A New York state web page outlining Gov. Andrew Cuomo's NY SAFE Act says that a background check requirement for people buying ammunition will begin on Jan. 15.

But that's turning out to be a moving target as the state doesn't expect to have the system for administering those checks in place by January.

The date is a "placeholder," according to state officials who noted that the background checks have to be certified by the superintendent of the State Police, which administers the SAFE Act. Then it can start 30 days after that.

While state officials conceded late Friday that no ammo background checks will take place in January, gun dealers and industry representatives have been predicting that Jan. 15 will come and go with no change.

That's based on the lack of details they've gotten so far about how the new system will work.

"This is not ready to go live in January, or we'll have an Obama-like website," said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, referring to the problems the Obama administration has had with its health insurance site. The NSSF is a trade group representing gun makers as well as ammunition companies.

Like several gun shop owners contacted by the Times Union, Keane said the state in recent months has been silent on the upcoming requirement.

"As far as I know they've not reached out to any retailers about how they are going to do this," Keane said.

"It is far behind. It is not up and running yet," Scott McGregor, proprietor of The Gun Shop at McGregor's, a Lake Luzerne retailer, said of what he's been hearing in the tight-knit world of gun enthusiasts.

"Nobody has told us anything," said Les McDermott, who operates Veterans Gun Depot in Green Island.

"Absolutely nothing. They haven't given us any information," said a salesman at Zack's Sports in Round Lake.

State Police spokeswoman Darcy Wells said in a prepared statement that the agency "is working on technology solutions to be able to carry out this section of the SAFE Act so that the public, buyers and sellers are not inconvenienced or delayed in any way when they purchase ammunition.''

In what may be the only noticeable change, ammunition dealers who aren't federally licensed will still have to register with the state on Jan. 15.

"Registration of ammunition dealers will go into effect in January as required," Wells said.

Initiated by Cuomo, quickly passed by the Legislature and signed into law at the start of last winter's legislative session, the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (SAFE) was a response to December's Newtown, Conn., school massacre. The law bans a number of assault-style weapons and limits to seven the number of rounds that can be kept in a gun. Banned weapons can be grandfathered for those who purchased them earlier but they must register them with the state by April 15.

A website is already set up for registering guns but the ammunition registration requirement hasn't received as much attention.

The SAFE Act is unpopular with gun enthusiasts and others who see it as an infringement on their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Numerous counties upstate have passed resolutions against it and the state's Sheriff's Association has criticized it too, contending that the law is unworkable. Several sheriffs around the state have suggested they are not looking to actively enforce it.

News that the Jan. 15 date isn't hard and fast will likely be a relief to retailers. They are in a particularly busy time of year with hunting season in swing and the holiday shopping season approaching.

Several said they believe the state probably underestimated the cost and difficulty of starting a database to track buyers of ammunition.

While a hunter, target shooter or other gun user may buy a pistol or rifle once every few years, ammunition purchases are ongoing, meaning the database will be large.

Keane noted that 12 billion to 15 billion rounds of ammo are sold in the U.S. each year.

"Who is going to pay for it?" asked Schodack gun dealer Tom Cameron, referring to the cost of running and maintaining a database.

Gun dealers added that they've gotten little official word from the state since early summer. Officials in June told McDermott, the Green Island merchant, that they had hired people and were building a website to operate the new law.

"That was the last I heard,'' he said.