What if someone ships gun to someone by accident

[bushmaster1313]

This is a hypothetical that has not happened to me or anyone I know.
(but there is an out-of-state gun on its way to my local FFL for transfer to me so it got me thinking)

What is the drill if someone wrongly ships you a firearm?

Here are two ways this could happen.

1) You ship a gun to an FFL gunsmith and he is allowed to send it directly back to you but he goofs and sends someone else's gun to you at your home thinking it was your gun.

2) You arrange for an out of state seller to ship a gun to your local FFL for transfer to you but the shipper goofs and sends it directly to you at your home.

Here in NJ my guess is that you call the police--but I pity the poor slob on the other end.

 

[71Commander]

1) Call the FFL and have him send you a call tag and ship it back.

2) Go to the FFL with the gun and have him log it in then go through the normal procedure to get the gun.

 

[swinokur]

What FFL is going to log in a gun he didn't receive?

 

[mgmorden]

What FFL is going to log in a gun he didn't receive?

That one is a toughie. Sending it back to the original sending FFL would work fine in example #1, or in example #2 if the seller had shipped through an FFL.

If we're talking #2 though where a non-FFL seller accidentally shipped a gun directly to you. Truth be told, I'd hate to seem "tattle-taley", but I'd get all my documentation in order showing that all my communications indicated that they were SUPPOSED to send to an FFL and that it was not my intention nor request to have it shipped directly to me, and then I'd contact the BATF to get the situation resolved.

There's no way I'd just "wait and see" in that situation - the possible consequences are too great.

 

[NavyLCDR]

1) You ship a gun to an FFL gunsmith and he is allowed to send it directly back to you but he goofs and sends someone else's gun to you at your home thinking it was your gun.

#1 is pretty much no harm, no foul. A gunsmith/manufacturer is allowed to send a replacement firearm directly back to the person who sent them the original firearm for customization or repair. You simply find that the "replacement firearm" they returned to you is not acceptable, and return it to them and request a suitable "replacement firearm" to be sent to you.

2) You arrange for an out of state seller to ship a gun to your local FFL for transfer to you but the shipper goofs and sends it directly to you at your home.

It's a violation of Federal law for you to receive the firearm. So, first step would be to refuse delivery of the package, if it was sent with a signature required. The second step would be to NOT open the package. You know you purchased a gun from Joe Snuffy from Hicksville, USA. So, if you receive a gun-sized from Joe Snuffy from Hicksville, USA you can fairly bet the gun is inside. I would take the package back to the shipping company and tell them that you want to refuse shipment of the package and to return to sender. You don't know what's in the package, you did not order anything to be delivered directly to your home, and return to sender unopened.

It is only against the law to KNOWINGLY send a firearm to an unlicensed individual in another state. If you never open the package, you can't know what is inside it.

 

[Art Eatman]

Seems to be well-answered...