Shipping a firearm between Texans

[BumbleBug]

I have an action I'd like to sell & ship intra-state in Texas. Is it legal for me to ship it without going through an FFL?

TIA

 

[carguychris]

This is perfectly legal if you have no reason to believe that the recipient is prohibited by law from possessing the firearm. It's just like selling at a gun show, just with a different delivery method.

However, I strongly recommend reading the stickied thread in General Discussion regarding How To Ship Firearms. More specifically, if the firearm is a handgun, the USPS ban on handgun shipments by non-licensees together with the UPS/FedEx mandate to use their expensive next-day-air service may make it more economical to go through a FFL; the price savings from using a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box (which the FFL can lawfully use) versus UPS/FedEx Next Day Air often offsets the transfer fees. Also, IIRC FedEx strongly restricts shipments between non-licensees, but I don't remember the specifics.

 

[BumbleBug]

Thanks carguychris! I've read the sticky & now I'm really confused!!

This is the receiver, bolt & trigger only (an action), but I had to go through a FFL when I bought it. Brownell says they would be glad to take it back & give a refund, but it looks like it would be difficult for an individual to even mail it back to them!

As far using USPS, is it illegal or just un-insurable? It will fit in a small flat rate box. I'll read through everything again. Thanks for the help.

...bug

 

[Doyle]

This is the receiver, bolt & trigger only (an action), but I had to go through a FFL when I bought it.

If it came from outside the state of TX, then yes it would have had to go through an FFL to get to you.

Brownell says they would be glad to take it back & give a refund, but it looks like it would be difficult for an individual to even mail it back to them!

If they are from a long gun, then you just have to box it up and send it USPS. Brownells is an FFL so no problem there. If they are from a handgun, then no USPS (unless you can get a FFL to send it for you).

If you are sending it to another Texan, then again USPS for long guns and FedEx or UPS for hand guns.

 

[carguychris]

This is the receiver, bolt & trigger only (an action), but I had to go through a FFL when I bought it... As far using USPS, is it illegal or just un-insurable?

ILLEGAL. Unlike UPS/FedEx tariffs, US postal regulations have the force of law.

The reason it's illegal to ship receivers is explained in post #31 in the How to Ship thread, which I wrote.

If they are from a long gun, then you just have to box it up and send it USPS.

This is incorrect. The postal regulations basically treat handguns, SBRs, SBSs, AOWs, PGO shotguns, and stripped receivers the same way. If it's a "firearm capable of being concealed on the person" under Pub. 52 431.2, only a FFL or "Authorized Person" (i.e. someone on a short list of military and gov't agents) may lawfully mail the firearm or receive it by mail.

In order for a rifle receiver to be mailed lawfully, it must be part of a "Rifle" pursuant to Pub. 52 431.4:

A rifle is a shoulder weapon having a barrel that is 16 inches or more in length... Rifles... have an overall length of 26 inches or greater and cannot be concealed on a person.

It cannot have a barrel that is 16 inches or more in length unless that barrel is in the package. Likewise, it cannot be a shoulder weapon without a stock.

The bits may be disassembled for shipment, but the receiver, stock, and barrel must all be in the package.

That all being said...

The last time I checked, it was allowable to ship stripped receivers via UPS Ground, which is comparable in price to the less expensive USPS services. However, it's been quite a while since I checked, so I would strongly recommend verifying this.

Furthermore, if sending back to Brownell's rather than shipping within TX, I recommend asking Brownell's if they will accept delivery of a shipment from a non-licensee, and if so, what procedure to follow. Many FFLs will not accept random deliveries from non-licensees because (a) FFLs are required by the ATF to log deliveries a certain way, and this is difficult to impossible if the person's identity cannot be verified from the shipping label and package contents; and (b) they don't want to be stuck holding the bag if the firearm is illegally modified.

 

[Doyle]

Chris, I think you are picking at hairs when you say that a rifle receiver is no longer a rifle. Don't BATF regs specifically say that "once a rifle, always a rifle"?

 

[Doyle]

In fact, here are the postal regs. I don't see anything here that indicates you cannot mail a bare rifle receiver via USPS
http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22321/html/updt_001.htm

 

[BumbleBug]

Reading the sticky, this is the text that bothers me:

USPS- will accept rifles and shotguns from ANYONE. Handguns and other firearms like frames, receivers, AR lowers are not mailable unless you are a licensed dealer or manufacturer. Even holders of an 03FFL "Collector of Curios & Relics" cannot mail or receive by mail, a firearm other than a rifle or shotgun.

So I couldn't use USPS to send it back to Brownell(?) But if I hand screwed an old shot-out barrel to it could I send it to another Texan as a rifle via USPS - no questions asked?

-------------------------

WOW you guys are fast! My post hit after carguychris & Doyle posts. So I might have to have a stock in the box too(?)

 

[carguychris]

Don't BATF regs specifically say that "once a rifle, always a rifle"?

This catchphrase is a colloquialism to help one remember how the NFA applies to a rifle-to-pistol conversion (it applies) versus a pistol-to-rifle conversion (it does not apply). Don't assume that the catchphrase is relevant in all other situations.

The USPS has its own set of regulations with its own correspondent set of definitions. These are NOT necessarily interrelated with the ATF regulations, and one shouldn't assume that they are.

...here are the postal regs. I don't see anything here that indicates you cannot mail a bare rifle receiver via USPS

The document you linked is part of an outdated bulletin stating that the regulations are being consolidated; they used to be divided between the DMM and Publication 52, which was confusing.

All of the pertinent regulations have now been moved to Publication 52.

Publication 52 never explicitly addresses stripped rifle or shotgun receivers. The key is that, for most purposes, the definitions essentially segregate all modern firearms into two broad categories:

• "Rifle" or "Shotgun" per 431.4
• "Firearm capable of being concealed on the person" i.e. anything that is NOT a "Rifle" or "Shotgun" per 431.4

A firearm in the former category is mailable by a non-licensee. A firearm in the latter category is not.

...if I hand screwed an old shot-out barrel to it could I send it to another Texan as a rifle via USPS - no questions asked?... So I might have to have a stock in the box too(?)

The rifle must have a barrel 16 inches or more in length, it must have a shoulder stock, and the assembled configuration must have an overall length of 26 inches or greater.

The regs say nothing about the condition of the barrel and stock other than their length.