I won't buy guns from Cabelas or Bass Pro. That's just me....
Go to the sporting goods store. From the files obtain forms 4473
As I said before, I understand why they did that. My complaint is that they don't make it clear up front that they will keep a database on you, and wont let you see it, review it, etc. And I didn't put this up her to complain; rather to let people know that who knows what they have back there on file about you beyond the ATF required files. Such as a gun registry beyond what is required? So yeah as I said, I went elsewhere, learned my lesson, and am trying to pass it on.
Probably.
Personally, if I were an FFL I’d keep a list of felons that try to buy firearms from me. I would also be very skeptical of a person that claiming they accidentally lied before but are now telling the truth.
All the information the sales people at Cabelas needed to determine that you had been denied previously can be found on a Form 4473. In your OP, you said,
What they were doing in the back was going through the current year's 4473 file, probably because a sales person remembered your attempting to purchase the gun previously. There is a folder for denied 4473s and all denied 4473s for the current year go into that file, as required by the ATF. When they found your prior 4473, they had to follow store policy.
As for the sheriff saying that the store should look up your background on OSBI, the simple answer is they can't. I find it hard to believe that the sheriff actually thinks that OSBI would allow its database to be accessed by an outside, private concern. In my quick research of obtaining background checks from the OSBI, the request must be in writing; submitted either in person, by fax, or by mail, with the results being returned in the manner submitted. There is also a mandatory $15 charge for any records check. The sheriff is an idiot if he thinks that the store--any store--would eat an expense like that to make a sale.
I do see that your eyes have been opened to one fact--that the NICS system is a de facto gun registry. How? When the FFL receives a "PROCEED" from NICS and sells you the firearm, they must note the make, model and serial number of any and all firearms (including serialized lower receivers) on the 4473 form and file the form, holding it for 20 years. While it's not an immediately accessible, computer-searched database, it is a database nonetheless.
The takeaway? Filling out a 4473 is a serious business. Whether on paper or on a computer, be careful, even anal, about filling out the form. On the electronic version, take the time to review your answers to section A--the system allows you to do it. I've seen people make stupid mistakes filling out the section. Remember, those questions are designed for one reason and one reason alone--to trip you up if at all possible.
If you were a FFL, you would be required by the ATF to keep a list of felons--actually, a list of those that have been denied the right to purchase a firearm--as part of the NICS system.
That small shop keeps record of you. That 4473.
