US Postal refused to ship my rifle.

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nathan

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I m a private gun owner and i shipped several times mainly rifles thru my local US Postal here in Houston. NOw this am I went and cashed in the MO payed to me by the buyer and after which I showed the lady (not the usual one who processed me before, she knows her stuff) the buyer's FFL dealer's copy. She seem very ignorant, went back for few minutes and had me waited a good 7 plus minutes. She came back with a big ledger showing that firearms should be shipped thru a local dealer. i explained to her I had been shipping rifles here before and is legal to do so . SHe quoted somethign from the manual that its not specific whether its a rifle or small arm, that she definitely cannot accept the package. I was disgusted. ANyway I went thru UPS. No hassle at all , no bull rules.
Now was she just making here opinion or this is a sign of anti gun approach of some USPS employees, I cannot understand . It depends on the person you talk with or what? Anybody here can show me where the USPS regs are to shipping firearms, handguns and longarms. Private owners and FFL dealers.
Im planning to call and clear this up with the branch manager tomorrow. i jsut didnt want to sound amidst people waiting inline while at the Post Office. Thanks
 
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I always declare its long arm . It s the law , right? Im really pissed with what happened. Shes an older lady white employee maybe ready to retire. I just felt like Im discriminated since Im asian and maybe a white dude with the same package she probably gladly proceed in shipping it.
ALl I can thiink of right there is she is dumb, jsut not familiar with firearms and refused if any to deal with it. Cant believe why folks like them work for so long in a government position and dont know procedurals in firearm shipment. i will definitely talk wtih the manager tomorrow and find out what he has in his books. Im afraid he couldbe antigun too and dumb in terms of firearms--makes things worse, hahahaah. I f Im right I will tell him to make sure his groups of frotn ladies in the counter to be aware of this bec it cost me more just the gas to UPS.

Guys , any advise I will appreciate.
 
Going postal

First of all, when I went to the post office, I'd make sure I had a suit and tie on, polished shoes and a fresh haircut. I'd be calm. I'd be pleasant. I'd be upbeat and shake peoples hands and introduce myself and hand over my business card. I'd accept coffee, one sugar, and sit down without slouching or frowning. I'd have a printed copy of the Postal Services regulations on firearms in an expensive looking folder, my papers, and a professional looking pen of some sort.

I would NOT be armed.

All this will impress them and supress any reflex on their part to discredit your complaints.

I would NOT represent firearm owners using profanity, not being well-informed of the Post Office regulations, or do ANYTHING which might bring even the slightest disrespect to shooters, hunters, and firearms owners who might want to interact with the post office. If I had a policeman friend who would go, or a soldier who was cool, calm, and collected, I would take him along, in uniform. Otherwise I'd have another friend, two of us, in suits.

And I would politely and calmly get this resolved and thank them for their help and service.

Don't give gun owners a bad reputation, instead impress the hell out of whoever you have to do business with.
 
I read the jouster .com by Ring Tao and it said USPS Post Master will not give an opinion re firearms etc, it refers to ATF as the sole determinator.
 
Thats a good advise. Suit and tie would be nice in this time of the year. Next time Im gonna wear cowboy hat and my classic Justin apache. The guy next to me is a big ole Tx Ranger. That should do the trick. LOL
 
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it refers to ATF as the sole determinator.
Click to expand...
and the ATF says:

(B7) May a nonlicensee ship a firearm through the U.S. Postal Service?[Back]


A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another State. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. The Postal Service recommends that long guns 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. Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

[18 U.S.C. 1715, 922(a)(3), 922(a)(5) and 922 (a)(2)(A)]

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b7
 
Check the Domestic Mail Manual

nathan,
The woman was wrong and unfamiliar with the relevant regulations. You can check the DMM at:
http://www.usps.com/publications/manuals/welcome.htm

Regulation 601.11.3 deals with rifles and shotguns.
601.11.1e prohibits short bbl. rifles and shotguns.
601.11.2 deals with antiques.
Print the relevant regs and bring them along next time you want to mail a long gun.

I mailed an M1A (barreled receiver) from Fort Knox to Springfield Armory in Illinois, in 1978. I am an American of asian extraction. I work for the Postal Service as a mechanic.

+1 Blackfork's post.
 
i am an FFL and had a USPS employee in Round Rock, TX (near Dell Computer) tell me it was illegal for me to ship a handgun. he said i had to put a zip tie or gun cable lock through it to render it so it could not discharge. never mind it had no ammunition in it so even if it was crushed by a tank or dropped 50 million feet from the space shuttle it couldn't go off.

he was a moron. i asked to speak to the office manager, and of course he was not available.

i posted my terrible experience on THR shortly thereafter. im still waiting to come up with the courage to type my latest fiasco involving the TSA at Austin Airport (TX). :banghead:
 
Tell us more about the TSA at AUstin. That would be interesting.
 
nathan said:
I read the jouster .com by Ring Tao and it said USPS Post Master will not give an opinion re firearms etc, it refers to ATF as the sole determinator.
Click to expand...

That only concerns the legality under the Gun Control Act. The Postmaster can determine the legality of the shipment under the Postal regulations.
 
My local post office won't ship guns either, under any circumstances. Weird, too, because I'm out in the boondocks where everyone has a pick up truck and hunts, and I live in a very gun friendly State.
 
im still waiting to come up with the courage to type my latest fiasco involving the TSA at Austin Airport.
Click to expand...
I had one of those too, but mine was at LaGuardia in NY. Cop ended up taking my ammo because it was hollow point, and he told me I didn't need hollow point for hunting. I told him that I had no intention of hunting with my Government Model .45, i.e., it was for self defense carry. He asked me if I thought I was a cop. I told him that I had a carry license in both NY State and Florida, to which he just shook his head in disbelief. He detained me for a total of about a half hour, some of that time spent just ogling my gun, and handing it around to other cops to ogle at. By the way, I had done everything instructed by the airline in prep for this.
 
I have been confronted with the ignorance of postal employees regarding my legal right to ship a rifle to an ffl or to myself.

I simply will not leave the counter, I get their manager and if that person is ignorant too I have them call their shipping compliance hot line. I have never left a post office. Sometimes I will print the title 18 usc rules and the postal system rules. Most of the time I just have them call standards.

Once they have been taught by me it is never a problem the second time around.
 
Dont they let all Postal employees take a yearly refresher course on the regs esp mailable items?
 
I have had to print out a copy of the regs and bring them with me several times.
 
I have been confronted with the ignorance of postal employees regarding my legal right to ship a rifle to an ffl or to myself.

I simply will not leave the counter, I get their manager and if that person is ignorant too I have them call their shipping compliance hot line. I have never left a post office. Sometimes I will print the title 18 usc rules and the postal system rules. Most of the time I just have them call standards.

Once they have been taught by me it is never a problem the second time around.
Click to expand...

Best reply yet.
 
I'd just use Fedex and forget about it. Since I have an account, it is pretty easy for me to ship through them. No problem with firearms as long as it goes to a dealer. I would have a copy of the FFL dealers license.
 
Now was she just making here opinion or this is a sign of anti gun approach of some USPS employees, I cannot understand
Click to expand...

Why are you trying to turn this incident into something bigger than what it really is. You already know the problem here and it does not appear to be any sort of private opinion issue or bigger anti-gun issue. The clerk simply did not know or understand the rules...

She seem very ignorant, ...
Click to expand...
 
Oh, please. The overly sensationalist nature of your headline accomplishes little. It would be more accurate to say that a single USPS employee who was unfamiliar with firearms shipping rules prevented you from shipping your rifle. You should have politely asked to talk to her supervisor or the Post Master and the entire issue probably would have been resolved within seconds.
 
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