PA Background Checks

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  • rseymorejr

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2011
    26,015
    Harford County
    That is helpful :thumbsup: The gun store said it could be hours or days even for PA residents

    I used to get a delay or further review hang up about 2/3 of the time through NCIS. Sometimes hours or a day or 2 before it came back good to go. Since I got my UPIN I'm 1 for 1, so far! LOL! I've never bought in PA so I can't compare but if you'd get delayed like that you would have 2 trips involved, whuich would suck.
     

    Fawnflunky

    Member
    Jan 27, 2021
    11
    I haven't bought any new toys for the past 2-3 years but the PICS check was almost instant and you left with your gun. PA has been good to me with my guns- Taxes are another story!
     

    IronDuck

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 11, 2021
    488
    Frederick ish MD
    PA background checks

    What is the deal with them now . Is the PA State Police doing the checks like i was told and do they take hours or days .
    I thought the Feds. did the checks .
    Can someone help me out in understanding the system and does it vary from resident or non-resident buyers >

    I purchased a rifle in PA this month. I'm a MD resident. The gun dealer, said he could do it by phone or online. He did mine online, took about 2 hours, and the state police called him to confirm one of the items he inputted was correct.
    Dealer said that was the first out of state request he had made in a while. in state requests take about 20- 40 minutes.
     

    IronDuck

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 11, 2021
    488
    Frederick ish MD
    FYI, more information. While waiting the 2 hours for my approval, it was close to closing time. I suggested to the dealer, I would pay a portion of the cost and return in a day or two for the rifle after he received the approval. He told me that wont work. When/if, the request is approved he is issued a confirmation number that is only good for the day its submitted.
     

    Hog Sniper

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2008
    2,239
    I know this is an older thread but I hope I can help. PA uses the PICS system run by the PA State Police. The time frame you were doing your purchase was a very busy time for them. I can tell you when I run checks through PICs especially during that time in January it could take hours on hold to get an approval number. I could tell by the approval numbers I was getting that they were swamped! As a dealer it is very frustrating to conduct business like that as I have alot of MD customers. I have found that running a check early in the morning before the box stores open or before the many guns auctions in PA open up usually works best to get a quick response. To run a background check on an out of state customer always requires the dealer to speak to an operator and by passes the automated system and if you need to run one in prime time like a weekend would take forever. Things are getting a little better as the sales have slowed a little bit. My advice... If your buying a gun in PA do it early in the morning. PICS opens at 8. Hope this helps!!
     

    dagmars

    Member
    BANNED!!!
    Feb 27, 2022
    30
    My advice... If your buying a gun in PA do it early in the morning. PICS opens at 8. Hope this helps!!

    I just read through 3 pages and picked up the Part (no pistol check for MD)?
    Sorry not trying to be a smart ass or cause anyone to advise on a sensitive topic. I am unaware the LAW. I wanted to buy a heritage rough rider 6 shoot 22lr for my boy in Chambersburg because they have one in stock. I did not read anything about not being able to buy it because I am from MD. Can somebody clear this up please
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    I know this is an older thread but I hope I can help. PA uses the PICS system run by the PA State Police. The time frame you were doing your purchase was a very busy time for them. I can tell you when I run checks through PICs especially during that time in January it could take hours on hold to get an approval number. I could tell by the approval numbers I was getting that they were swamped! As a dealer it is very frustrating to conduct business like that as I have alot of MD customers. I have found that running a check early in the morning before the box stores open or before the many guns auctions in PA open up usually works best to get a quick response. To run a background check on an out of state customer always requires the dealer to speak to an operator and by passes the automated system and if you need to run one in prime time like a weekend would take forever. Things are getting a little better as the sales have slowed a little bit. My advice... If your buying a gun in PA do it early in the morning. PICS opens at 8. Hope this helps!!

    Great info. My FFL dude is 5min from my house, does just about all my transfers. For the last couple years I would get something shipped in, go over there on my lunch break to fill out the forms, he submitted them online, and would text me when they came back. If I was lucky I could get my stuff 2or 3 hours later on my afternoon break, but often had to wait till after work. The couple times I bought something from a gun shop and had to hang around for a couple hours sucked.
     

    sxs

    Senior Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2009
    3,377
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    I just read through 3 pages and picked up the Part (no pistol check for MD)?
    Sorry not trying to be a smart ass or cause anyone to advise on a sensitive topic. I am unaware the LAW. I wanted to buy a heritage rough rider 6 shoot 22lr for my boy in Chambersburg because they have one in stock. I did not read anything about not being able to buy it because I am from MD. Can somebody clear this up please

    Federal law requires a handgun be transferred within your (the buyer's) state of residence. That goes for all states. Also, even for long guns, the firearm must be legal in the state where purchased as well as the state of residence.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,881
    @ Dagmars -

    Which state do you live ?
    Which state does son live ?


    Throwing out a hypothetical -

    If you & son live in Maryland , and you spot handgun in Pa ( or otherwise out of state) - You could negotiate and hand money to out of state dealer , dealer would then ship the gun to your/ your son's prefered Maryland FFL , and your son would do the purchase process as normal .

    Shipping charges and transfer fees would apply . For something the price range of a Rough Rider , would probably make a good deal no longer a good deal .

    Pre covid , Rough Riders were selling for redicously cheap . Nowadays , they are selling for nearly the same as the Ruger Wrangler . For essentially the same $ , go with the Wrangler .
     

    dagmars

    Member
    BANNED!!!
    Feb 27, 2022
    30
    We both in MD but near the state line; I guess that option to buy in PA would not be cost effective. Thanks for the info never knew of the fed law.
     

    dontallo

    Crotchety Old Guy Who Owns Too Many Guns
    Feb 13, 2020
    73
    Sarver, PA 16055
    Not to be a purveyor of doom and gloom but it will only be a matter of time until Penna starts to use this PICS system to throttle gun sales during periods of crisis. Having extensive family in Penna and having lived 27 years of my adult life in New Jersey, I noticed a consistent pattern of Penna following New Jersey with a ~10-year lag. This is not just on 2A infringement, but on all things to the Left.

    Whenever there is a catalyst for increased gun sales, the NJ State Police drags their feet on background checks. E.gs., Obama's big push for gun control, the 2020 riots, any year's Christmas buying season. The Superintendent gaslights the public, saying it is due to higher volume. And the media never calls him on why a 15% increase in sales results in a 7-day delay in processing background checks. And the NJAG always seems to have his back.

    I remember it at its worst during the gun control drive in 2013. The NJ SBI took 6 to 9 months to process applications for permits and the NJSP took 10+ business days to complete background checks at the time of sale.

    States do not want to do their own background checks because they believe they can be more thorough than the Feds. They do it to have the ability to assert their control over purchases.
     

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