i need help shipping a firearm

[Altahick]

I am selling my Ruger Old Army black powder revolver in the marketplace here. I have a potential buyer that gave me an shipped price offer. i might accept the offer, but i need to figure out how much it will cost to ship and if it has to be sent to an FFL. i know it doesn't require a ffl transfer for the sale of the gun being black powder, but ups said you cant ship person to person eventhough it doesn't require ffl for the sale? it says on their website that they only ship firearms by one day air? which was like $110 dollars? that cant be right?

someone help me figure out a shipping quote and if i have to ship to an FFL. no one at ups seems to know. one lady told me they dont ship firearms

the revolver weighs 3.5 lbs or right around there going from 81526 Co to Corona Ca

[OldShooter32]

Black powder replicas aren't "firearms" and can be sent via USPS. The flat-rate medium box would probably work and it's $12 or so.

[Altahick]

does ups next day air at $77 seem right?

[Altahick]

Black powder replicas aren't "firearms" and can be sent via USPS. The flat-rate medium box would probably work and it's $12 or so.

that would be awesome. so my Ruger Old Army qualifies for this? do i need to do anything special or declare that its in there or anything at all? what about shipping insurance? i guess i could still insure it for $500 without declaring that its in there? im just trying to be thorough and make sure there arent any problems with this sale.

[baih777]

Check with fed ex home delivery.

[joefrank64k]

i need help shipping a firearm

You can ship BP firearms via USPS Priority Mail, no problem. Runs about $20 with $500 of insurance.

http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22321/html/updt_001.htm

ETA: You don't have to declare (and I wouldn't volunteer) that you're mailing a BP firearm. Just box it up good, insure it for the right amount, and drop it off. If you pre-pay for and print the label at home at USPS.com, you save 15% on the postage.

[Altahick]

thanks for the help guys. what i have read concurs with what you guys are saying so flat rate box it is. do you think it would be wise to put a label on the inside of the box with the gun that says "black powder replica, not a firearm". incase it gets inspected at some point in transit?

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Just to make things more confusing, last year the Post Office changed their policy on shipping "antique" handguns. The Domestic Mail Manual now says antique rifles and shotguns are good to go but antique handguns are non-mailable for most people. The quote from the DMM posted earlier in this thread is from back in 2011 when antique handguns were still mailable.

Here's the current wording from the USPS DMM...

12.1.1a Firearm means any device, including a starter gun, which will, or is designed to, or may readily be converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or any destructive device; but the term shall not include antique firearms (except antique firearms described under 12.1.1c and 12.1.1d).

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12.1.1c Handgun (including pistols and revolvers) means any firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand and subject to 12.1.1a, or a combination of parts from which a handgun can be assembled.

12.1.1d Other firearms capable of being concealed on the person include, but are not limited to, short-barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles.

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm

The good news is that antique handguns are perfectly fine to ship via UPS and you can use their ground service. The person that you talked to at UPS was confused about UPS policy. The UPS tariff uses the same definition of "firearm" that the feds use in the Gun Control Act. So "antique" handguns are not considered "firearms" by UPS.

[majtom94]

Mail with post office.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[joefrank64k]

Just to make things more confusing, last year the Post Office changed their policy on shipping "antique" handguns. The Domestic Mail Manual now says antique rifles and shotguns are good to go but antique handguns are non-mailable for most people. The quote from the DMM posted earlier in this thread is from back in 2011 when antique handguns were still mailable.

Here's the current wording from the USPS DMM...

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/601.htm

The good news is that antique handguns are perfectly fine to ship via UPS and you can use their ground service. The person that you talked to at UPS was confused about UPS policy. The UPS tariff uses the same definition of "firearm" that the feds use in the Gun Control Act. So "antique" handguns are not considered "firearms" by UPS.

Further along in the DMM, they still allow the mailing of muzzle loading pistols. See 12.1.1h:

Antique firearm means any muzzle loading rifle/shotgun/pistol, which is designed to use black powder or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition...

IIRC, the Ruger Old Army is a muzzleloader, so it seems that it's mailable. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

ETA: Looks like the Ruger uses a loading lever? So maybe it's not a muzzle loader after all. Interesting!

[jpscoot_21]

Box it up. Write "spare parts No monetary value" on the box. Ship via UPS at the nearest location (staples)
Just declare spare parts when they're typing up the labels.
Easy peazy.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Further along in the DMM, they still allow the mailing of muzzle loading pistols. See 12.1.1h:

DMM section 12.1.1h says nothing about allowing the mailing of muzzle loading pistols. It just defines muzzle loading pistols as "antiques". And as we already know from 12.1.1a, the mailing of antique pistols is restricted.

-- EDIT --

I just found the USPS announcement about the changes to their policy for shipping antique handguns. It went into effect back in 2012 and not 2013 like I said earlier...

http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22327/html/updt_002.htm

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