I am not that intimately familiar with the gun buying process, but one can just walk into your local ATF office and ask for help? Never heard of a Federal Gov Agency being that accommodating on a personal basis!
Doing a FTF deal was on my list of possibilities for the long gun. Frankly, that's probably what I'll end up doing for the long gun and just forget about owning a handgun for the present. Just too much hassle with the handgun. Always wanted to try my hand at skeet shooting which looks fun. I actually for once had a chance to watch skeet shooting at the last Olympics so who knows -- maybe with enough practice I can make the next Olympic team!