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I am curious, as normally I do UPS, but they have gone up in my area to 30 bucks shipped.......and will only mail hubs ship rifles? Anyone know? Sorry, didn't know where to post this....
How expensive is it to ship a rifle US Mail?
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Of course you can mail a long gun.
If you go to the USPS site you'll be able to enter all the data necessary to give you a very close estimate. You'll need zip codes, package dimensions, weight, type of shipping (Registered, Priority, etc), value. Stuff like that. I would not recommend anything less than Registered or Priority fully insured w/confirmation.
I can tell you ahead of time that it will probably be more than $30 but you are almost 99.99% sure that your package will get there and it won't be damaged. UPS and FedEx are a crap shoot, at best.
Ray
If you go to the USPS site you'll be able to enter all the data necessary to give you a very close estimate. You'll need zip codes, package dimensions, weight, type of shipping (Registered, Priority, etc), value. Stuff like that. I would not recommend anything less than Registered or Priority fully insured w/confirmation.
I can tell you ahead of time that it will probably be more than $30 but you are almost 99.99% sure that your package will get there and it won't be damaged. UPS and FedEx are a crap shoot, at best.
Ray
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A couple of hints, in case you haven't been following similar threads.
1. Do not tell the clerk what's in the box. You're not required to tell them and they are not allowed to ask. (UPS and FedEx laws are different. You have to tell them.)
2. Make sure the recipient is an FFL, unless you are mailing it within your State. You are not required to have a copy of the FFL but if you don't know the guy it's a good idea to get a copy.
3. Insure it for the full value.
4. Use Registered Mail. That is how jewelers and coin collectors send their stuff and it's sure to get there. No USPS employee will mess with a registered package.
1. Do not tell the clerk what's in the box. You're not required to tell them and they are not allowed to ask. (UPS and FedEx laws are different. You have to tell them.)
2. Make sure the recipient is an FFL, unless you are mailing it within your State. You are not required to have a copy of the FFL but if you don't know the guy it's a good idea to get a copy.
3. Insure it for the full value.
4. Use Registered Mail. That is how jewelers and coin collectors send their stuff and it's sure to get there. No USPS employee will mess with a registered package.
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I've mailed rifles, packed well, for less than $30 USPS.
Tracking adds another buck and a half or so. Much easier than big brown.
Tracking adds another buck and a half or so. Much easier than big brown.
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5,862 Posts
Well, I paid 28 bucks at UPS last friday, so maybe I'll stay with what I know.....
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With UPS and FedEx you are required to tell them the package is a rifle - Strike One
Fed Ex often uses Independant contractors or local businesses to deliver packages - Strike two
Fed Ex often uses Independant contractors or local businesses to deliver packages - Strike two
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Federal law requires you tell a shipper a package contains a firearm.
The law from the ATF site:
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5) and 922(e), 27 CFR 478.31 and 478.30]
In the case of a shipper like UPS or Fed-Ex, when you sign the shipping form you're signing a legal contract.
Lie and tell them a package contains "parts" and you've broken the contract. If the gun is lost or stolen they will pay you NOTHING.
The law from the ATF site:
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition, Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5) and 922(e), 27 CFR 478.31 and 478.30]
In the case of a shipper like UPS or Fed-Ex, when you sign the shipping form you're signing a legal contract.
Lie and tell them a package contains "parts" and you've broken the contract. If the gun is lost or stolen they will pay you NOTHING.
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As long as they don't ask and its a legal shipment you don't have to tell them anything. Just get a Fedex account online, http://www.fedex.com/us/ Print your own shipping labels for a Fedex Ground shipment and drop it at a Fedex Office or Fedex customer counter. No questions asked.
The benefit of Fedex over UPS is convenience. Those UPS stores are franchises and do not take firearms, and at the company shipping counter the clerks often get nosy and start inventing their own shipping regulations. It took a letter to a UPS vice president to straighten out our local center!
The benefit of Fedex over the USPS is that the loss rate is less than half that of the Post Office and the cost with insurance is less than the Post Office.
Last rifle I shipped cost $17 with insurance and signature fee.
The benefit of Fedex over UPS is convenience. Those UPS stores are franchises and do not take firearms, and at the company shipping counter the clerks often get nosy and start inventing their own shipping regulations. It took a letter to a UPS vice president to straighten out our local center!
The benefit of Fedex over the USPS is that the loss rate is less than half that of the Post Office and the cost with insurance is less than the Post Office.
Last rifle I shipped cost $17 with insurance and signature fee.
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jjk
You need to read those Federal regulations again. It doesn't say "if they ask". It says you are required to notify them. Sure, people break the laws every day. You only pay the penalty if you get caught. But, what do you gain by lying? You run the risk of losing everything if the rifle is lost or damaged and you have to file an insurance claim. If you are not going to declare the contents, why bother to insure it??
As far as the loss rate for USPS being twice that of FedEx, I don't believe that at all. Actual experiences of guys shipping rifles is exactly the opposite. If you use Priority Insured your risk is very small. If you use Registered Mail there is no risk at all.
You need to read those Federal regulations again. It doesn't say "if they ask". It says you are required to notify them. Sure, people break the laws every day. You only pay the penalty if you get caught. But, what do you gain by lying? You run the risk of losing everything if the rifle is lost or damaged and you have to file an insurance claim. If you are not going to declare the contents, why bother to insure it??
As far as the loss rate for USPS being twice that of FedEx, I don't believe that at all. Actual experiences of guys shipping rifles is exactly the opposite. If you use Priority Insured your risk is very small. If you use Registered Mail there is no risk at all.
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Click it and ship it,,,,,only way to go. But you will need a scale.
Simply log in, input the data ( weight, size, insurance, destination address) and print your label at home, you can schedule free pick up or just drop off and walk away, delivery confirmation is free,
Just be sure to package well, mark fragile etc etc
Simply log in, input the data ( weight, size, insurance, destination address) and print your label at home, you can schedule free pick up or just drop off and walk away, delivery confirmation is free,
Just be sure to package well, mark fragile etc etc
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36,347 Posts
Here are the regulations from the ATF website - notice is only required if the firearm is going to someone NOT a licensee. They have the right to request the information, and Fedex does not ask for it, but cannot identify the package as containing a firearm. I believe the misunderstanding is because of overlooking the "any person other than" phrase.
Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
PART 478—COMMERCE IN FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
§ 478.31 Delivery by common or contract carrier.
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(a) No person shall knowingly deliver or cause to be delivered to any common or contract carrier for transportation or shipment in interstate or foreign commerce to any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, any package or other container in which there is any firearm or ammunition without written notice to the carrier that such firearm or ammunition is being transported or shipped: Provided, That any passenger who owns or legally possesses a firearm or ammunition being transported aboard any common or contract carrier for movement with the passenger in interstate or foreign commerce may deliver said firearm or ammunition into the custody of the pilot, captain, conductor or operator of such common or contract carrier for the duration of that trip without violating any provision of this part.
(b) No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container indicating that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm.
(c) No common or contract carrier shall transport or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the shipment, transportation, or receipt thereof would be in violation of any provision of this part: Provided, however, That the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply in respect to the transportation of firearms or ammunition in in-bond shipment under Customs laws and regulations.
(d) No common or contract carrier shall knowingly deliver in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm without obtaining written acknowledgement of receipt from the recipient of the package or other container in which there is a firearm: Provided, That this paragraph shall not apply with respect to the return of a firearm to a passenger who places firearms in the carrier's custody for the duration of the trip.
[33 FR 18555, Dec. 14, 1968. Redesignated at 40 FR 16385, Apr. 15, 1975, and amended by T.D. ATF–354, 59 FR 7112, Feb. 14, 1994; T.D. ATF–361, 60 FR 10786, Feb. 27, 1995]
On shipping losses and costs. The numbers seem to be held very closely by all of the shippers. They were calculated from insurance cost at the Amazon.com sellers forum http://askville.amazon.com/percenta...ternational/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=2348029
USPS: p < 1.2 % (2.3% for lower amounts, and tending to 1.05% in the limit of the most insurance)
UPS: p < 4/500 = 0.8 %
Fedex: p < 2.75/500 = 0.55%
Unfortunately the calculations didn't include a fixed administrative overhead, and were warped by the automatic $100 free insurance of Fedex and UPS, and by different terms on the policies. All of them may give you a lot of trouble over packing and appraisals, and Fedex and UPS do not cover items not normally found in commerce, i.e. antiques and unique custom items, which I covered by getting firearms insurance that includes shipping.
My experience has been that USPS priority mail and parcel post both have a substantial percentage of lost and damaged packages, while UPS only slightly damaged one parcel thanks to an idiot at their shipping center and Fedex has been batting a thousand for me. But, as Fedex absorbed Caliber's RPS, which used 100% contractor owned services and equipment, and not all Fedex areas have switched to company ownership, service may vary.
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