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Mailing a rifle

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07 September 2008, 19:15
chain
Mailing a rifle
I want to send a rifle home, US mail is alot closer than a UPS office. Will the US mail work? Should I take it with me on the aircraft? Thanks


Windage and elevation, Mrs. Langdon, windage and elevation...
08 September 2008, 05:09
homebrewer
You can take a firearm aboard an aircraft under specific requirements for its security. It has to be unloaded, secured in a locked case, no ammo can be with it in any capacity, you have to notify the airline of your intent to carry a firearm aboard the flight and there are some forms you have to complete to do all of this. It's best to go to an airline ticket counter to ask about this beforehand. Maybe a TSA agent can steer you to the right people or a helpful phone number. The container that has the rifle in it will have a bright red and white sticker on it that fairly screams "Firearm! Firearm!" Everybody will know what is in the box as it comes out of the baggage claim chute. I have wondered how you prove the gun is yours if somebody tries to grab it before you get to it. I assume you'd want to be right there at the opening as it comes out to preclude theft before some nefarious chump deigns to steal it. All I will say is investigate the process well in advance of when you want to ship the rifle. I hope you have the time to do so as of this writing...
09 September 2008, 01:48
Grumulkin
quote:
Originally posted by homebrewer:
You can take a firearm aboard an aircraft under specific requirements for its security. It has to be unloaded, secured in a locked case, no ammo can be with it in any capacity, you have to notify the airline of your intent to carry a firearm aboard the flight and there are some forms you have to complete to do all of this. It's best to go to an airline ticket counter to ask about this beforehand. Maybe a TSA agent can steer you to the right people or a helpful phone number. The container that has the rifle in it will have a bright red and white sticker on it that fairly screams "Firearm! Firearm!" Everybody will know what is in the box as it comes out of the baggage claim chute. I have wondered how you prove the gun is yours if somebody tries to grab it before you get to it. I assume you'd want to be right there at the opening as it comes out to preclude theft before some nefarious chump deigns to steal it. All I will say is investigate the process well in advance of when you want to ship the rifle. I hope you have the time to do so as of this writing...


You have obviously never traveled with a firearm.

1. The firearm has to be in a locked hard sided case and transported as checked baggage.

2. You tell the ticket agent that you are traveling with a firearm. They will give you a tag that you take with your cased firearm to the TSA place. The tag says you guarantee the firearm isn't loaded. The TSA agent will open the case, inspect the contents, place the tag in the case and will then lock it.

3. It is prohibited by law to put ANY type of mark on the case indicating there is a firearm inside it.

4. In the U.S.A., TSA doesn't care if ammunition is in the same case as the firearm but some airlines do care. The ammunition must be in packaging that is designed for holding said ammunition. Most airlines have an 11 lb. weight limit on ammunition that can be carried.

5. Primers and black powder cannot be taken in either checked or uncheck baggage.

If you wish to send your own rifle home to yourself by U. S. Mail that is OK as well as long as said mailing is entirely in the U.S.A. Once again, no mark is permitted on the box indicating there is a firearm inside. Mailing is likely to be more problematic since some postmasters don't understand how this is to be done. Handguns are not accepted in the U. S. Mail.
09 September 2008, 17:11
chain
Thanks Guys I appreciate the info


Windage and elevation, Mrs. Langdon, windage and elevation...
10 September 2008, 01:08
David Culpepper
quote:
Originally posted by Grumulkin:
quote:
Originally posted by homebrewer:
You can take a firearm aboard an aircraft under specific requirements for its security. It has to be unloaded, secured in a locked case, no ammo can be with it in any capacity, you have to notify the airline of your intent to carry a firearm aboard the flight and there are some forms you have to complete to do all of this. It's best to go to an airline ticket counter to ask about this beforehand. Maybe a TSA agent can steer you to the right people or a helpful phone number. The container that has the rifle in it will have a bright red and white sticker on it that fairly screams "Firearm! Firearm!" Everybody will know what is in the box as it comes out of the baggage claim chute. I have wondered how you prove the gun is yours if somebody tries to grab it before you get to it. I assume you'd want to be right there at the opening as it comes out to preclude theft before some nefarious chump deigns to steal it. All I will say is investigate the process well in advance of when you want to ship the rifle. I hope you have the time to do so as of this writing...


You have obviously never traveled with a firearm.

1. The firearm has to be in a locked hard sided case and transported as checked baggage.

2. You tell the ticket agent that you are traveling with a firearm. They will give you a tag that you take with your cased firearm to the TSA place. The tag says you guarantee the firearm isn't loaded. The TSA agent will open the case, inspect the contents, place the tag in the case and will then lock it.

3. It is prohibited by law to put ANY type of mark on the case indicating there is a firearm inside it.

4. In the U.S.A., TSA doesn't care if ammunition is in the same case as the firearm but some airlines do care. The ammunition must be in packaging that is designed for holding said ammunition. Most airlines have an 11 lb. weight limit on ammunition that can be carried.

5. Primers and black powder cannot be taken in either checked or uncheck baggage.

If you wish to send your own rifle home to yourself by U. S. Mail that is OK as well as long as said mailing is entirely in the U.S.A. Once again, no mark is permitted on the box indicating there is a firearm inside. Mailing is likely to be more problematic since some postmasters don't understand how this is to be done. Handguns are not accepted in the U. S. Mail.


What Grumulkin has posted about firearms on airplanes is correct as far as my experience has been. I just wanted to add that the rifle case will not come down the baggage chute like other checked bags ay baggage claim. It has been my experience that you will need to go to the airlines oversized area to retrive it and they usually check it against your baggage claim ticket.


Good Hunting,

10 September 2008, 16:38
Grumulkin
In the U.S.A. I've had the rife case come out with regular baggage at times and at other times be with the oversized baggage. Thus far, in the U.S.A. no one has EVER checked my baggage claim ticket when I retrieve my firearms.
17 September 2008, 07:49
jb
The usps does accept handguns.I had my ffl send one to an ar member.the ffl holder claimed I didnt need to send it through him,I could do it myself,as long as I sent it to an ffl holder.


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17 September 2008, 10:15
Grumulkin
All you need to do is go to your local post office and ask the post master if you can mail a handgun. I believe the answer will be no.
24 September 2008, 13:37
jb
quote:
Originally posted by Grumulkin:
All you need to do is go to your local post office and ask the post master if you can mail a handgun. I believe the answer will be no.

YOUR WRONG.


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24 September 2008, 18:33
tom`
quote:
Originally posted by jb:
quote:
Originally posted by Grumulkin:
All you need to do is go to your local post office and ask the post master if you can mail a handgun. I believe the answer will be no.

YOUR WRONG.


All depends on the carrier and postal employees. You get a different answer from everybody. One local postal depot has no problem mailing anything gun related and the official UPS store, who officially can mail guns including handguns, claim they can't.

BATFE says to defer to your postmaster or private carrier...

The only answer to this question is there is no consistent answer.

I live on a rural route where USPS personnel don't come to my door with things as we have cluster mailboxes that long arms don't fit in and I asked the local postmaster about how me having to go to the post office to pick up firearms because they won't bring them to my door jibes with the rules that you can't have firearms in the post office...She just rolled her eyes and intimated that it was a grey area and they didn't have any inclination to arrest me...Then she told me a story about the bitch that called the cops on our local elected constable for open carrying while in line at the mail counter and rolled her eyes some more...mumbling something about people in DeeCee shouldn't be writing the rules for Texas post offices...
25 September 2008, 04:07
jb
well,I sent a handgun usps to a member here at AR last winter. Roll Eyes
Took it to my ffl guy,he told me the story before, of how he had to bring a copy of the usps regulations in and show the postmaster where it said flat out,he could send guns usps.now they are happy to take them.
Handguns must be sent by an ffl,but rifles do not.I sent a rifle to an ffl in oregon last summer,took it to a different post office,the clerk went and got the postmaster,he took it,didnt even want to see the gun or a copy of the ffl,sent it out no problem.
I also believe,they cannot legally refuse to accept it.It isnt up to the postmaster to make up the rules,but alot of them are ignorant of the rules concerning guns.I suppose they are afraid to lose their job if they screw up.


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