Cost of shipping a handgun

[hornsmoker]

nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier

If you're shipping a handgun to a FFL via fedex or UPS you are not by law obligated to disclose its a handgun.

Not true.

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

(B8) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier? [Back]

A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract 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), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5) and 922(e), 27 CFR 478.31 and 478.30]

The most sensible method of shipping a handgun is to take it to your local FFL and have him/her ship via USPS - which as licensee, he/she is allowed to do. Costs in most cases are less than 25 bucks.

 

[loumarch]

FFLs shipping via US Postal Service can ship a handgun for $8.50 flat rate. If you need to ship a handgun to another FFL you should bring it to a gun shop that you buy from and ask them to ship it for you. You'll pay more than $8.50 but less than $50.00.

I have done this twice and it was $20.00 each time. Most FFLs will only accept handguns from other FFLs anyway, so this also solves that problem.

 

[diyj98]

Most FFL's in my areas aren't too willing to ship guns for others. I guess they see it as someone else getting a sale instead of them. The one time I did get a dealer to do it, she charged her $25.00 transfer fee plus $15.00 for shipping, so it was still $40.00.

 

[gezzer]

You need a new dealer, I am a dealer I will send your gun for repair or sale to another FFL for the actual USPS charge plus $10.00. When you are a regular customer the $10.00 fee is waived.

Note:USPS insurance is expensive unless it is shipped registered mail.

 

[Car Knocker]

hornsmoker,

If you read the cited code, you are not required to notify the carrier as long as the firearm is going to "licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors". Seems to me the U.S.C. and CFR would prevail over a FAQ.

18 U.S.C. 922(e) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to deliver or cause to be delivered to any common or contract carrier for transportation or shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, to persons other than licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, or licensed collectors, any package or other container in which there is any firearm or ammunition without written notice to the carrier that such firearm or ammunition is being transported or shipped; except that any passenger who owns or legally possesses a firearm or ammunition being transported aboard any common or contract carrier for movement with the passenger in interstate or foreign commerce may deliver said firearm or ammunition into the custody of the pilot, captain, conductor or operator of such common or contract carrier for the duration of the trip without violating any of the provisions of this chapter. No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm.

27 CFR §478.31 Delivery by common or con-tract carrier. (a) No person shall knowingly deliver or cause to be delivered to any common or contract carrier for transportation or shipment in interstate or foreign commerce to any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufac-turer, licensed dealer, or licensed col-lector, any package or other container in which there is any firearm or ammu-nition without written notice to the carrier that such firearm or ammuni-tion is being transported or shipped[/B

 

[hornsmoker]

Car Knocker is right

Car Knocker,

When you read just these two sections, I agree and you are right. My apologies to the previous poster. What is says is that you only have to disclose if the firearm is going to someone who is not licensed. If you do, then you must give the contract carrier "written" notice. Oddly enough there are cases where one might send to a non-licensee - you can send to another resident of your own state, you can send to yourself in care of someone else in another state for any legal sporting purpose and you also may allow another person to borrow the gun on a temporary basis for any legal sporting purpose.

I can't see where any of the other sections referenced in the FAQ [18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5), 27 CFR 478.30] contradict this.

 

[Car Knocker]

I read through all the sections cited and only quoted the two that appeared to direct reference this particular shipping requirement. It appears that the FAQ is a simplified condensation that misstates the law as a generalisation.

As you note, "you can send to another resident of your own state, you can send to yourself in care of someone else in another state for any legal sporting purpose", although there may be state or local regulations that impact this. Unfortunately, UPS and FedEx appear to be somewhat reluctant to honor these exceptions, at least according to the anecdotal evidence I've read on the various forums I frequent.

 

[hornsmoker]

This is also part of 27 CFR 478.30 -

(d) No common or contract carrier shall knowingly deliver in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm without obtaining written acknowledgement of receipt from the recipient of the package or other container in which there is a firearm:

Shippers interpretation: as long as we don't knowingly deliver a firearm without getting a signature, we are okay and haven't violated the law. However we can use this to make more money by making it company policy that those shipping a firearm must tell us up front so we can charge for having a complete chain of custody and paper trail - and that means overnight air.

 

[obm]

here's the UPS policies straight from the horses mouth. the information on their firearms policies via email is much more thorough than what you find on their website. some interesting facts to note:

1) individuals can only send to ffl for repair or adjustment(no selling)
2) UPS does not ship automatic weapons.
3) individuals cannot send firearms to other individuals(non-ffls)
4) you CAN request the cheapest Next Day Air service(Next Day Air Saver) for handguns
5) you can request One time pickup service for long guns


From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 6:09 AM
Subject: NT20061117_0000006469 General Questions

Thank you for your inquiry. The following list explains who can send and receive shipments of handguns or firearms through UPS:
____________________________________________________________________________

Shipper
-Licensed Collectors

Consignee
-Licensed Collectors
-Licensed Gun dealer
-Gun Manufacturer (as a result of repair or adjustment only)
-Law Enforcement Agency (not a police officer at home)

Clarification: A police officer may be licensed to carry a handgun, but
is usually not a licensed dealer.
____________________________________________________________________________

Shipper
-Gun Manufacturer

Consignee
-Gun Manufacturer
-Licensed Gun Dealer
-Licensed Collector
-Individual (as a result of repair or adjustment only)
-Law Enforcement Agency (not a police officer at home)

Clarification: A police officer may be licensed to carry a handgun, but
is usually not a licensed dealer.
____________________________________________________________________________

Shipper
- Licensed Gun Dealer

Consignee
- Licensed Gun dealer
-Licensed Collector
-Gun Manufacturer (as a result of repair or adjustment only)
-Law Enforcement Agency (not a police officer at home)

Clarification: A police officer may be licensed to carry a handgun, but
is usually not a licensed dealer.
_______________________________________________________________________

Shipper
- Individual

Consignee
Gun Manufacturer (for repair or adjustment only) and from a person not
otherwise prohibited by Federal, State or local law to a licensed
importer, licensed manufacturer or licensed dealer for the sole purpose
of repair or customizing.
__________________________________________________________________________

Please note, the shipment of a firearm from an individual to an individual
is prohibited in the UPS system.

UPS will only accept handguns for shipment (from and to authorized legal
parties) via UPS Next Day Air services (Early A.M., Next Day Air, or Next
Day Air Saver).

Handguns cannot be shipped from the following:

One Time Pickup
On Call Pickup
Letter Centers (drop boxes)
The UPS Store
Internet Shipping
UPS Sonic Air
UPS Authorized Shipping Outlets (ASOs)

This UPS procedure change affects only handguns, not all firearms. As a
responsible corporate citizen, UPS wants to ensure that handguns are
transported as safely as possible by restricting them to special handling
methods within the UPS system. We intend to continue serving our
customers who lawfully ship handguns.

Other firearms, including shotguns, rifles, etc. can be shipped by
authorized legal parties via One Time Pickup service or through a UPS
Customer Center.

Firearms will not be accepted for shipment from any UPS Commercial Counter
and/or Authorized Shipping Outlet.

There cannot be anything written or printed on the package that indicates
the package contains a handgun or firearm. The shipper cannot pack
ammunition in the same shipping container as the handgun. The shipper
must segregate handgun shipments for the driver. The shipper must apply
the Adult Signature Required label (21 years of age or older).

Antique Firearms

Antique firearms may be shipped via the UPS system, and are not required
to be shipped via UPS's Next Day Air service. An antique firearm is a
firearm that was manufactured in or before 1898 or any replica, muzzle-
loading rifle, muzzle-loading shotgun, and muzzle-loading pistol, which
are designed to use black powder or a black powder substitute. An antique
firearm cannot use fixed ammunition and is not considered a handgun for
the purposes of determining the method the antique firearm may be shipped.

Ammunition:

UPS accepts domestic ground and air shipments of ammunition that have been
classified by the shipper as "Cartridges, small arms", or "ORM-D" (Other
Regulated Material). The package must be properly marked according to the
requirements of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR). A
Hazardous Materials Transportation Contract may be required to ship such
packages with UPS. Contact the Hazardous Material Support Center at
1-800-554-9964 for details on regulatory information.

BB Guns, Pellet Guns and Air Rifles are not considered firearms and can
be shipped with no additional restrictions. Please note, UPS cannot ship
a CO2 cartridge that may be part of an Air Rifle.

The shipping of automatic weapons is prohibited in the UPS system.

Definition of Automatic Weapon - An automatic weapon is any weapon which
is designed to shoot automatically more than one shot without manual
reload by a single function of the trigger.

For future reference, please refer to the following URL:

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/guidelines/firearms.html

We hope this information is helpful.

Please contact us if you need any additional assistance.

Moi Gala
UPS Customer Service

 

[Blackfork]

Yet another example...

Yet another example of the Feds completely screwing up what ought to be a simple and reasonable transaction. I don't know why we put up with this. Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Bowie, Washington, et al would hang them for this multi-layered nonsense.