Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska USPS shipping new rules on shipping rifles?

Any truth in this?

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...-lately-Getting-expensive-new-rules-USPS

Looks to be true. Of course if you're mailing to a dealer outside the state, they just recommend priority mail express. You can send however you want though. Unfortunately, if you're mailing from yourself to yourself, policy states you must use priority mail express or registered.

http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub52/pub52c4_009.htm

Here are the real net effects of this:

1. When trying to ship a rifle/shotgun to somebody in the same state, you will have to send priority mail express or registered

2. When trying to ship a rifle/shotgun to yourself in another state, you will have to send priority mail express or registered

Otherwise, a dealer would be involved anyway since you're talking interstate, so that has no change.

Yep, Priority Express or Registered, though it doesn't need to if going to FFL

[bleep]


http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_009.htm

Correct

My understanding is Registered mail is just an add-on service which can be added to 3 day Priority mail and not nearly as expensive as Priority Express. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I've recently been doing some shipping calculations since I'm selling some of my rifles.

That's not how I understand the regs when I read them. It states one can ship via either Priority Mail Express or Registered mail. I see no stipulation of ONLY Priority Mail Express.

432.3 Rifles and Shotguns

Except under 431.2, unloaded rifles and shotguns are mailable. Mailers must comply with the rules and regulations under 27 CFR, Part 478, as well as state and local laws. The mailer may be required by the USPS to establish, by opening the parcel or by written certification, that the rifle or shotgun is unloaded and not ineligible for mailing. The following conditions also apply:

Subject to state, territory, or district regulations, rifles and shotguns may be mailed without restriction when sent within the same state of mailing. These items must:

- Bear a “Return Service Requested” endorsement.
- Be sent by Priority Mail Express (“signature required” must be used at delivery) or Registered Mail.
- Include either insured mail service (for more than $200) requiring a signature at delivery or Signature Confirmation service.
- A shotgun or rifle owned by a non-FFL may be mailed outside the owner's state of residence by the owner to himself or herself, in care of another person in the other state where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. These mailpieces must:
- Be addressed to the owner.
- Include the “in the care of” endorsement immediately preceding the name of the applicable temporary custodian.
- Be opened by the rifle or shotgun owner only.
- Be mailed using services described in 432.3a.
- Mailing of rifles and shotguns between licensed FFL dealers, manufacturers, or importers are not restricted. USPS recommends these items be mailed using those services described in 432.3a.
- Rifles and shotguns may be mailed by a non-FFL owner domestically to a FFL dealer, manufacturer, or importer in any state. USPS recommends these items be mailed using those services described in 432.3a.
- Except as described in 432.2a, licensed curio and relic collectors may mail firearms meeting the definition of curios or relics under 27 CFR 478.11 domestically to licensed FFL curio and relic collectors in any state. USPS recommends these items be mailed using those services described in 432.3a.
- Firearms which are certified by the curator of a municipal, state, or federal museum which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest may be accepted for mailing without restriction.
- Air guns that do not fall within the definition of firearms under 431.1a are mailable. A shipment containing an air gun with a muzzle velocity of 400 or more feet per second (fps) must include an Adult Signature service under DMM 503.9.0. Mailers must additionally comply with all applicable state and local regulations.

Yes, I left out the registered mail option.

I checked a price from here to Dallas, express was $75, priority registered was $66. Definitely a little cheaper, probably depends where you're shipping and what.

I just don't tell them what I'm shipping when I ship a rifle...

Yeah, mailing to or from AK bites. What I'm trying to figure out is the correct packing tape to use. That linked thread in the OP mentions some gummy tape. Looking through the postal regs, I found this:



But it might just be easier to go buy whatever tape they like at the post office.

You can just use regular packing tape as far as I can tell.

The only tape I've seen sold at the PO is the clearish brown packing tape. Don't see any specific requirement to use wet or gummy tape.

The last rifles I mailed were shipped in wood boxes, screwed together. The rules say they may inspect packages containing shotguns and rifles. I don't know how they'd know that unless they've changed what they can ask. Further, I intentionally use screws (or long construction staples) to prevent tampering. That really wouldn't make inspection very convenient. These rules sound like a good way to encourage the use of FFLs and encourage the tracking of law-abider's guns.

I wonder who is responsible for the new rules? Perhaps the Postmaster general? I wonder who appointed or oversees this dude? You know that this came down from on high somehow. It is no coincidence. Obama has made it clear that he was going to do stuff like this. I hope someone can track this back to the highest responsible person because you know the administration and congressional Democrats are going to try to shrug this off.



I have to say though, the USPS has been raising their rates faster recently than at any time I can remember. They have also stopped giving any kind of break for buying labels and postage online. I just looked at what it would cost to mail a rifle to the lower 48 - 10 pounds: $50 Priority, $85 Express; 20 pounds: $63 Priority, $126 Express. Neither of those rates is cheap by any means.

While there may be some intent to make it more lucrative to keep tabs on whose guns are going where, the track record for price viability also means that it will drive things 'underground'. My suspicions are that they will be tracking more and more stuff via scanners, perhaps using computers to identify suspicious packages for inspection.

Is Bricktop still around?

We could sure use him now...

When did this take affect?

Me neither and I've literally shipped hundreds.

I mail mine back and forth to myself all the time. It's pretty obvious what it is since I send a locked gun case. the only stipulation is I send it Express or Priority.

Since flights out to Aleutian Hell are a little less than reliable, I just send it Priority Insured.

Wouldn't it be better to use UPS, instead of the lame postal service?

UPS, AK.... not even close in pricing from what I recall... nothing I call reasonable compared to USPS