Shipping rifle question

[diving dave]

Hi guys, have the rules for shipping a long gun changed in the last few years or something?? Tried shipping
A rifle that I own to a licensed dealer for repair. It was from a UPS customer service center and they insisted I had to provide the ffl of the place I'm shipping it to. Now I've shipped before in years past and didn't have to do that. Not to mention they wanted to know exactly what kind of rifle it was which set off alarm bells. I called the business I wanted to ship to and he said its bullshit, they don't need his ffl. Out of frustration I called Fed ex, and they to ship I have to have a shipping label generated by the place I'm shipping to, which also sounds odd to me. What say you! Anyone else have these problems?

[IraqVet1982]

Ship USPS. No need to declare. USPS is my choice every time.

[IraqVet1982]

Rules haven't changed. People are just ignorant.

[diving dave]

Ok thanks much. Whole experience kinda pissed me off. When I told the guy I've shipped before and never had to do that, he replied "well your breaking the law"... I grabbed my package and left.

[7.62NATO]

Go USPS.

[Hemoglobin]

Ok thanks much. Whole experience kinda pissed me off. When I told the guy I've shipped before and never had to do that, he replied "well your breaking the law"... I grabbed my package and left.

I'm lucky at my UPS center as my group seems on top of things, but I can say this from experience: if thats what the counter person tells you then odds are their manager/supervisor isn't exactly one to pay attention to policy and procedure either or they would train their people to not babble BS. Probably just better doing USPS. I typically use UPS if I can because I have heard too many times that if your package is "lost" then the claims process is significantly less painful at UPS. Never had to use it but considering its the government I assume it's probably accurate. I doubt it's worth spending 3 weeks waiting for a manager to pretend to look up the policy, however.

[MegademiC]

If ups is much easier due to location, I'd print their policy and law next time in. It's not hard to find, I did it when I was shipping an upper just to make sure I was good.

[NWcityguy2]

The first time I shipped a rifle USPS I explained what I was shipping, didn't seal the box so an employee could inspect it if he wanted to, and had the policy in my hand about shipping long guns. After about 30 minutes of back and forth between 3-4 different employees they had me seal the box without marking the inside, outside or filling out any other paperwork that documented me declaring the contents. I didn't bother declaring the second time and conveniently there is no proof of it one way or the other.

[nova3930]

The only issues I've had were with a UPS Store. They're apparently franchises and some have policies not to accept firearms for shipment...

[RazorBurn]

Hi guys, have the rules for shipping a long gun changed in the last few years or something?? Tried shipping
A rifle that I own to a licensed dealer for repair. It was from a UPS customer service center and they insisted I had to provide the ffl of the place I'm shipping it to. Now I've shipped before in years past and didn't have to do that. Not to mention they wanted to know exactly what kind of rifle it was which set off alarm bells. I called the business I wanted to ship to and he said its bullshit, they don't need his ffl. Out of frustration I called Fed ex, and they to ship I have to have a shipping label generated by the place I'm shipping to, which also sounds odd to me. What say you! Anyone else have these problems?

Unfortunately, you spoke to idiots at both UPS and at Fed Ex. The only thing Fed Ex says you have to do when shipping a long gun is to declare it's a firearm to the employee who picks it up. There is nothing unlawful about shipping a firearm to an FFL for repairs or for transfer. The ignorance of the rules are so rampant by the shipping companies that when I've sent pistols to Springfield Armory for service, the Springfield Armory customer service representative will actually e-mail a shipping label and add it to the repair bill to make it easier on people like us who have to deal with shipping idiots.

[hitt68fan]

Bud's Gun Shop has a service "Ship My Gun" they do all the paperwork & send you a label - for a flat $29 fee.

[Wolfpack45]

I've been into a UPS Store that wouldn't ship an aimpoint because it was "firearm related" and they wouldn't listen to anything I tried to tell them. Needless to say I haven't been back.

[F-Trooper05]

My brother in-law is a UPS driver and he says UPS CS centers are completely different from UPS. They're basically like McDonald's franchises and each one has their own policies. I simply don't tell them what I'm shipping. It's legal, so it's none of their business.

[diving dave]

Thanks for all the replies. I brought to my local post office and shipped priority mail, no problems. I'm done with UPS.