Made the purchase..now a few ?????

[Tommygun1]

Ok I bought a YHM Cobra M2 .45 can through my local dealer. I formed a trust through a lawyer that was refered to me by the dealer. Dealer sent out all the paperwork on Jan. 5. I've done some browsing around the web and and came across a number for the nfa branch where you can check to see who your examiner is and if the paperwork is pending. I'm sure some of you know of this. I provided the serial # when I called about a week ago and they said they didn't have anything yet and something about it not showing up for 45 days? Do any of you know what I'm talking about? It doesn't enter their database until that point? I've heard about transfers going through in just over a month..not that I expect mine to, but it threw me off that they didn't have record of it yet. Doesn't it get assigned to an examiner when they recieve the form 4?

[Mike703]

That'll confirm that they received your paperwork. Generally, transfers take about 90 days and they don't want you to call until then.

[David Hineline]

Before you transfer can go pending your check for $200 has to clear the bank, then they wait untill enough forms have piled up enough to justify mailing the forms onto the next step at the ATF. Call 90 days after your check cashed if it has not approved by then.

The only thing calling does is delay the examiner from approving applications.

[Tommygun1]

Thaks for the info. I just wasnt sure of the process on their end. I intend to put the can on an xd tactical. has anyone out there done this? I put a few rounds through it today while standing in the shed... without the can of course....man its cold here. I also picked up a thread adaptor for my beretta 92 to use the can on. I know the 92 has always been a good platform but does anyone have experience running a .45 can on it? could I expect it to be hearing safe out in the open?

[Willie Lowman]

9mm is probably not going to be hearing safe out of your .45 can.

9mm doesn't suppress as well through a .45 can because there is more room around the bullet for gas to escape out the end.

[MrM4]

I know people going on 6 months for transfers right now.:barf:

[fireman1291]

Youve received bad info my friend.

You can call the ATF EVERY day and it WILL NOT slow down transfers. When you call the ATF NFA Branch @ 1-304-616-4500 you will be greeted by a polite call taker (one of three) where you will tell them (politley) that you would like to check the status of your F4. They will ask the serial number of the item and your name. They can then tell you if its gone pending or approved. This is their job, they ARE NOT examiners.

Outline:

When you mail the F4 to GA, they take the check out and foward the packet to WV. Once in WV it sits until the check is cashed. Once the check is cashed its fowarded to the examiners where it waits again until its sorted by the 1st intial of the transferrer(dealer). Once sorted it will goto the assigned examiner (one of 12) depending on what initals they cover (this means its gone pending). THEN is goes into their pile using the roman calendar for what day your check was cashed. Then it waits again untill they get to your stack and your paperwork. Once the examiner actually has your F4 in hand it only takes 2-3min to approve it.

So depending on the examiner your dealer gets it could take anywhere from 30-100days or longer if you forgot to sign it or some other stupid mistake.
My last 3 transfers took 38days mailbox to mailbox because my dealer by luck gets one of the fastest examiners.

I generally call in 30 days increments from when I mailed the check. This way by the time i called I can find out who my examiner is (just ask the call takers if yours has gone pending, they can tell you who has it) and estimate a completion time depending on that persons history. Calling every 30days also lets you catch mistakes early. Sometimes they will set a bad F4 aside and forget about it or send it back when they have enough. So calling every 30 can speed up the process for fixing a mistake. Ive seen guys wait 100 days to find out it was lost in ATF limbo because of a stupid mistake on the paperwork.

Thats all I can think of. Im tired of people saying not to call as it will slow down everyone paperwork. Unless you ask to speak to your examiner(why?) then everything is fine.

*Wanted to add that the examiners go through over a million forms every year. Remember they also go through the Form1's, 3's, everything. The F4's are just a part of the workload.

[silvercorvette]

I bought my first two guns right after I left NY and moved to SC. Unfortunatally it was right after Osama was elected. The Thompson took over a year, the M-16 was longer (almost 2 years) because the dealer that sold it screwed up the paperwork.

I bought an Uzi last summer that took about 3 months.

Also I never had any problem when I called and even though it took a long time things were busy after Osama was elected so everyone had a long wait

[Tommygun1]

Thanks for the info Fireman. I think I saw your posts elsewhere as well. Im going to give them a call again soon. I just want to know when it goes pending since the dealer sent my paprework out as well as the check..so I want to know that they got it instead of sitting on some darn pile behind their counter or something. I mean they told me when I picked my other barrel it was sent but I called at a month and the atf said they had nothing on their screen... so hmmmm... where is it?

[Willie Lowman]

Have they cashed your check yet?

[fireman1291]

Did you use your personal check to pay the ATF? Check your bank acct and see when it was withdrawn. Add 30 days to that date and give them a call.

Unless you did something silly like pay the dealer $200 over and he paid the ATF for you....?????? I always mail my own packet with my own check. The only thing my dealer does is fill out the F4 on the computer and print it out. This way its in MY hands.

[Tommygun1]

Yup...... Yhey paid the transfer fee. Last time I was in they said everything was sent, so I'll just call again soon.

[fireman1291]

I recommend mailing your own packet and use your own check. For just this reason.

[hknut]

Is there a difference time wise if you send in US Postal MO instead of a personal check?

[fireman1291]

No, but how will you check if the ATF cashed it? Using a personal check lets you see when they cash it. This way you know it arrived safetly, of course you can get tracking if you mail the packet USPS priority. But I like to know so I can keep track. I just sent my paperwork for stamp #10 and its been 3 days since theyve had it and its not cashed yet. Interesting to see how long it takes.

[Tommygun1]

I called Monday... The paperwork was still not pending. All they had was registration to the dealer. The gent said that the paperwork is assigned to an examiner within 45 days of the check cashing. I have no idea what the problem is.. All I can think is the dealer forgot it on a pile someplace for an extra month and didn't have the nards to tell me or they never sent a check with it. If they never sent the check would atf let them or I know? I'm at around 55 or so days now, so I assume if its not gone pending in the next week then something is wrong. Paperwork SHOULD have gone out in the mail Jan. 5 They do transfer paperwork on a regular baisis so one would think they have it down. I'm lost. Anybody have a similar problem?:barf:

[Tommygun1]

Yup........ Still nothing pending.