I need to ship a rifle from one state to another. I know this has been hashed over before, but I just want to review the bidding before I make a mistake.

I know I can go to the Post Office and personally ship a rifle to an authorized dealer, importer, or gunsmith. I THINK I can do the same thing with UPS.

In other words, I don't have to take a rifle to a FFL holder to ship it out, as long as it is going TO a FFL holder and not an individual.

And, that repair shop or dealer can ship the rifle back to me diect, if I'm not mistaken.

If any of the above is not accurate and YOU KNOW FOR SURE it is not, please advise.

Nitro Express, you are correct.

The last rifle I shipped to an FFL holder through UPS, I was required by UPS to give them a copy of the FFL the rifle was going to. Didn't know about that till I got to UPS. The nearest UPS is something like 150 miles from my house.

Oh yeah, I tried shipping it in the Winchester box it came in, and they refused to ship it that way until all reference to Winchester, gun, firearm, etc.. had been masked. Some duct tape in my car cured that part, but was very irritating.

[ 01-02-2003, 00:56: Message edited by: Yukon Jack ]

What you said is true with respect to Federal law but some states are trying to pressure dealers, gunsmiths, etc to only receive firearms when shipped by other FFL holders...unfortunately California is one of those states.

I would double-check with whom ever is going to receive the firearm before I shipped to make sure they were OK with direct shipment.

UPS or the "BIG BROWN", should have a tapered design to their trucks because they are a TURD.

Their shipping requirements change with the tide. If you are a licensed dealer and are shipping a handgun, and have an account with them, they will pick up at your place of business, however, if you do not have an account with them, they require you take the package to them. They WILL pick up long guns without an account though. Go figure...

FedEx doesn't have such whacky regulations and everyone I've spoken with at FedEx tend to sing from the same page. That is refreshing.

Malm

On a variation of this question, can I ship a rifle to myself? I own 2 homes and sometimes wondered if I could just ship one of my guns from one residence to another. Another spin would be if I disassembled one and sent the stock, bolt, and miscellaneous in one package and just the barrel and action in a separate package to myself. Is this legal for a non-FFL holder to do?

UPS requiring a copy of the FFL is interesting, did you inform them that to have that FFL and they not being a dealer is a felony? Next time make sure you ask for their name in a breathless voice after telling them that and write it down, telling them you can't wait to get back home to drop a dime on their brain-dead ass. Bet they didn't know that. It is completely true that the UPS regs change depending on which moron stands behind the counter that day.

Yes you can mail or ship a firearm to yourself anywhere it is legal for you to have a firearm. Make sure whoever picks it up at the p.o. or receives it from the BBT moron does not open the box, to do that is to "receive" the firearm and that is bad.

As always get the regs from the BATFags at their homepage. Also when going to the p.o. it is best to have a printed copy of the BATFags regs and the p.o.'s regs as the morons there rarely know the regs themselves.

You will find the p.o. tells you to go to the BATFags regs anyway.

P.S. Not all feral gub'mint employees are morons, only about 99% though. Not all employees of UPS are morons, only about 99.9% though. Sorry if I offended anyone with my sweeping overgeneralizations.

Hope this helps.

i have always had good luck at the post office. i ship in a hard case and then box over it with cardboard. it doesn't scream $$ gun going through the system and you never know what entertains employees on thier break. i have seen guns in hard cases with the scope so bent you couldn't open the bolt! i worked for fed ex and if i remember right they need a copy of the ffl on file at the origin station. i am not sure. but dont call the 800 number for this info! you will be sorry. go to the station and speak to someone. if you get that cozzy feeling then your all set. good luck
woofer

Hello Roger,
No I didn't confront them with the legality of the whole mess, because I did not know for sure myself. All I wanted to do was ship my rifle to someone for some work to be done. I had already made the trip to Anchorage, and was refused service because 1. it was in the Winchester box (which I remedied with duct tape) and 2. I did not have a copy of the shop's FFL. I asked if I could use their phone to call Wyoming, but was not allowed to do so, even with my calling card. It is our policy, blah, blah, blah was all I could get from them.

So I went back home (~150 miles) called the shop, got them to fax a copy of the FFL, drove back the following day and shipped without further hassle. Since, I've always asked shops to fax me a copy of there FFL so it will go smoothly. A 300 mile round trip for nothing is very irritating.

Last September, I shipped a rifle out to get built on the east coast. I went to UPS (WA state)and simply told them it was a rifle going out for repair. No copy of FFL needed, no hassles either. Anyway, I'll probably get chewed out for saying this, but I'll say it anyway, "What UPS doesn't know, won't hurt them" I've sent guns out for repair, sold and shipped guns on the net, shipped through UPS and FedEx. No FFL's. Just insure it for what you think it's worth and go for it. Anybody gonna chew me out now?

Yukon Jack,
I always ship rifles by the USPS. Ship them registered mail and insurance is a lot cheaper and the box has to be signed off by each person who touches it. I use that more for the safety of that form of shipment. Most post offices are up on the regs.

Roger, I don't know why it would be a felony for anyone to require a copy of a FFL before a shipment is made. I certainly do that when I am shipping one to someone and it is not illegal to request that if you were sending it for a sale to someone. In fact it would be recommended. I may have misunderstood what you said though.

[ 01-02-2003, 12:35: Message edited by: Customstox ]

Well, I shipped the rifle via USPS.

God, I hate the Post Office! Once again, I had to educate them about their own regulations. They keep trying to say guns can't be mailed, and I keep making them haul out their regs and look it up. In the meantime, everyone in the lobby is staring at you like you're some kind of terrorist. Today it only took about a half hour to get them straight; last time it took almost two hours and I was only sending a rifle from Atlanta to Alabama for warranty work. I told the postal clerk I could've driven the gun over there in that amount of time.

Anyway, it's en route to Alaska, so we'll see if it ever gets there.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Jeff

Not chewing you out....but....federal law requires that you inform the shipper that the package contains a firearm......and, yes, a receiver, action frame etc IS legally a firearm

Some relevant info from:

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b

B8) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U. S. Postal Service? [Back]

A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of his or her own state or to a licensee in any state. Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. A nonlicensee may not transfer any firearm to a nonlicensed resident of another state. The Postal Service recommends that longguns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms.

(B9) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by carrier? [Back]

A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by carrier to a resident of his or her own state or to a licensee in any state. A common or contract carrier must be
used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract
carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm. [18 U. S. C. 922( a)( 2)( A) and 922( e), 27 CFR 178.31]

(B10) May a nonlicensee ship firearms interstate for his or her use in hunting or other lawful activity? [Back]

Yes. A person may ship a firearm to himself or herself in care of another person in the state where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. The package should be addressed to the owner. Persons other than the owner should not open the package and take possession of the firearm.