Shipping Firearms|Page 2|General Discussions & Questions|Forum|Winchester Collector

Henry Mero said
…. I guess somebody figured out these old guns are not being bought for assassination puposes, duh. Hanguns, whole different story.
  

Happening more and more down here with older weapons…Dallas ICE facility and the Charlie Kirk shooting I think were both milsurps. Unfortunately those may get targeted in the future too, at least by one side of the aisle.

For all as an addendum,  My point to all of this is the potential for local snags despite regulations.  We can but hope the regulations are understood by all and applied equally and judiciously.  Real life tends to deny that though.  Tim

Hi Guys,

I don’t have much to add I am an 07 FFL and I have shipped both UPS & USPS but no longer ship USPS. But I will add a couple of experices I have had recently. 

The first time I shipped a gun using the USPS I was told that the USPS does not ship firearms regardless. In turn I had to “educate” them regarding the procedures of shipping FFL to FFL. Its is a small post office and once the post master was asked by the teller no problem. In fact, when I entered the post office with a package they always jokingly responded with a “is this a stick up!!!” and put their hands up. All fun a side, I shipped a C & R rifle to a C & R FFL in Ohio I always shipped USPS Priority and that was what I shipped and paid for. A new teller woman by mistake entered it as a ground shipment. When I make a shipment I always check the tracking number which I did in this case and it didn’t come up. I checked again the next day and it still didn’t come up. I didn’t think much about it but after a few days the guy who I was shipping the gun to called and said he couldn’t track it and that it didn’t arrive. I went down to the post office and they couldn’t track it either. So in short, the gun was lost it wasn’t detected that the mistake was made in how it was entered; as a Ground when it was labeled as a Priority, for a couple of weeks. Turned out the gun made it to Athens, OH post office (where it was going) but because of the screw up with Priority/Ground it was put in storage and no one was notified. It took the post master at my post office to do a deep dive to actually find it. So after that it made it to its destination after nearly a month.

Since then, I ship everything using UPS and have not had a problem. I have a manufacturing company at the same address and use its account number to ship guns. I have been shipping guns fairly regularly and have been receiving them as well with no problem. I have never shipped Fed Ex but I have had guns shipped to me using Fed Ex. Recently, I had a handgun shipped to me (FedEx Express) and the driver dropped it off without a signature  even though one was required. I got the handgun entered it in my bound book no big deal. But the business (Lipsey’s) where the gun came from when confirming delivery saw that it was not signed for. That became a big investigation on the part of Fed Ex with a bunch of calls from them and from Lipsey’s. Fortunately, I didn’t throw the box away took a picture of it and of the gun to confirm I got it and it was not lost which ended the investigation as far as I know.

I apologize for the long post. I don’t think any of them are great and frankly I think probably most of the carriers would rather not handle any firearms at all. For some, the USPS is the best option. I have a friend a fellow FFL that recently had two shipments lost both very high end; one a shotgun and the other a double rifle. They both eventually made it to their destinations but one was three weeks late causing a lot of sweat and worry on the part of my friend, He still ships USPS. In the end I say pick your poison.

Rob

Until I tried it several times, I would have said Registered Priority Mail,  which is what USPS advises in writing for firearms.  There’s a chain of custody and locked storage in transit. 

Nightmare. They sent a 16 gauge Model 12 to Wheredahellistan instead of Alaska. Then to San Francisco, finally back to Alaska — with long days and nights in “locked storage” at various way stations while somebody tried to figure out what to do with it.

All up, about two weeks and a gallon of stomach acid. 

I don’t sell guns except very occasionally to “purify” my modest collection (because the magic leaked out of something I once thought would be really neat) or because my interests changed. 

If I ever want to sell and ship a handgun,  until recently I had no choice but to take it to the one 01 FFL I know who will book it outbound. He will mail it USPS PM and charge me about what I would have paid for UPS Overnight. 

I haven’t yet had occasion to try UPS via Gunbroker but,  the next time I sell something, I’m going to check the price. I’d as soon pay twenty bucks for Big Brown to pick up the box, than drive round trip through traffic to the suburb where the 01 FFL operates a store.