My wife asked her nephew what he wanted for Christmas and all he could think of was .22 rimfire shells. She'd like to send him some. He is over 21 years old, so no problems with him possessing ammo. My question is what do I need to do to legally ship ammo? Can I use the Postal Service or UPS? I realize this thread is not exactly suited for this forum, but figure someone here will know.

When I ship ammo I box it well and use a lot of padding (styrofoam) and ship it UPS and attach a ORM-D label

One really should also add the words "small arms ammunition" to the label

This is the label you need to use. The ammo should be in factory boxes. The boxes should be taped so they can't come open and be packed securely in the shipping box. UPS is the most "user friendly" for shipping ammunition, FED-EX for handguns. You may not use the USPS to ship ammunition.

Bob

So do I need to make the labels myself, or does the UPS agent have a roll behind the counter?

You could obtain the labels from a UPS location. You might find it easier to just order the ammo from Cabelas or a place like that and have it shipped directly to his house.

quote:

You might find it easier to just order the ammo from Cabelas or a place like that and have it shipped directly to his house.

+1

By the time she (you!) packs it, takes it to UPS (and the UPS Stores may or may not take it), and pays to ship it, you may really have wished you ordered from Cabelas.

Of course, they may not gift wrap....

LWD

Here's a link to printable labels in .pdf format.

http://parallaxscurioandrelicf...r-Shipping-Ammo.html

Thank you everyone for the answers to my questions plus some great advice. Wrongtarget that was a great link to printable labels. Duckboat and LWD, it would make more sense to have Cabela's ship direct. However, she has some other gifts to send so we'll probably ship them all in one big box. By my calculation these gifts won't arrive until the week after Christmas anyway.

You were able to find .22LR? You got a phone line to God or something?

Actually I walked into my local stuff mart and they had 550 round boxes of Federal 36 grain copper-plated .22 for $16.?? per box. I only purchased 3 boxes, but they had more. I live out in the sparsely populated farm country and I'm guessing ammo availability is a lot better here than in more densely populated areas.

Cabelas had two whole shelves of 22lr ammo in stock when I was there yesterday. Only one or two different kinds of 22 shorts, but lots of 22lr.

A couple of questions related to this topic. Does the ammo have to be in factory boxes? I have a bunch of reloaded ammo I want to send to my BIL and do not have factory boxes to put it. It ammo would be secured as in a factory box.

Second, he lives in California. Can I ship it to him there or is a state law there against that?

I don't think it makes any difference if ammo is shipped in factory boxes or not. I'm going to hazard the guess that as long as it's secured and not likely to punch its way out of the box, it's OK. As for shipping ammo into Kalifonia, that's another question entirely. That state is terminally stuck on Stupid, so it's anybody's guess...

I have no idea how your wife feels about it but I would send a gift card for one of the big box stores. It is not a personal gift but it beats shipping charges. I am sorry if I am off topic. Boon

quote:

Originally posted by boondocker:
I have no idea how your wife feels about it but I would send a gift card for one of the big box stores. It is not a personal gift but it beats shipping charges. I am sorry if I am off topic. Boon

Boondocker, you're not off topic. I agree 100% with your suggestion. However, she doesn't. She feels strongly against sending money or a gift card and thinks it is much more enjoyable to send an actual gift. If that's how she prefers to do it, I am content to let her do so. She is a very good sport about the time and money I spend on my hunting and shooting interests so I have nothing to complain about.

quote:

Originally posted by acpchuck45:
A couple of questions related to this topic. Does the ammo have to be in factory boxes? I have a bunch of reloaded ammo I want to send to my BIL and do not have factory boxes to put it. It ammo would be secured as in a factory box.

As a cartridge collector, it would be darn difficult to ship things in their original boxes (seen a box for a 45-85 Ward-Burton 1875 experimental round or a civil war era 56cal colt "gut" cartridge lately?)
Securely packed, so they don't rattle around, and preferably double boxed (box in a box) is all it takes.
IIRC Kali has restrictions on Tracer, Incendiary, Explosive and perhaps AP rounds, but AFIK no restrictions on normal rifle rounds (not sure about short gun and "real big" stuff)