even when no one else is watching. Your in Texas don't worry my friend the Legislature here only meets every two years and its doubtful more restrictive gun laws will pass and be signed into law by the Governor. Look up the legal definition of ex post facto laws. Specifically check out Article I, Section 10, Clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution. Everything is going to be alright.
    Thanks for your words of encouragement! I always comply with the law so all I can do is wait. I joke with my friends all the time that we found the ONLY department in the Federal government this administration wants to downsize and cut. While every other department is growing and has legions of bureaucrats, the NFA branch is running on a skeleton crew and is over worked.

    As for the Ex Post Facto laws, take a look at California. They are getting ready to pass a bill that would force all citizens in possession of legally owned grandfathered magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds to dispose of them. We live in a post-Constitutional republic and is unmoored from the founding documents. Politicians will spend every ounce of political capital on defending abortions and illegal immigration as "rights", although they are not written in the Constitution, but turn themselves into a pretzel trying to change the meaning of actual enumerated rights, like the 2nd amendment.

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    It all boils down to our Liar and Chief, Hussein Osama.
    Jason, your fortunate you live in Texas, it could be much worse.
    Darryl

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    Quote Originally Posted by darrylta View Post
    It all boils down to our Liar and Chief, Hussein Osama.
    Jason, your fortunate you live in Texas, it could be much worse.
    Darryl
    I agree it could be worse. I am only 33 y/o so I expect things to only go down hill from here.

    However, in BHO's defense, I understand wait time were getting worse for a decade anyways. This administration only took an already slow, redundant and understaffed department and made it painfully slower.

    The way I figure it, the system has been fundamentally broke since 1934. =)

  9. #9
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    Here was todays call to the NFA Branch...

    Me: Hello, I would like to check the status of an application I sent in February.

    NFA : Your application went pending on May 23rd and we expect to get it back out to you 10 months from the pending date.

    -----------------

    This system is broke. It looks like I will be waiting over 1 year from when I bought the suppressor until I get my stamp. This is so frustrating.
    Last edited by jason8844; 09-26-2013 at 03:56 PM.

  10. #10
    And I hate to break it to you... but that 10 months is an *average*...

    Jeff Folloder

    NFATCA Executive Director
    www.nfatca.org










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