ammo shipping question

hughes1

What is the best way to ship loaded ammunition to a private party within the continetal USA? Any special restrictions on packaging or marking the outside of the container?? Thanks.

gskyhawk

I just did this a little over a week ago, I had to ship some loaded rifle ammo to a guy in TX ,, I call the head UPS office and asked them what they required to ship, they said to just mark the box as follows

"Cartridges small arms"
ORM--D

you can use a black marker for this and then ship as normal

joeaf1911a1

E mail UPS Hazmat section. Or call 800-554-9964 (toll free).
This will give you ALL specifications for shipping ammo.

Iconoclast

Unless state or local regulations / laws specify otherwise, you may ship ammo within the continental US w/o an FFL (don't need it for AK or HI, but see below) to another party who does not have an FFL. Be aware that some jurisdictions have stringent restrictions on the types & calibers of ammo which may be received (particularly military surplus loadings); check with the ATF website to determine if this foolish PC nonsense applies to you or the recipient. Also be aware that MA requires you have a copy of the recipient's FOID - possibly IL as well. Live ammo may *only* be shipped by common carrier (i.e.: UPS, FedEx) by *ground* transport. No 'hazmat' penalties apply; however, the container must be marked on one side "Small Arms Ammunition Cartridges ORM-D" (short for "Other Regulated Material - class D"). Technically, this verbiage must be outlined by a line box at least .250" larger than the verbiage. For years, I just marked my boxes with marker, but then I ran into a real * set of hoplophobic types at the local UPS termninal who sent back all my boxes, opened, because the labels were not *exactly* as specified by regulations. It is illegal to ship by USPS (Postal regs, Pub 52, Section 341.21c). You can only ship from your place of business - which can be your home under the regs - or from the carrier's terminal. Be aware that both of the common carriers apparently give the terminal managers wide latitude in accepting / rejecting packages, so a UPS location in your area may refuse to accept a package while FedEx will, or vice versa. If you are frustrated by the locals, a call to the national customer service center with a request for them to contact the local terminal will usually - but not always - resolve the problem. Cost varies by weight, distance and recipient. In reference to the latter, there are surcharges for residential deliveries and deliveries to 'rural' zip codes. These charges are front-end loaded, so shipping a ten pound package will often cost less than twice the charges on a one pound package. On small items, cost typically runs $5 to $8. FedEx Ground is usually cheaper than UPS, but their drivers have much more difficulty with rural addresses. OTOH, FedEx seems to have far less political problems with ammo and similar material.