Shipping out of MA

[paulie walnuts]

I moved out of my parents house temporally in MA to go to school in florida. What is the best and cheapest way to ship ammo and some firearms to my new address in FL. Do I have to ship the them to an FFL or can I ship them directly to my FL address since the guns are already in my name? What about shipping ammo in the postal services new flat rate shipping boxes, you think that would fly? Do they x-ray the boxes to see what is inside them?

 

[Len-2A Training]

Legally (Fed Law) you can ship guns you own to yourself in any state. NO FFLs required.

Handguns only via UPS/FedEx and they will insist on air (2-day should work as that's what dealers use). Long guns can go ground via UPS/FedEx/USPS. Bring a copy of the carrier's tariffs with you as they don't know their own rules.

Ammo has to be marked ORM-D and shipped ground via UPS (not sure if FedEx will take it or not, check tariffs). USPS is prohibited from accepting loaded ammo.

Ammo can't be shipped in the same carton as a gun.

All shipments must be from a real UPS/FedEx depot, NOT the stores.

 

[paulie walnuts]

ok thanks lens

 

[drgrant]

What Len said... and I'll back up the UPS counter thing. If it's not a "real" UPS customer counter/depot, stay away. the outlets like the staples, mail boxes etc, will just give you a lot of bulls**t. I won't even use them for anything anymore, that's how much the UPS "resellers" have pissed me off.

-Mike

 

[Van Heffling]

Legally (Fed Law) you can ship guns you own to yourself in any state. NO FFLs required.

Handguns only via UPS/FedEx and they will insist on air (2-day should work as that's what dealers use). Long guns can go ground via UPS/FedEx/USPS. Bring a copy of the carrier's tariffs with you as they don't know their own rules.

Ammo has to be marked ORM-D and shipped ground via UPS (not sure if FedEx will take it or not, check tariffs). USPS is prohibited from accepting loaded ammo.

Ammo can't be shipped in the same carton as a gun.

All shipments must be from a real UPS/FedEx depot, NOT the stores.

Hi Len, I've been searching for a while on a question my father had for me and this thread came up. Perhaps you could help clarify.

My father is in MA and has his LTC. He is the owner of a few old rifles (Garand, Krag and another 50+ yr old long gun). He has been the owner of these rifles for decades although there is likely no existing paper trail of ownership. When my father left Montana 45 years ago, the rifles were left in the care of my grandparents. When they passed away, my uncle held onto them on behalf of my father. My uncle has since moved to Arizona along with the guns. Since I have become more active in shooting, Dad has become more nostalgic and decided that he'd like to have his rifles back in his possession.

He isn't going to drive out to AZ to pick them up, so he was planning on shipping them. Since my dad is the owner, can my uncle ship them direct to my dad in MA. He would then fill out the FA-10's when he gets them back in his physical possession in MA.

I guess what is confusing me is when I look this up and read about the interstate transfer of firearms, it tends to be around the sale and transfer of ownership. My question is more about the physical transfer since dad is the actual owner.

I'd assume the safest route legally would be to use a FFL, but based on your statement above, it seemed like it might not be absolutely necessary. Anyone ever deal with this scenario?

 

[Len-2A Training]

Ouch!

Fed Law ONLY allows the OWNER to ship to him/herself. So, legally nobody else could ship your Father's guns to himself in MA. He'd have to be the person to bring them to a UPS or FedEx depot.

And if any FFL becomes involved, they would have to go directly to an FFL where your Father would do the NICS/4473 and FA-10 (assuming in MA) plus fees to pick them up.

Sorry, but that's the only legal ways to do this.

 

[Van Heffling]

Bummer, but good to know. Thank you for clarifying the issue.

 

[Squall]

I just went to Fedex in Chelmsford and was going to ship my Ruger back to the Company in AZ. I paid for postage and was about to walk out the door. But being the responsible person that I am I got back in line and told the clerk that it was a firearm just to be on the safe side. I didnt need the feds holding my shipment if anything. She said it should be fine but would go ask her boss. Her boss came out and said "only an auth dealer can ship a firearm in MA!" Is that true?

 

[M1911]

I just went to Fedex in Chelmsford and was going to ship my Ruger back to the Company in AZ. I paid for postage and was about to walk out the door. But being the responsible person that I am I got back in line and told the clerk that it was a firearm just to be on the safe side. I didnt need the feds holding my shipment if anything. She said it should be fine but would go ask her boss. Her boss came out and said "only an auth dealer can ship a firearm in MA!" Is that true?

No. And it is not the FedEx rule either.

 

[mbz4ever]

so when shipping firearms out of state to factory or FFL we must declare to FedEx/UPS its firearm?

 

[appraiser]

yes

 

[Len-2A Training]

so when shipping firearms out of state to factory or FFL we must declare to FedEx/UPS its firearm?

No you don't!

It took a LOT of reading/re-reading BATFE's ruling to come to that conclusion.

 

[Mass-diver]

No you don't!

It took a LOT of reading/re-reading BATFE's ruling to come to that conclusion.

That's interesting. Thanks for posting this Len. So, I could go to my post office and ship a pistol next day and not have to tell the post office employee that it's a firearm?

I've wanted to send my SA 1911 to the springfield custom shop for a so long, but I don't feel like dealing with an FFL and I've had bad experiences in the past trying to ship long guns. I though they were going to call 911 at UPS one time!

 

[Len-2A Training]

That's interesting. Thanks for posting this Len. So, I could go to my post office and ship a pistol next day and not have to tell the post office employee that it's a firearm?

I've wanted to send my SA 1911 to the springfield custom shop for a so long, but I don't feel like dealing with an FFL and I've had bad experiences in the past trying to ship long guns. I though they were going to call 911 at UPS one time!

Not sure how you interpreted my answer as being relative to USPO!

Fed Law PROHIBITS any non-Dealer/Mfr FFL from shipping handguns via USPO, period, stop!

I have shipped handguns via UPS and FedEx and NEVER had any problems. My package is sealed, pre-paid label attached and I just bring it to a UPS or FedEx DEPOT (stores can NOT legally accept guns/ammo for shipment). When shipped to an FFL there is no requirement to "announce". It took a pretty deep discussion on a C&R eList to get to that conclusion and included some very close reading of BATFE Regs and their FAQ.

 

[Mass-diver]

Not sure how you interpreted my answer as being relative to USPO!

Fed Law PROHIBITS any non-Dealer/Mfr FFL from shipping handguns via USPO, period, stop!

I have shipped handguns via UPS and FedEx and NEVER had any problems. My package is sealed, pre-paid label attached and I just bring it to a UPS or FedEx DEPOT (stores can NOT legally accept guns/ammo for shipment). When shipped to an FFL there is no requirement to "announce". It took a pretty deep discussion on a C&R eList to get to that conclusion and included some very close reading of BATFE Regs and their FAQ.

Sorry len, I meant Fedex!!! My bad.

One more question, can I have UPS pickup the pistol from my residence? Thanks

ETA: just checked, looks like I have to notify the driver

 

[Len-2A Training]

One more question, can I have UPS pickup the pistol from my residence? Thanks

I do not know the answer on this one, but I did discuss an alternative idea with my previous regular UPS driver. He thought that it would be no problem for me to catch him (I knew where and when he ate everyday) and hand him the package. I have done this with returning cell phones and other valuables (not guns however). No extra fees involved and no opportunities for someone in corporate office to "invent a new rule/law" on you by doing a personal hand-off.

Thus you should be able to shag any UPS driver and hand it to him.

 

[paulie walnuts]

if you have a C&R FFL license, you can ship ground standard shipping to yourself, no questions asked.