Hey guys, thanks for the forum. This is my first post.
I recently purchased a couple handguns at a certain retail store in the Metro area. As the transaction progressed, I found out that the store would have to submit extra paperwork to the FBI or something because I was purchasing two guns rather than just one. They recorded the model numbers and serial numbers of both guns and apparently sent them off to Big Brother. I had thought that the government would at the most be able to hang onto general records of what gets purchased, for maybe a month or so before it all must be destroyed. However, based on the information I managed to get from the guy at the counter, it seemed that a very detailed record of exactly which guns I bought would be held by several government bureaucracies for an undetermined length of time. I'm ignorant about what happens with the paperwork, so I'm hoping the situation is better than I fear. I have a perfect record (not even a speeding ticket) and I've never had any mental problems, so I don't know how anybody could argue that all this information gathering about my purchase is necessary. Please let me know what exactly happens with all that paperwork.
Thanks.

Wanna buy a tin-foil hat?

Real cheap, only $5000. Guaranteed to stop big Brother meddling.


Welcome

It's actually quite common. They are recording multiple pistol sales. You can buy all the long arms you want, but pistols require the additional information.

If you are concerned that the 4473 information is bothering you...

That really is the least of your worries.

Been a member of the national guard as well as worked with US customs as a result of 9/11.

Believe me, the 4473 paperwork is childs play compared to what they already know about you.

Here's the form the ffl fills out and mails or faxes to the batf.

http://www.atf.treas.gov/forms/pdfs/f33104.pdf

When they say licensed I think they mean ffl.

Interesting info here at one of the best all around politics free gun sites available.

http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_guntraffi.html


Another knee jerk law never proven to fulfill its mandate.

Yea its really not that big of a deal. If you were at a gun show you can buy multiple pistols it just has to be from multiple dealers. Its only when you purchase more than 1 pistol from the same dealer in 7 day period (im pretty sure its 7). If you have nothing to hide youll be fine.

For 2 or more handguns (pistols or revolvers), purchased on the same day or within a five day period, the seller must fill out ATF form 3310.4

As required in:


The seller is required to have four copies of this form for each purchase:





The paperwork involved being an FFL is significant.

I'm quite certain this applies to semi-automatic military-pattern assault-style rifles, too, in Minnesota. I picked up a couple of AR lower receivers several years ago and got my first exposure to this reporting requirement.

Dirk

I hope I don't sound that nuts. I've just never purchased two handguns at once and seen all the paperwork. To state the blatantly obvious, having the government supervise all your firearm purchases does not fit well with the intentions of our founding fathers.



So how is this other information collected? I am intrigued.

Everything you do.
Credit reports, drivers license, ever traveled to Canada? another country....
Tax returns. Cripes, anything you do creates a trail. And somehow the gubermint has it recorded.

The tin foil hats really do have a purpose.

I have gone thru the multiple purchase paperwork several times..........no work since the FFL has to do the paperwork.
Sadly all the firearms were lost in a tragic boating accident, swept away by the currents.

I think I'm going to have a boating accident too. Tragic.

actually, this is one law-rule-requirement that to me makes sense.


A very large portion of guns for felons are bought thru straw purchases. It might make up 1/3 to 1/2 the supply for felons seeking guns. Now, its pretty hard to build up a decent stock pile of guns unless you are buying more than one at a time, its just too time consuming.


If you buy 2 or more at one place you get reported. I think all that does is get you entered into the data base.

I was lucky and got paid for a job that I had written off some months beofore and suddenly, I had some unexpected cash. This was several years ago and I bought 2 from Streichers, 2 from Gunstop, and a few more from Al in WBL all with in about 2 weeks. Less than two weeks later I had a knock on the door and a nice young man in a bad suit was asking to talk to me. He asked about my purchases, why I had bought so many and what was my intent to do with them. When I showed him the check stub, and explained the situation, and let him see a few of the guns I had bought, I believe he was pretty convinced that as a gun runner I was doing a lousy job in buying an artilllery luger, Navy 1911, and a few other odds and ends. I think had I bought 3 or 4 jennings and a couple of Davis's I might have had more explainin' to do, but he had no problem with what I had bought and even seemed a bit interested in the reasoning that the particular Navy marked 1911 was worthy of interest.

I find this rather disturbing.

That would NOT have been a good time to tell him about the guns you had in ttousi's boat accident.

Life is to short to worry about everything.

If I wanted to keep secrete that I have handguns... I should not gone into the handgun holster making business

What would they do if you didn't want to talk or show them your guns?