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Shipping Handguns Questions

RUGERGUNZRUGERGUNZ Member Posts: 5,638 ✭✭
edited October 2004 in General Discussion
What can an individual do to ship a handgun?

Can I use USPS?

What kind of service is required? (First, Priority etc.)

I know I have to ship to an FFL, but how do I know if they are legit?


Thanks


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Comments

  • bigtirebigtire Member Posts: 24,800
    edited November -1
    A non-FFL holder may only ship handguns through a common or contract carrier. The only common or contract carriers I know of that will ship handguns are UPS and Fedex. They must be shipped overnight and the cost can run from $30 to $50 or more. All guns shipped must go to an FFL. Ask for an ink signed copy (blue or red ink) of the FFL license to be sent to you along with payment. I think that you might be able to verify the FFL through BATFEs website.

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  • James AyersJames Ayers Member Posts: 1,598 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    [8D] And if you sell it to someone in California, it has to be SHIPPED FROM a FFL to a FFL![:p][:p][:p][:D]

    On your mark-get set- go away!!
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  • ClaimbusterClaimbuster Member Posts: 38 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I beleive you can ship USPS Priority Mail. Personally I prefer UPS which for handguns has to be overnight. Get the e-mail notification option which adds minor cost and you are notified when the package arrives at its destination. Or you can use their slick web-site for tracking. If you are granting an inspection period, that time typically starts when the FFL receives the package. Nice to have evidence when it arrived.

    Legit? You must have a copy of the FFL with original signature in hand before you ship. No faxes.
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  • bigtirebigtire Member Posts: 24,800
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Claimbuster
    I beleive you can ship USPS Priority Mail. Personally I prefer UPS which for handguns has to be overnight. Get the e-mail notification option which adds minor cost and you are notified when the package arrives at its destination. Or you can use their slick web-site for tracking. If you are granting an inspection period, that time typically starts when the FFL receives the package. Nice to have evidence when it arrived.

    Legit? You must have a copy of the FFL with original signature in hand before you ship. No faxes.


    Only an FFL can ship a handgun through the USPS

    http://www.gunbroker.com/user/ShippingGuide.asp

    "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]


    May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U. S. Postal Service?
    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."


    A common or contract carrier is UPS or Fedex not USPS.

    MOLON LABE!
    allahSortbs.jpg
    An evil tree bears evil fruit. You can destroy as much fruit as you want, but it will always grow back, and it will always be evil.

    Tear the tree out of the ground by the roots and burn it. Burn it to ash and grind out the embers with your boot until there's nothing left. Not a single spark. Not a single seed.
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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    As an unlicensed individual you must use a contract carrier as only dealers and manufactuers may use the US Mail to ship handguns (with a few extremely limited exceptions which apply to nearly no one you are ever likely to meet with in your lifetime). UPS and FedEx handgun shippments will all have to go next day air at considerable expense. In many cases folks will have a licensed dealer make the shippment on their behalf for a small handling fee simply because it costs as little as $15 for a dealer to use the USPS as opposed to the $50 for an unlicensed person to use UPS next day air. Even with a dealer fee of $15 factored in you are still money ahead.

    "Nothing can ever be made 'idiot proof' because idiots are simply too clever"!
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  • Henry0ReillyHenry0Reilly Member Posts: 10,892 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    This topic came up just the other day and the answer given was that interstate transportation of handguns must be from and to licensees only.

    Now I'm confused.


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  • Henry0ReillyHenry0Reilly Member Posts: 10,892 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by RUGERGUNZ


    I know I have to ship to an FFL, but how do I know if they are legit?


    GB has a link under "for sellers" to the ATF website to verify FFL's.

    avitar.jpg
    Semper Fi

    Remember Ruby Ridge.

    What if there were no hypothetical questions?

    Not a member at the auction? Join Gunbroker at this link!
    I used to recruit for the NRA until they sold us down the river (again!) in Heller v. DC. See my auctions (if any) under username henryreilly
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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    State laws and regulations are all over the place but so far as the Gun Control Act of 1968 is concerned (which governs federal firearms laws and regulations) only the receiving party on interstate (not intrastate) modern firearms shippments (not antiques) must have some form of FFL and this can be a C&R license if the firearms being shipped are classified as Curio and Relics. Depending on state regualtions NO ONE needs to be licensed to ship a firearm inside his home state so if you lived in St. Geogre, Utah and wanted to send a rifle to your brother in Salt Lake City you can just mail it to him and forget about ANYONE needing an FFL. The USPS has its own regulations prohibiting the mailing of handguns and these date back to around 1949 and have nothing to do with any BATFE regulations nor does the UPS and FedEx mandates that handguns be shipped next day air. Those folks in the brown trucks, who had near total control of the firearms shipping market, just thought up a way to squeeze extra money out of gun owners one day and since they understood full well that the Post Office would not allow individuals to ship handguns the common carriers cashed in. This topic has come up about 100 times and while I can understand a person asking a question which has been asked before (how would he know?) I am amazed that the wrong information continues to be passed along over and over again and you have to read through several posts in order to get the real facts. This is why Saxon Pig's idea of a frequently asked question and answer section would be of great benefit.

    "Nothing can ever be made 'idiot proof' because idiots are simply too clever"!
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  • sharpshooter039sharpshooter039 Member Posts: 5,897 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Before I got my FFL I always had my local gun shop ship for me,he would charge me a $10.00 plus the cost of shipping,it was always cheaper than Fedex or UPS and a recieving FFL will always prefer getting it in from a FFL than a unlicensed person
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