What are the legalities of mailing loaded and/or dummy cartridges out of the US?
To:
South & Central America
Europe
Africa
Asia
Australia
Etc.

Anything one should know?

As the occassional receiver of posted inert cartridges I can make the following observations ;
1)DO NOT EVER MAIL LIVE AMMO, unless you want to see the inside of one of your jails. The US Authorities are not amused by bullets in the post , the fact that it is super rare is lost entirely on them , and the Police Officer you deal with will not be amused either .
2) If you post inert stuff , make sure it is truly inert - pull the bullet , dump the powder , de prime the case . Leave the thing as two components , so you only have a piece of brass and a bullet . Do not post incendiary or HE type projectiles at all. Fill out the Customs Declaration form as either brass extrusions , or metal pressings or " Factory Inert Dummy Cartidges ".

I have no idea on the regulations governing countries other than New Zealand and Australia , but I suspect the rules are much the same every where .

My one piece of advice , other than that above , is - do not endanger your own collection ( and personal liberty ) by being kind and posting one single live cartridge to an overseas guy that you probably dont even know anyway. It simply isnt worth it .

Before this cartridge-collecting section was started, there was a long thread going in the reloading (?) section about sending dummy rounds to Norway. At first, ALL packages were opened and held. The recipient had to get his local police to call the post office to confirm that as long as the cartridges were NOT live, then it was legal to send them via mail into and within Norway. Basicaly, the same holds true here in the USofA. As long as they are NOT live, they can be sent via the us postal system. BUT: do not ask. The postal people will tell you that it is illegal. It is not. All you are doing is sending metal parts that are not hazardous; you are NOT bending the law.

Muzza is correct; you should leave the bullet disconnected from the case. I have received cases from Europe where the bullet was seated in the case. The package was opened and inspected. The case had a primer in it! Forunately, the inspector was versed enough to know that a primer with a dimple in it signified a fired primer and hence a dummy round and the package was re-sealed and sent on to me.

the_captn

Forgot to answer all of the questions:

Countries may have different laws. Many countries ban civilian ownership of military ammunition. This may or may not apply to the case with or without the headstamp.

In the USofA, the person SENDING loaded ammunition through the mail could be in trouble. In other countries, the person RECEIVING live ammunition might be in trouble!

the_captn

AP and expanding ammo is illegal in the UK (even if inert) without a specifically modified police Firearms Certificate.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion
forum

BMG,

I have received a lots of loaded from USA because it was very old cartridges or other reasons. Never have any problems with US postol or Belgian's post.

You can send me what you want

Because I have ask you a few things but no news from you

One of the things that we as collectors need to be aware of is the fact that we are ultimately in control of our own hobby . The day that some official and his police accompaniment knock on your door with a parcel of live ammo that you have posted is the day that you have lost control of part of your ability to collect .

Ber007 , it is a brave or foolish person who openly admits to sending live ammo through the postal system. If you believe the only people who read on-line forums are members or collectors then you are living in a dreamworld .

We all have a responsibility to each other to protect our hobby from further restrictions , and not drawing attention to ourselves by sending live stuff through the mail has to be a good place to start . Hell , I live more remote from the supply of goods than any European or Continental US/Canadian member so I should be the guy getting stuff posted to me all the time . But I dont - because it only takes one mishap and the whole collecting fraternity here suffers. Do you want to be known as the guy who ruined the hobby for thousands of others ? I dont think so ....

How difficult is it to pull the bullet and deactivate a cartridge? Sure it will affect the value of the .4 Enfield or .40 BSA but if that is what you have to do to have an example of a rare cartridge then I am prepared to do it . I hope to be collecting in twenty years time , despite the laws that we are afflicted with so working within the law has to be in everyones best interest .

Apologies for the lecture but this is one area that will see us all affected if some dickhead stuffs it up . That dickhead wont be me.

muzza,

Ber007 , it is a brave or foolish person who openly admits to sending live ammo through the postal system. If you believe the only people who read on-line forums are members or collectors then you are living in a dreamworld .
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May be you read wrong, I say I have RECEIVED from USA not SEND.

Anyway I'm still waiting your cartridges

Yes you promised lots of things but nothing is coming. I prefer receive loaded ammos than nothing

FWIW, I asked my Grandfather and he said it's perfect fine to send dummy rounds through the mail within the USA, provided they have no powder in them and the primer has been fired or isn't present. No incedry rounds either. Lazzeroni just sent him their whole collection of dummies a while ago too.

Ber007 - I find no record of my intending to send you any cartridges . I sent you a copy of some Volcanic information , but was unable to find any of the cartridges you specified in your request , and advised you accordingly . If I had spares of those cartridges they would certainly have been despatched to you , inerted of course .

At risk of starting a verbal battle , I put those who advocate or request the sending of live cartridges through the postal system in the same category as those who post the things in the first place . You guys are the ones who will bring attention to delivery systems the rest of us use legally . You guys are the ones who will bring harsher restrictions on those of us who abide by the laws. You guys will make my ability to continue my hobby more difficult than it already is .

For the future benefit of all cartridge collectors , please reconsider before you mail that live cartridge .

muzza,

You are a Nice Guy

Here I am, "The "pain in the ass"-collector"!!

You remembered it all correctly, Captnemo.
But they havent stopped a single package for me anymore. I'll guess they know my name by now.