Question About Shipping Firearms

[hogger129]

I am getting some work done on my Springfield and I was wondering if the person doing the work can ship the pistol back to me directly if I do not have an FFL?

I am under the impression that if I own said firearm, a gunsmith can ship it directly back to me.

[BETH]

is this from the factory

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by BETH

is this from the factory

no going to a gunsmith

[BETH]

can't help u there but i am sure someone will i am sure Double D could answer that

[Alpo]

Yes, he can ship it back directly to you.

The FFL nonsense is for "transfers" across state lines. This isn't a "transfer". It's your gun coming back to you. They can ship it straight to your house.

I've had it done several times.

[BETH]

what if u are having it fixed in another state?

[hogger129]

I would think as long as there is no transfer of ownership going on, shipping it directly back to me should be 100% fine.

[BETH]

sounds good to me

[hogger129]

I shipped it through UPS - had my local gun store do it. Anybody have experiences shipping firearms through UPS? I figure at least that way if something happens to it, I can blame my LGS and I at least have some recourse.

[BETH]

i had no problem with them when i shipped to marlin they just told me when i shipped it to have nothing on box that said firearm so i just shipped it "marlin" when i got it back from them there was Marlin all over box?????

[hogger129]

i guess i'm just afraid of UPS losing it or when it comes back, the ppl at the place won't know whose gun it is. they took a copy of my DL, so i assume they'd know whose gun it is.

[gvw3]

I had to ship my gun in for repair and they told me to use FedEx. They said not the post office or UPS. FedEx had no problem. I told them it was a gun they said that's ok.

[Alpo]

Personally, if I was having my gun store ship it, I would have used the post office. An FFL can mail a pistol to another FFL. Put it in one of them "anything that fits in the box ships" boxes, and could mail it for about 8 bucks. UPS probably charged 50 to 75. Whenever I have to ship a pistol, I take it to my dealer. I give him 20 bucks. Costs him less than ten to mail it, so he makes ten bucks for going to the post office. And I save 30 to 50.

I was surprised, though, when I shipped a rifle. FedEx saved me ten bucks over the post office.

[Alpo]

Originally Posted by BETH

what if u are having it fixed in another state?

Doesn't matter. There is no "transfer" going on. It's your gun coming back to you. Shipped straight to your house, no matter what state it shipped from.

[gvw3]

Alpo I was told the post office cant ship guns. Did they know it was a gun.

[Alpo]

You were lied to.

The post office can mail a rifle or a shotgun or a machine gun, for anybody, as long as it is going to an FFL. Or if you are mailing it to yourself.

Non-FFLs cannot mail a pistol. NON-FFLs. Thank you Gun Control Act of 1968. FFLs, however, can, and quite often do, mail pistols. It's much cheaper.

So, let's say I want to send my rifle back to Remington, for repair. I can take it to the post office and mail it. I want to send my shotgun to Frank's Gunsmithing, to have some custom work done? I can take it to the post office and mail it. But if I want to send my pistol back to Springfield, I can't mail it. My FFL can, but I can't.

And if I want to send my machine gun to a smith for repair, I HAVE to mail it, because neither UPS nor FedEx will accept them.

[hogger129]

I guess I'm just worried about my firearm getting lost/stolen is all. He asked me if the guy I was shipping to was open on Saturdays so I assume he's shipping Next Day Air. I had heard UPS will only ship handguns via Air.

So hopefully it gets there on time and doesn't turn up missing or I'm gonna be going bezerk.

[gdmoody]

As Aplo said, you CAN mail a long gun through the Post Office to anyone (FFL). Any FFL holder can mail handguns. I have personally mailed quite a few rifles myself and I see many going through the mail all the time.

If you are worried about loss or theft of your long gun, just send it Registered Mail. Every person who touches the package has to sign for it and it is closely monitored. Insure it for more than it is worth and if it gets lost or stolen you will at least get your money back.

[Double D]

Its always easier to use a FFL, but you dont have to. Ups and fed ex want hand guns to ship second day air and that normally costs a pretty penny. I normally will ship them ups ground BUT ups will not allow a non FFL to ship a handgun ground. Guns can ship us mail thru an FFL. And, there may be other ways I am not familiar with.

[gvw3]

From the Ruger website.

Note: Handguns may not be shipped by individuals through the U.S. Mail. Individuals are allowed to ship handguns to our factory for service using commercial carriers such as Airborne Express, Federal Express or United Parcel Service.

We will acknowledge receipt of delivery of your firearm at our facility by return mail notification that identifies our shop work order number and date of receipt at our facility.

[Alpo]

Yeah. Individuals. That's "normal people". Cops call 'em "civilians". The ATF calls 'em "Non-Licensees".

An FFL is not an individual. It's a business.

[gvw3]

Here is part of the email I received from Ruger.

We recommend that you send your entire firearm into our Product Service Dept for evaluation. Ship to: S & R 411 Sunapee St. Newport, NH 03773. Put a letter inside with your firearm stating the issue. Include a daytime phone number, return UPS address, and mailing address. Also a email address or fax number if available.

Pack in a plain brown box. Do not send the original Ruger box. Handguns can not be mailed. They have to be sent through a firearms dealer or FED EX.

This is what I based my post on. I was aware a FFL can mail but we can't. I don't understand why we can't mail them.

[hogger129]

Got it worked out thanks guys

[Alpo]

>This is what I based my post on. I was aware a FFL can mail but we can't. I don't understand why we can't mail them.<

Same reason as, that for 18 years, whenever we bought ammo we had to sign the book.

Because those fecal-cephalitic morons in Congress decided it was a good idea.

[hogger129]

Originally Posted by Alpo

>This is what I based my post on. I was aware a FFL can mail but we can't. I don't understand why we can't mail them.<

Same reason as, that for 18 years, whenever we bought ammo we had to sign the book.

Because those fecal-cephalitic morons in Congress decided it was a good idea.

From what the people at the gun range/store I shoot at told me (those guys are mostly off-duty cops that run the range and the owner is a retired cop), i can mail to an ffl as a non-licensee, but the ffl has to send the firearm back through an ffl and i have to do the 4473 and wait two days for my handgun. i guess i don't really understand why that's necessary since the firearm isn't changing ownership, but hey the law is the law and they've done this before so i'm gonna trust them. there could be different laws for handguns than long guns too.

plus i have to mail through a private carrier such as UPS or Fed-Ex. an FFL can ship through the USPS or a private carrier. at least that's what i thought.

i wonder how hard it is to go apply for an FFL. my second cousin had one back in the 1980s, but i think the standards for getting one were different back then. and i think his was for C&R cause i know he had an antique Thompson SMG. maybe somebody could post a link explaining the process.