So Confused!!!

gunsmokeTPF,
Keep one thing in mind, as I do when I post on this forum or any other forum where I've been "challenged" by the know it alls - there are many many readers of forums who do not post, but who appreciate the info provided. I live in MA, I'm a retired cop, so I do appreciate the info you provided as it applies to guns in NYC. I do not want to end up in the crapper because I shipped a gun to NYC, or becuse I traveled through the city with my handgun, or whatever. I can travel to NH and VT with my modern guns, but not ME, but ME is where I buy all of my BP guns. I stay away from CT but if I travel west, I gotta go through NY.
So, thanks for the info.
 
I do not want to end up in the crapper because I shipped a gun to NYC
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You won't. NYC's draconian gun regulations apply to people actually in the city, not to people in other cities and states. NYC has no authority outside it's borders with regard to gun purchases, possession or shipment.

gunsmokeTPF said:
Once it's in someone's hand in the city a cap & ball in their book is a gun.
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That is correct.
gunsmokeTPF said:
I believe even an attempt to mail it to NYC is a problem
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He may believe it, but it's not.
 
There exists a USPS complaint procedure that can be effective when dealing with an uneducated or napoleonic USPS employee. Just ask to speak with the postmaster of the particular office
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That WAS the postmaster.
 
'Sounds like my post office . . .

. . .when I lean over the counter and whisper "I want to ship an antique p-i-s-t-o-l."

I get:
"We have a breach. Cordon off this area. Full perimeter wipe-down, right here, right now. Get a mop and escort all civilian personnel from this site immediately."
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**too obscure?**
 
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That WAS the postmaster.
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All the better.

He's supposed to have the compliment/complaint forms out and available for pickup without asking. Some do, some don't. I'd be sure to ask him for one, either way, to make sure he knows you're filing the complaint. It goes to the USPS Inspector General's office directly, so he can't 'lose' it.

The USPS regulations explicitly state that antique firearms MUST be accepted for mailing. They are considered restricted items. Per the regulations, USPS employees are prohibited from asking what you are mailing; they are only allowed to ask if it's perishable, fragile or restricted. You must answer truthfully to restricted; that tells USPS how to handle the box (i.e., ground transportation only) but doesn't mean it can't be mailed. Beyond that, it's not the postmaster's business what's in the box.
 
. . .when I lean over the counter and whisper "I want to ship an antique p-i-s-t-o-l."
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That's your first mistake. You don't have to tell him it's an antique pistol. All you have to say is, "This is a restricted item." Beyond that, it's none of their business. And their regulations say so.
 
To all....

Pay close attention to this sequence authored by Mykeal.

I learned a lot as I read his comments on this topic over the years.

I would love to be able to cite the word for word support in federal registers, not because I don't trust Mykeal, but because that is what it would take to confront a recalcitrant postmaster.

As Abe Lincoln said, "The best way to overcome a bad rule is to enforce it strictly."

That goes for good rules too and all we are trying to do is to get the P.M. to enforce his rules strictly.
 
I would love to be able to cite the word for word support in federal registers, not because I don't trust Mykeal, but because that is what it would take to confront a recalcitrant postmaster.
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You can't win that confrontation even if you took F. Lee Bailey and he quoted the USPS regulations to the man's face. It's his turf. He won't accept any losses on it. The only way to win is to enlist his worst enemy, the USPS Inspector General. Use the bureaucracy to beat the bureaucrat.

By the way, this advice comes from my local postmaster. She's a long time employee and knows how they work.
 
You got it. There are other regs defining what 'restricted' means and how it's to be handled, plus what things the USPS employee can ask about the item being mailed. This guy has apparently violated several. Time to get him educated.
 
And.....

In all the cases I have read about on this forum and others and in the one case in which my opinion diverged from the Postmaster, the issue came down to definition of a "firearm".

Here that is.

http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22321/html/updt_001.htm

Check especially section 12.1.1.h

"h. Antique firearm means any muzzle loading rifle/shotgun/pistol that is designed to use black powder or a black powder substitute and that cannot use fixed ammunition (except those that incorporate a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm that is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon that can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof); or any firearm (including those with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured on or before 1898, or any replica thereof, if such replica:

1. Is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition.

2. Uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured in the United States and that is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade."

Notice the wording never includes the word "gun". The person who wrote it must have been in the Navy. ;)
 
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