Not sure where to put this but it needs to be somewhere I think.
Whether it's good or bad a lot of new members first post is in the buy/sell/trade area. In more than a few I see a "senior" member chime in and say something like you can use USPS flat rate or take the gun apart and send the pieces through the mail.
Personally, I'd hate to see a new member end up in serious legal trouble by taking this advice. There's a current thread this morning and shipping and shipping costs became a big part of the thread - and a senior member advises to use the USPS to mail it.
The rules (interstate) are as follows. I won't quote the actual cites as they are in many threads here - just do a search:
- Only an FFL may use the US Postal Service to mail a handgun. This is federal law and not just USPS policy. Not sure if a C&R holder can.
- Taking the gun apart and mailing the pieces does not work either - the receiver IS the firearm and must be shipped accordingly.
- A regular person can send a handgun back to the manufacturer for repair and it can be sent directly back to them. Commercial carriers must be used and their policies followed.
- If you live in a state where guns are registered to a person, California comes to mind, the seller must follow the state as well as federal laws to sell it and ship it - probably requires involving an FFL.
- Commercial carriers, like UPS and FEDEX, will ship a handgun to an FFL from a private party but will require that it be sent overnight.
- Just as a side note, many FFLs will not accept a shipment from a non-FFL so check first before you send. Mine does but he's the only one I've found in the Atlanta area that will.
Whether it's good or bad a lot of new members first post is in the buy/sell/trade area. In more than a few I see a "senior" member chime in and say something like you can use USPS flat rate or take the gun apart and send the pieces through the mail.
Personally, I'd hate to see a new member end up in serious legal trouble by taking this advice. There's a current thread this morning and shipping and shipping costs became a big part of the thread - and a senior member advises to use the USPS to mail it.
The rules (interstate) are as follows. I won't quote the actual cites as they are in many threads here - just do a search:
- Only an FFL may use the US Postal Service to mail a handgun. This is federal law and not just USPS policy. Not sure if a C&R holder can.
- Taking the gun apart and mailing the pieces does not work either - the receiver IS the firearm and must be shipped accordingly.
- A regular person can send a handgun back to the manufacturer for repair and it can be sent directly back to them. Commercial carriers must be used and their policies followed.
- If you live in a state where guns are registered to a person, California comes to mind, the seller must follow the state as well as federal laws to sell it and ship it - probably requires involving an FFL.
- Commercial carriers, like UPS and FEDEX, will ship a handgun to an FFL from a private party but will require that it be sent overnight.
- Just as a side note, many FFLs will not accept a shipment from a non-FFL so check first before you send. Mine does but he's the only one I've found in the Atlanta area that will.