So the extremely bad way this is done in law gives no grace period if your licence expires while ags are still processing it, once the licence expires you are in possession of an unlicensed firearm.

And so yes, legally the best route would be to store it with an RFD.

However, AGS are aware, to a greater or lesser extent, of how their lackadaisical attitude affects applications, so the vast majority won't see an issue in you keeping it while waiting for a renewal.

But, if you are getting nothing from your local station, call your district office(super's office) and ask about your application.

Ensure at the very least they have it and are processing it.

I do know of people who have had a knock at the door and had their guns seized while their paperwork was processing, because the paperwork was seemingly lost and so it was flagged after however many months as not having been renewed.

For some a court case ensued which was quickly thrown out by the judge along with an order to ags to issue the licence, for others having explained the situation to ags on the doorstep the FO was contacted and new paperwork was done and licenced again granted.

But those are absolutely outliers, most of the time just getting a confirmation that they are processing it from the supers office(and note the date and who you are speaking to) should be sufficient.

If you are particularly concerned you could mention to the super's office your concern about being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and usually they will say to do exactly as you are, just keep it in the safe til the grant letter arrives and is paid.