This has been bothering me all day and decided to vent here.

I have been in the market for a Volquartsen Black Mamba .22LR. I posted a WTB on local gun board I belong too. Just to see if anyone had one or knew of where I could find one. I went on Volquartsen's website and a order was 5 to 6 months out.

After a week a get a response from a fellow board member that Bass Pro Shop had 2 of them in stock. I call last night and they said they still had 2 in stock. So I make the hour trip from my house this morning and arrive just after they open. Here is where the "fun" starts...

I go back to the gun counter. One guy in front of me, so I wait 10 mins and then I get waited on. They have the gun I want and I tell them I will take it. The guys rings it up and I pay for it. First time in my 30 years of buying hand guns that I paid for the gun before filling out the 4473. I found this really odd. I never bought a gun from BPS, so I went with it. The guy tells me to go down to the right past the stairs and that is where you do the paperwork.

I get down there and there is one guy in front and I take a seat. I am use to filling out my paperwork by hand and then they call NICS and run the background check. At BPS they use a PC and you will out out there and they submit the form electronically through the website. I have bought a couple of guns that way and it is usually pretty uneventful.

In this case, they have one guy working doing background checks. So I sit and wait for the guy in front of me to get a "Proceed" which took 35 mins. So I have been in the store now about 50 mins. I am next and I go up there and the guy explains everything yada yada...He tell's me the background check will come back with a Proceed, Delay or Denied. I told him over the past 3 years of buying guns I always get a "further review" when the LGS calls it in and then I get a proceed. I have never received a Delayed or denied in my life. I am a squeaky clean guy. I think there is someone out there with close info to mine that now causes the further review on the calls and usually takes an extra 5 mins or so.

So we do all the paperwork, he submits the form and I wait for 37 mins and it comes back delayed! I was not happy. I know it was caused by the further reviews I now get, but electronically that does not come back that way. It just comes back delayed and you get a few options from the store.
1.) I can walk around the store and wait to see if it comes back with a proceed in the next couple of hours. Not an option! I have already been there over 2 hours.
2.) I can leave and they will call me when it comes back proceed and I can schedule a time to pickup the gun. Not an option, I love an hour away!
3.) I can have a refund since I already paid for the damn thing. I take this option because I am not sure when I can get back out that way.

He tells me to go back where I paid for the gun and he will meet me down there in a few minutes.(Mind you there are now 9 people waiting for background checks and still only one guy and one computer!!)

He meets me down there about 10 mins later and tells me to take my receipt to Customer Service at the front of the store for my refund.

I get down to CS and there are 6 people in front of me there and I wait about 15 more mins for a refund!!

I wasted 3 plus hours on a Saturday and drove home empty handed. Needless to say I was pissed!!!

I WILL NEVER BUY A GUN AT BPS AGAIN. I know the delay was not their fault, but the whole process was unreal!

That's all!

Rant off!

I make it a habit to stay away from Bass Pro.

quote:

Bass Pro Shops

Once I read this, I had a pretty good inkling of how the rest of it was going to read.

Do you have a concealed handgun permit ?

Volquartsen makes some neat stuff.

Bass Pro? After what you went through, I can't say that I'd want to go there.

I have heard the stories about BPS. Good place to browse, bad place to buy.

I bought a shotgun from Academy late last year. It was something I wanted, and was showing up on Gunbroker for 125-150% of retail, By luck, it was in stock at an Academy not too far away. I drove up the next morning. 4473 was via iPad and went quick, just a couple of minutes. (I have an unusual name, not easily confused with someone else.) Plus, I got it for 10% under list as I'm a veteran. I could not have been more pleased.

Sorry for your bad experience.

I get it was frustrating but if you've always have delays on checks, didn't you sort of know you were sure to hit some type of hassle/delay at BPS?

What would you have liked BPS to have done? Everywhere I've ever been, I pay for the gun then they do the check.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you have a concealed handgun permit ?

Since March 2020 the BATFE no longer allows Michigan CPL holders to skip the NICS check. Certain Misdemeanor convictions related to domestic violence do not bar people from having a CPL here. Combine that with Michigan's recreational Marijuana use law, there are the reasons stated in the letter from the BATFE that all dealers in Michigan received.

Cabela's and BPS at least in 2017 would not accept a Michigan CPL at the Dundee and Auburn Hills stores from my first hand experience. Last time I bought a lower there I waited for probably two hours while they screwed around at Dundee.I said to the clerk I was dealing with "What's the holdup? He came back with two other guys, one had my DL, my CPL and the 4473, the other had the lower. The guy with my paperwork asked me if I was born in another state which he named but the correct city. I got a little pissed at this point, two hour round trip plus probably three in the store by the end. I replied "No, it's City/State just like the 4473 says, can't you read?"

At this point I'm not leaving, I'm getting my lower or the store manager and I are going to have a discussion. Have never been sent to the next level in a NICS check or been delayed so I want some answers before I leave. And an unusual enough surname and with Google I have only found three with the same first name, myself, my deceased father and one cousin so that rules out the similar name theory.

They went back through the door, about two minutes later I get the perp walk to the cashiers area. Best part, I had enough points on my Cabela's card so I didn't pay for it.

Since then I have seen several guns that I have kind of waffled on before the closed the Gun Library but I think back to that episode and I come back to reality.

Yes since 2001.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you have a concealed handgun permit ?

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you have a concealed handgun permit ?

In Virginia it doesn't matter, I have a CC permit, and have been background checked for numerous other things. Always get delayed, none of that stuff counts for me.


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Since I'm always delayed. I hang out with my SIGforum buddy/FFL while I wait. If it goes more than an hour or so I just pick it up the next day or at three days.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you have a concealed handgun permit ?

Since March 2020 the BATFE no longer allows Michigan CPL holders to skip the NICS check. Certain Misdemeanor convictions related to domestic violence do not bar people from having a CPL here. Combine that with Michigan's recreational Marijuana use law, there are the reasons stated in the letter from the BATFE that all dealers in Michigan received.

Cabela's and BPS at least in 2017 would not accept a Michigan CPL at the Dundee and Auburn Hills stores from my first hand experience. Last time I bought a lower there I waited for probably two hours while they screwed around at Dundee.I said to the clerk I was dealing with "What's the holdup? He came back with two other guys, one had my DL, my CPL and the 4473, the other had the lower. The guy with my paperwork asked me if I was born in another state which he named but the correct city. I got a little pissed at this point, two hour round trip plus probably three in the store by the end. I replied "No, it's City/State just like the 4473 says, can't you read?"

At this point I'm not leaving, I'm getting my lower or the store manager and I are going to have a discussion. Have never been sent to the next level in a NICS check or been delayed so I want some answers before I leave. And an unusual enough surname and with Google I have only found three with the same first name, myself, my deceased father and one cousin so that rules out the similar name theory.

They went back through the door, about two minutes later I get the perp walk to the cashiers area. Best part, I had enough points on my Cabela's card so I didn't pay for it.

Since then I have seen several guns that I have kind of waffled on before the closed the Gun Library but I think back to that episode and I come back to reality.

One of the first things he told me was "your CPL is no good here".

Sorry about all that. After going through the time & hassle I would of went home & waited for the ‘proceed’, yes, even with the hour drive.

Over the last 14 months I have bought guns from Walmart & Dunham’s, both higher on the pain list. The Dunham’s store was 45 minutes away, no way they’d be ready that day.

I thought with a long gun you have 30 days to pick up the gun, WI anyway. A pistol may have a shorter window.

Most things are on Gunbroker, at some price. In most cases you can ship it in & save in sales tax.

Or went and got an omelette, coffee, and a newspaper and kill an hour or so to see if it cleared.

This was just talked about in the local gun shop.

According to the owner, there is no longer a further review option. It is proceed, delayed or denied.

Recently, I was in there when a guy got delayed. 20 mins later, after he had left the store, they called back with a proceed.
Clerk called his cell and he returned to pick it up.

In all my dealings (Includes BPS, Cabelas, Gander Mtn, Sportsmens Warehouse, etc), I don't ever remembering paying for an item before doing the 4473.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
This was just talked about in the local gun shop.

According to the owner, there is no longer a further review option. It is proceed, delayed or denied.

Recently, I was in there when a guy got delayed. 20 mins later, after he had left the store, they called back with a proceed.
Clerk called his cell and he returned to pick it up.

In all my dealings (Includes BPS, Cabelas, Gander Mtn, Sportsmens Warehouse, etc), I don't ever remembering paying for an item before doing the 4473.

I wanted to wait, but my brain said call it a day and get a refund. Especially looking at the 9 people sitting and waiting behind me. Only one guy doing this. Even when it came back as a proceed in an hour or less, where do I fall in this wait/line to then grab it. I felt like once I left that seat my day was done!

Could you have just paid for the gun and have them ship it to your local FFL? Might still take some time, but at least you would be dealing with familiar territory.

Sounds like a nightmare....I'd be pissed, too. I've never purchased a gun at BPS. Our local Stock and Field uses the computerized 4473, and I hate it. There's only one computer, so it creates a backlog, and the process is much slower than paper. It also seems stupid to pay for the gun before you know you're going to pass the background check...I don't think I've ever seen it done that way before, even at big box stores. The only time I've ever been delayed was when the system was down and they couldn't run any checks at all (so not really delayed, but they couldn't let me take the gun until the system came back up), but I know it happens to folks decently often, so IMO it makes no sense whatsoever to have people pay before they clear NICS.

That's ridiculous. I frequently use the computer system to process background checks, and it is quite easy to "que up" multiple background checks. Instead of displaying one, it simply displays a list of those entered and the status of each. Also, to save US the hassle, we don't require payment until the check is completed. If it's delayed, the customer has the option of putting the gun on lay-away status, or putting it back in the case and risking it be sold while he waits. The system you describe sounds like a whole lot of work for the employees.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
That's ridiculous. I frequently use the computer system to process background checks, and it is quite easy to "que up" multiple background checks. Instead of displaying one, it simply displays a list of those entered and the status of each. Also, to save US the hassle, we don't require payment until the check is completed. If it's delayed, the customer has the option of putting the gun on lay-away status, or putting it back in the case and risking it be sold while he waits. The system you describe sounds like a whole lot of work for the employees.

While mine was in "Researching Mode" on the laptop, I asked the guy why he didn't take the next person and get started on them? He said they have been instructed to only do one gun purchase at a time. It had to be finished before moving onto the next person. This was to "Cut down on mistakes".

So him and I sat there and engaged in small talk and looking at our phones while the laptop was researching. Not a good way to to business!

Never again for me.

That's just weird, we are a small shop, we frequently have 4 or 5 backgrounds researching at any one time.