Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Should I mail my rifle to myself or check it at the airport?

I've always checked the rifle at the airport but I'm thinking of mailing it to myself.
I'd send it to the guides home in AK two weeks before the hunt.
I am also considering this due to a layover in Seattle.
Has anyone else done this? What are your thoughts pro or con?

I am not a gunwriter, but I will try and answer your question. Does your guide have an FFL license? Otherwise you could be in violation of the law.

I found this link which tries to describe what you want to do. Maybe you can...

http://www.losttarget.com/firearmshipping.htm

You can mail it from yourself to yourself. Your guide does not need to be an FFL, he just cannot open the package.

Yup!

It is not unusual for mail clerks to not know or understand the rules for mailing a firearm. The rules are quite specific and are found in the DMM - domestic mail manual. I'm on my smartphone now or I'd research it for you. Shoot me a PM as a reminder and I'll look up the portion you need to print out and take to the post office. As I recall a firearm has to be mailed by registered mail.

Stick with the paintball forum.

It's entirely up to you, personally I'd ship.

I believe I'd ship it as well.

Oh, where in Alaska you flying to? I've spent 2 days in Anchorage before I could get to Kodiak.

There is NO WAY I'd trust the USPS to deliver my rifle where I needed it, when I needed it.

If anything goes awry, I know the airlines will bust their butt to find a firearm whereas the USPS has too many apathetic functionaries to care.

Check it on the plane.

I have mailed my rifle to AK 3 times. Use priority mail. It will be there in three days but I would still allow plenty of extra time. I put the hard case inside a cardboard carton that I made myself and re-used it to ship back home. Address the package to yourself ICO (in care of) the person you are mailing to. Perfectly legal.

If RickBin asks me to, I will. Who are you?

If you decide to ship the gun to yourself, just be sure you do it in plenty of time to get confirmation of it's arrival before you get on the plane......and by the way, you don't have to tell anyone what is in the package so if you are asked, simply say it's telescoping fishing poles or some such thing.

I've been terribly surprised how long it takes to get stuff shipped to Alaska and then get confirmation of it's arrival. That said, I'd do that before I fought the idiots that make up their own rules for the airlines when they don't have a clue what their own airlines rules are.

If I was to make a return trip to Africa, I'd not take a gun.....I'd use one furnished by my outfitter.

As to ammo?....ship it UPS or FedEx with a ORMD label on it and again with plenty of time to get confirmation of it's arrival before you get on the plane.

Why not, I've NEVER had a problem mailing a rifle to myself. Do it far enough out and should their be a problem, mail another.

I trust USPS more than I do airlines.

Someone who doesn't guess.

Ship one, carry one on the airline- One of the should get there

I would use Fed Ex or UPS if shipping

Joe,
I did this a couple of years back and it worked great.
Rifle flew back home with me.

Well I must preface by saying I also did not know that you could do this, although now that I do, I will very much use this method over fighting an airline!

As to the statements about USPS or the others above, at least in this areas USPS is the way to go. Locally to here, Fed ex makes you ship a rifle overnight, and USPS says that they will not ship unless to an FFL. I don't agree with either, just repeating what the boneheads say. By comparison, USPS is no prob.

good info to know, thanks for the edu-ma-cation!