Allen Gun Store

We will be closed 6/29/24-7/15/24. There will be limited availability to receive packages during that time.

We will be closed 7/1-7/16 2023

One of the common questions I get as an FFL dealer is something similar to "if I buy this (AR, pistol, insert any gun type here) will I be in some sort of database where they can track me down? The short answer is no, thanks to the 1986 Fi****ms Owners Protection Act (FOPA). https://www.concealedcarry.com/law/are-guns-registered/. The act prohibits the government from creating a federal registry of fi****ms.

"No such rule or regulation prescribed [by the Attorney General] after the date of the enactment of the Fi****ms Owners Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of fi****ms, fi****ms owners, or fi****ms transactions or disposition be established. Nothing in this section expands or restricts the Secretary's authority to inquire into the disposition of any fi***rm in the course of a criminal investigation"

So how are fi****ms traced? Once a fi***rm is found at a crime scene, the ATF goes to the manufacturer and starts going through what's called an "Acquisition and Disposition" trace. Meaning, they go to the person or company that was listed as the receiver of the fi***rm, and continue that trace until they find a final individual that the fi***rm was distributed (transferred) to.

The expectation is that you provide an immediate response to such a request or risk the loss of your FFL.

What happens to FFL's that go out out of business? Here's where things get a little fuzzy. All their 4473's and A&D log books (bound book) are sent to the ATF where they are scanned in and stored. Technically not a federal database because it doesn't contain ALL A&D's, but basically leaves the government as the final "dealer" of the fi***rm through "acquisition".

The follow-up question is, ok how long are 4473's and bound books kept. The answer is a minimum of 20 years. After 20 years, logs and 4473's can be stored at a separate warehouse (meaning, see the rule about responding to a trace request. If you want to keep your license, you are heavily encouraged to keep all documentation).

So to sum it up, if a law were magically passed tomorrow, nobody's going to come knocking on your door asking for your fi***rm. Your fi***rm can be traced back to the final FFL dealer who transferred the weapon, but you can see how painful it would be for the government to try to track down every AR sold, or every weapon that holds more than 10 rounds.

So, feel free to go buy that AR and make a liberal cry.