Have you tried to get an FFL? You have to show you have a damn business. Big or small. It doesn't matter. This is America for chris sake.

So, because I don't have 17K for an initial order, I am a basement bandit?

Faith and love of others knows no mileage nor bounds. That's simply the way it is.
dogzapper

After the game is over, the king and the pawn go into the same box.
Italian Proverb