You can mail it from yourself to yourself. Your guide does not need to be an FFL, he just cannot open the package.
Yup!
Double yup.
I have done this a couple of times in the past. It costs a bit more than flying your rifle as luggage, but FedEx will get your rifle there AND with adequate insurance coverage to replace your rifle if they break/lose it. Try THAT with American Airlines, you might get a $500 check out of them for your $2000 rifle/scope combo.
Just be sure you're shipping to a physical address where people live. I once sent a rifle to an outfitter in Texas, and the address he gave me was for the ranch where we were going to hunt, not his house. UPS left my rifle leaning up against the locked gate on a paved highway for 2 days before the outfitter showed up and collected it. Fortunately, people in rural Texas respect other folks' property a bit better than city folks, or I'd be out one Winchester/Leupy combo.
