Shipping Ammo

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BarryLee

New member
I recently ordered 500 rounds of 9mm practice ammo from Brownells. The material was shipped via UPS and arrived in about a week which considering the holiday is pretty good.

So, here is the thing that caused a little concern. When I arrived home the box was sitting beside the front door where they usually leave packages which is not a problem. What concerned me is that the box was clearly labeled in larger letters Winchester Handgun Ammunition or something very similar. I guess I would have expected Brownells to place the Winchester box into a nondescript box for shipping. I realize UPS and the DOT require certain markings identifying hazardous materials, but I assume the logo and specific description is not required. I guess it just seems like it might encourage theft. So, is this kind of the norm for shipping ammo?
 
I'm surprised that it was not shipped "Adult Signature Required". I don't believe that ammo is legally required to be shipped this way, but I feel that an ammo vendor should use this service just as a courtesy to their customers, since this is an item that seems likely to be stolen.

I've never had ammo shipped to me in the original box, but I handload, so I've never had a reason to order a whole case. :)

I would recommend calling customer service and complaining.

FWIW it could be worse. About 15 years ago, one of my college buddies ordered a $1,200 set of custom wheels and tires, and the UPS driver left them right on his porch, unwrapped, facing a busy main street, where everybody and his dog could see them. :eek: By some minor miracle, they were NOT stolen, but the mail order house certainly got a piece of his mind! :D
 
Ammo Left on Doorstep

It happens alot from Brownells and Midway Both, I am a dealer and so far this month it has happen alot, I get back and there is maybe 1000 rds there. So far no one has gotten sticky fingers on it, I have ask UPS to not leave it there regardless if a sig is required or not, On ALOT OF BULK AMMO ORDERS LATELY THERE HAS BEEN A MESSAGE LEFT ON THE DOOR STATING WE CANNOT LEAVE WITHOUT SIG ON FILE. I have had Long Guns left also with out sig required. As being a firearms dealer, ATF would not like the practice,
I have ask the main office at UPS to tell their drivers to hold and redelivered the next day or deliver later on the same day. Works some times but not always. Can't wait until they leave a few handguns on my store front and drive away. UPS has a new thing now that you can have items left at backdoor without your sig, as long as you sign up for the service. LB
 
I received some at my business couple of weeks ago with just the opposite, no markings on the package at all other than the labels. I thought that was strange. It was shipped Fed Ex Ground.
 
Imagine Main Street America. Lots of attached retail buildings, on-street parking, sidewalks, train station, pedestrians, the works. Now imagine a gun store with bars on the windows and heavily alarmed. Imagine this shop being closed Mondays. Now, to your utter disbelief, imagine the FedEx guy leaving 3 boxes, each containing a handgun, stacked in front of the door on a Monday.

This actually happened to may father repeatedly, who owned said shop. He finally had to ask the FedEx guy what the hell he thought was in those boxes and whether he thought it was a good idea to drop them on the doorstep where they would sit for 24 hours. Like the saying goes, common sense isn't so common.
 
I guess it just seems like it might encourage theft.
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It might, but seriously, what idiot would attempt to steal a box labeled "handgun ammunition" off the porch of someone who most likely has a use for said ammunition.

Seems one would either need to be fairly brave, fairly dumb, or very vigilant to make sure you are not at home.
 
It might, but seriously, what idiot would attempt to steal a box labeled "handgun ammunition" off the porch of someone who most likely has a use for said ammunition.
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Good point.

My neighborhood is pretty good and we have minimal crime, but I also have exterminators, lawn service, garbage collections, paper delivery, and assorted neighborhood kids wondering around. So, you never know who might give in to a crime of convenience and swipe something. I also thought about someone grabbing it while in transit. Oh well not that big of a deal, but it just seemed unwise.
 
I'm surprised that it was not shipped "Adult Signature Required". I don't believe that ammo is legally required to be shipped this way, but I feel that an ammo vendor should use this service just as a courtesy to their customers
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Nooooo!
That wouldn't be a courtesy for me. I'd have get off work early and make a special trip back into town to pick it up from their hub.

Jim
 
When I bought a bunch of ammo from ammotogo.com they put it all in a brown nondescript box. They didn't even have the name of their company on the box. It was initials.
Based on that I'm not sure if they have to have any special hazardous markings on the box. Luckily my wife is a stay at home mother so I wasn't worried about it being pilfered.
I imagine I would be a bit peeved if my ammo showed up as you described. Maybe you should check out ammotogo, I was very pleased with their stock, prices and shipping.
 
This actually happened to may father repeatedly, who owned said shop. He finally had to ask the FedEx guy what the hell he thought was in those boxes and whether he thought it was a good idea to drop them on the doorstep where they would sit for 24 hours. Like the saying goes, common sense isn't so common.
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I'm willing to bet that he had no idea until your dad told him. May not have even realized that it was possible to ship guns by Fedex. In the 2 years I worked at UPS I don't remember ever seeing a package that was marked as a firearm, and I don't think it even crossed my mind that we might be handling guns (I really had no interest in them at the time).

You guys have to realize that if you ship without signature confirmation, you're telling the carrier it's ok to leave the package just like anything else. Like it or not they can't just make assumptions about what a package might contain or what the customer might want.

If you have a situation where you need special handling for deliveries, you should have a talk with the driver for your area or call the local hub.
 
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Based on that I'm not sure if they have to have any special hazardous markings on the box.
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Ammo is classed as ORM-D and the boxes should bear that label (there's actually a specific "ORM-D, cartridges, small arms" label). But since it doesn't actually require hazmat papers I guess some people don't bother since there's really not much danger of being caught...
 
Federal law prohibits the placing of any kind of markings that might indicate there is a firearm in the box.

Ammunition is required to be marked "ORM - D" and "SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION."
 
Merad said:
Ammo is classed as ORM-D and the boxes should bear that label (there's actually a specific "ORM-D, cartridges, small arms" label). But since it doesn't actually require hazmat papers I guess some people don't bother since there's really not much danger of being caught...
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I do remember ORM-D being on mine, just looked like part of the Fex Ex label.
 
I get ammo delivered from Midway, ammoman and others, and have never had to sign for it ... some comes in factory-labeled boxes and it's obvious what it is ... It has troubled me, but I can't get the guy to wait until I can actually take possession, so I chose the lesser of two evils ... have never had a problem, thankfully ...
 
UPS dropped 3 crates of Russian 7.62x54R off a couple of months ago, left it between a parked car and the house, still, it was 3 large cardboard boxes right out there. FedEx left a Nagant by the front door, I didn't see it until next morning....
 
You guys have to realize that if you ship without signature confirmation, you're telling the carrier it's ok to leave the package just like anything else.
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Yes, I realize this and my beef was never with UPS, but with Brownells for not repacking the Winchester box. All the shipper really had to do is place some pieces of brown tape over the Winchester logo, but I guess they have more experience in this area than I do. I have no problem with UPS leaving it as they did and have no desire to require a signature. I guess I assumed that ammo would be shipped in more discreet containers.
 
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