In NC you can purchase a long gun (rifle shotgun) same day. You fill out a few forms, they call in a background check and either give you a green light or red light so to say. They walk you to the door, and have a nice day.

To purchase a handgun, you must:
Fill out an application.
Answer all the questions.
Provide two notorized letters of recommendation.
Name a LEO who knows you.

After you do that, you take the application to the county sheriff. They can take up to 30 days to approve or deny your application. If they approve, you wait 30 days to get the permit, if they deny, you can appeal with a county judge.

At least that is how I understand it. Will let you know how it works out and will soon ge asking for advice on this forum for my first two pistol purchases.

Oh yeah, you can ask for two permits to purchase from the same application, and it costs $10 to do that.