shipping a pistol

[cnyankee]

have a friend that is shipping a pistol back to springfield to upgrade it. his question is what is the best (safest) way to ship? fed ex, ups, usps
getting insurance is a given but does he have to notify the carrier what it is and does it have to say what it is on the outside of the box? and any other suggestions would be hepful
thanks

[69Mach1]

Well the USPS is a no go with handguns. I've only used UPS and they will only allow you to use overnight shipping. You have to go to an authorized UPS hub to ship guns, and you have to declare it with the UPS person behind the register. Make sure your package is unsealed because they have to inspect it to make sure it's unloaded. Bring tape to seal it afterwards. They cannot place any markings or labels on the outside of the package indicating it's a firearm. Hope this helps.

[cnyankee]

thanks 69mach1 and treelogger that did help

[Fjold]

I just shipped one Friday, both FedEx and UPS require overnight shipping but you can use "Overnight Saver" at UPS which gets it delivered by 3 PM the next day. You don't have to have the package unsealed, I just told them that it was unloaded and that no ammunition was in the box.

[chiefcrash]

Don't bother with the UPS store or some place that has a FedEx contract counter. Go straight to the FedEx or UPS (or DHL?) depot.

DHL will not ship firearms or ammunition

http://www.thegunzone.com/ship-guns.html