Can you buy too many guns?

[kframefansc]

Apparently you can at Academy Sports and Outdoors (and they will cut you off if you do).

Last year I bought several Shield Plus's at Academy along with several other brands and models of handguns. Some of the Shields I gifted to family members (perfectly legal) and some I kept for myself. Some I sold or traded and changed my mind and bought another one later. Academy is the only real gun store in my small town and with their sale prices and Academy credit card discounts I can get pretty good deals.

Recently I had ordered online a CZ 75D PCR, and when it came in I went through the usual process of filling out the 4473 and showing my concealed weapons permit to avoid the NICS phone call. After all that, the sales rep looks at his computer and says "Academy doesn't feel comfortable selling you this gun". Well, needless to say we had to undo the purchase.

I have owned both a Type 01 and Type 03 FFL so I know the rules. Knowing that there were no laws broken or BATF rules violated I wrote a formal letter to Academy corporate asking for a justification for their action. I got a phone call on a weekend from a "compliance officer" telling me that Academy will no longer sell me a gun since I bought too many of the same gun (Shield Plus). I asked for their response in writing but never received one. I wrote another formal letter to Academy corporate, asking again for a formal response with negative results to date.

The only BATF rule on multiple purchases is a requirement for the licensed seller to submit an ATF Form 3310.4 when two or more guns are purchased within a five working day period. Only one of my purchases met that criteria when I purchased two Shields at the same time (one for my house and one for my car as I explained to the Academy sales person).

Needless to say, I no longer shop at Academy for anything.

 

[djohns6]

It's obviously not a BATF issue . It's Academy covering their behind in case it should become one .

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

They do have the right to not sell you a gun! It isn't because of the color of your skin of beliefs. You'll need to find another gun store.

Ivan

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

THREATEN to sue their socks off for making their own law to not do a sale to a legally qualified person.........Sounds "racist" the way they treated you.
I'd be a bulldog on this.....Bite down and not let go.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

i would continue to use Academy for what they are good for, Selling guns is a difficult business day and you never know what the ATF will decide is grounds for taking your license away. Academy is not generally run or staffed by the sharpest tools in the shed. I would be miffed too, but it might be better if you take it as a mistake by your inexperienced little brother. I doubt they can maintain a permanent ban - even if that is their intention. After all, if you can find what you want at Academy, you probably found it at the best price. I remember when I bought my S&W R8 there and the sales clerk swore there were no 8 chamber revolvers several times and saying he could not sell a gun to anyone who believed that. I asked for the manager and he handed me a new R8. I counted the chambers in front of both of them, and the manager laughed. I got a kick out of it when the manager told the clerk to be sure to put all eight chambers in the box. To paraphrase Yogi Berra - It is hard to predict things especially in the future. Academy may yet again serve your purposes. Best of luck.

 

[Smoke]

THREATEN to sue their socks off for making their own law to not do a sale to a legally qualified person.........Sounds "racist" the way they treated you.
I'd be a bulldog on this.....Bite down and not let go.

"Academy Sports reserves the right to refuse service to any person."

Let us know how that works out for you

 

[kframefansc]

THREATEN to sue their socks off for making their own law to not do a sale to a legally qualified person.........Sounds "racist" the way they treated you.
I'd be a bulldog on this.....Bite down and not let go.

I learned a long time ago to pick my battles. Twenty years ago i might have pushed back harder but frankly I'm slowing down on my gun purchases in my old age so it's not that big a deal to me. I've also found that I can get better deals online through Armslist preferred dealers. No sales tax or credit card fees and some really good prices (especially on consignments) if you look hard enough. BTW - I'm a WASP so there is no racial aspect to their decision. Just a paranoid CYA.

 

[rockquarry]

I learned a long time ago to pick my battles. Twenty years ago i might have pushed back harder but frankly I'm slowing down on my gun purchases in my old age so it's not that big a deal to me. I've also found that I can get better deals online through Armslist preferred dealers. No sales tax or credit card fees and some really good prices (especially on consignments) if you look hard enough. BTW - I'm a WASP so there is no racial aspect to their decision. Just a paranoid CYA.

Good for you; a sensible and practical attitude. You pursue something like this only if you're a hardhead who has nothing better to do with his time.

 

[cruiserdan]

I would hazard a guess that the majority of spouses clearly believe it's very possible to buy too many.

That's a tough boycott.

 

[gdogs]

Buying multiples of the same gun is going to look suspicious to many dealers, regardless of whether you are actually breaking a law or not. No surprise to me that corporate America is covering their butts. This is basically what got the guy in Arkansas in trouble. Well that, and the likelihood that he actually was buying them just to resell them. I don't think I'd advertise that I'd sold any of them though. This is exactly what they have a problem with (whether legal or not). At the very least it could generate an interaction with the ATF.

 

[IAM Rand]

Taking them to court is not the answer. They have the lawyers, money and sympathy. They will just tell the jury that they are protecting the public. Unless you are in a very Red state, you will lose. You have done the best thing possible, tell other people. I would go to other sites and spread it around, that is about all you can do. Take you $$ elsewhere.

 

[robertrwalsh]

NO you can't. The concept in fact is void of meaning.

 

[sophie]

"Academy Sports reserves the right to refuse service to any person."QUOTE]

^^^^^^ I believe this says it all right here. ^^^^^^


Reminds me of a registered legal gun dealer that I used to buy quite a few guns from in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The advice she gave to most buyers, especially local purchasers, was not to buy more than one gun a day. She claimed it would send up a red flag to law enforcement if multiple purchases were made. I don’t know if it was true or not but it made sense to me, so that’s the rule I went by. I’ve never had a problem. I wish she was still around.

 

[mikeruns]

I would let it go….they see you as a straw purchase threat….they don’t know you, everything is legal but you purchased many of the same gun and it popped an alert and they are covering their hind end. They sell to thousands of folks monthly-thousands of guns across the southern states. They have more experience in this than you do and more to lose than you do.

 

[M29since14]

I’ve bought guns for a long time and I think I’ve only once bought two handguns at the same time. Whether legal or not, doing that does have the potential to attract attention. The time I did it, the dealer advised me to pick up one now and come back later for the other one, which he “put in layaway” for me. (It was fully paid for except the last $1.00.) He explained why. A few days later I had both guns at home. No problem for me.

Contrarily, at another dealer a friend and I were looking at the then new P210 pistols. We were quietly discussing among ourselves the differences between the new production and the old guns, the prices, etc. Eventually my friend decided to buy and he told the salesman he would like to make the purchase. The salesman put the gun away and refused to sell, saying he was “not comfortable making the sale today.” We were both a bit miffed, but the incident didn’t prevent us from returning later and over the years buying several other weapons. I don’t blame dealers for being careful. It’s the world we live in.

Reality is, probably 99% of the general public would say most of us here have “too many guns” For our own good, it probably pays to be a little careful, in various ways.

 

[kframefansc]

Buying multiples of the same gun is going to look suspicious to many dealers, regardless of whether you are actually breaking a law or not. No surprise to me that corporate America is covering their butts. This is basically what got the guy in Arkansas in trouble. Well that, and the likelihood that he actually was buying them just to resell them. I don't think I'd advertise that I'd sold any of them though. This is exactly what they have a problem with (whether legal or not). At the very least it could generate an interaction with the ATF.

I have bought and sold a lot of guns in the past 60+ years. I have a written record of every gun I've ever owned, where it came from and who it went to with names, addresses, and dollar amounts. I also still have my books from my FFL transactions back in the 90's. I would have no problem with a BATF audit of my gun dealings. The issue today in re-selling guns is the new law that is aimed at the "gun show loophole". It is aimed at people who are re-selling for profit (as a side hustle) without a license. I rarely make a profit on a re-sell. I'm happy when I break even and I don't mind losing a little if it involves funding something that I really want. I will also take a loss if there are rebates involved in the new purchase and I've gotten a lot of rebates, mainly from H&K and S&W, in the past few years.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Apparently you can at Academy Sports and Outdoors (and they will cut you off if you do).

Last year I bought several Shield Plus's at Academy along with several other brands and models of handguns. Some of the Shields I gifted to family members (perfectly legal) and some I kept for myself. Some I sold or traded and changed my mind and bought another one later. Academy is the only real gun store in my small town and with their sale prices and Academy credit card discounts I can get pretty good deals.

I have owned both a Type 01 and Type 03 FFL so ...

So are you like a "Mom & Pop Gun Shop"? Because every third business is a Gun Shop in Idaho. One of the best deals in town for handguns is the Lawnmower Repair Shop.

 

[Sevens]

I can understand your annoyance and it makes sense to me that you’ll never set foot in there again.

That said however, they have every right to do as they see fit to protect their license from the corrupt body of bureaucratic leeches that can pull it almost at will.

Any discussion of suing them is comedic and ludicrous.

 

[Oldsalt66]

My wife, an avid firearms enthusiast, once bought a revolver and some ammunition at Bass Pro and was treated like a criminal for it.

The paperwork took forever to complete, and then they had her pay for her revolver and told her to wait outside in front of the store for a manager to bring her gun to her.

All while acting like they were doing her a favor.

Never again.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Have your wife go buy it. Problem solved