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Shipping ammo to nationals


lawboy

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I am attending nationals in Frostproof, FL.  I was told that shipping my ammo ahead is the way to do it. Can someone point me to any info. Online about shipping ammo to USA Shooting Academy for nationals. Rules, procedures, address, etc. Thank you. 

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  • 1 month later...

Another tip is to write your name on every side of the package. Every side. I've spent a good 30 minutes digging around in the connex trying to find my ammo the one time I only wrote it on two sides.

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1 minute ago, rowdyb said:

Another tip is to write your name on every side of the package. Every side. I've spent a good 30 minutes digging around in the connex trying to find my ammo the one time I only wrote it on two sides.

 

Sounds like good reason to run over to home depot and pick up some brightly colored duct tape too. Mummify that sucker in lime green or something...

 

Much like my luggage is easy to spot on the baggage conveyor belt because it’s a really unusual shade of vibrant blue.

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  • 2 months later...

My first attempt to ship ammunition. FedEx surprised me. Took my ammo to the main office in Des Moines and was told that they do not ship ammunition. I mentioned that this not what their website says. Desk guy replied that in order to ship ammunition one has to have special authorization and call for a truck to pick it up, and if I didn’t believe him he could show me “where it is written in a book.” He said he thought UPS had the same policy.

 

I figured there was no sense arguing with him, especially since this is “written in a book,” so I scooted across town to the UPS main location. No problem there — declared my ammo, they helped me with the ORM-D labels, and off it went.

 

Since I thought the FedEx counter guy was wrong (and I was getting a definite anti gun vibe from him), I called the FedEx customer service 800 number to see if they could connect me to the local manager. They could not but did advise that I should be able to ship ammunition from that facility. i stopped back into the FedEx office and talked to the manager. He was very nice but said he did not work the front counter and did not know the policy, but he would check and get back to me. True to his word, he called me the the next day. He said he had talked to someone at a regional office who had explained the policy to him. He said that in order to ship ammunition he was told that the shipper “has to fill out special paperwork under 49 CFR,” and that his FedEx facility does not have that paperwork and thus does not ship ammunition.

 

Funny thing is, another local guy going to Nationals said he just labeled his box of ammo and FedEx picked it up no problem.

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This Canadian took boxes of ammo down from Canada to the UPS depot in Buffalo.  I took one of those surplus metal ammo cans, lined with bubble wrap filled with 1250 rounds, bubble wrap on top, closed and wrapped in nylon impregnated tape.  This went into a box that I overkill taped then wrapped in brown paper with my own printed ORM-D logos printed on orange paper.  Then completely taped so no brown paper was exposed.  I read something about manufactures boxes so I figured the paper covered all and would avoid questions.  This was for the IRC. I try to keep boxes around 40-50lbs, easier for everyone to handle.

 

my only worry was US Border Customs might want me to open the boxes!!!  So they were in the back seat footwell under bags... I have the permits to transport my guns and ammo, opening the box however would leave me with a mess to figure out.

 

waze however took me through some real sketchy areas of Buffalo to get back on the interstate to Rochester from the UPS depot..... yikes

 

I do ship a lot from my business, so I’ve lots of shipping supplies.  

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  • 7 months later...

I found some online talk that ORM-D stickers were replaced with a black triangle label back in 2012 or so. Can anyone confirm what is the proper label to ship ammo to nationals? I've never shipped ammo. UPS' site has both labels.

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The old ORM-D labels are still "permitted", but like B-zones on USPSA targets, have been superseded by the black and white diamond-square and will eventually go away.

 

FedEx is kind of a pain for ammo shipping.  UPS is less hassle, but either way you still have to take them to a main office, not a strip-mall ship-center.

 

My favorite way is to have a gun store that you know ship ammo for you.  They have a driver that handles ammo daily and they can give you an old incoming ammo box to use which already has the right markings on it.

 

Definitely mark your package distinctively so you can find it in the connex at Frostproof or room at whatever range.  They try to sort them some, but it gets messy.

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17 hours ago, matteekay said:

Is there any info available yet regarding shipping ammo in for LoCap Nationals?

Similarly, is there a UPS near Frostproof that we can use for return shipping?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
 

Was wondering the same thing. 

Also, any recommendations for shipping two pistols?

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17 hours ago, matteekay said:

Is there any info available yet regarding shipping ammo in for LoCap Nationals?

Similarly, is there a UPS near Frostproof that we can use for return shipping?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
 

There is a UPS store in Lake Wales to ship things back. Check the store times before thinking you can dash in & ship stuff before flying back.

6 minutes ago, jcm said:

Was wondering the same thing. 

Also, any recommendations for shipping two pistols?

To me FedEx is the only way to ship a firearm & it’s expensive. Why not take it in your luggage? “If” you get over luggage weight, it should be cheaper than the 2 day air rate FedEx charges.

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  • 4 weeks later...

When I flew to the SS Desert Match in AZ, I shipped the ammo via UPS. They do allow drop off at the UPS counter. It must have the ORM-D label on it. FedEx will ship ammo, but you must schedule a pick up. Have no clue why, but I was turned away at the counter. The ammo must be boxed, either in original cartons or plastic boxes. I do not recommend the plastic boxes, UPS broke every damn one of mine and my friends. They toss this stuff around like a soccer ball. 

 

You can take loaded ammo on some airlines in checked baggage, it depends on the carrier. I would find out far in advance if they will take it. Some have an 11 pound limit. It should be shipped in the same bag as your clearly declared and marked firearm. It does not need to be in a locked box, but does need packaging. No loose rounds are allowed. And no ammo in the gun. Mags can be shipped in the same bag and do not need to be locked. 

 

UPS ships the ammo at the standard weight, you do not have to send it 2nd day delivery.  If you shoot .45, you will realize the weight factor...............$$$$$$.

 

 

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On 6/15/2019 at 7:23 PM, matteekay said:

Is there any info available yet regarding shipping ammo in for LoCap Nationals?

Similarly, is there a UPS near Frostproof that we can use for return shipping?
 

i'd contact the range and ask them, can't believe you couldn't have ammo shipped there.

likewise, if you print out a ups label and bring tape, etc and box it back up, would think they'd let you put it in their ups pickup pile.

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2 hours ago, mont1120 said:

 

You can take loaded ammo on some airlines in checked baggage, it depends on the carrier. I would find out far in advance if they will take it. Some have an 11 pound limit. It should be shipped in the same bag as your clearly declared and marked firearm. It does not need to be in a locked box, but does need packaging. No loose rounds are allowed. And no ammo in the gun. Mags can be shipped in the same bag and do not need to be locked. 

 

 

 

I have traveled with guns and ammo many times and have never seen a restriction on what checked bag the ammo is in,  almost every trip I have had ammo either in all my checked bags, breaking it up to disguise how far over the 11LB limit I actually am, or in the bag without the guns to keep both bags under the weight limit.

 

That said if you can fly Alaska Air, their ammo limit is 50lb like any other bag, for the 9 days of nationals last year I flew with a little over 2000 rounds in my luggage .

Edited by MikeBurgess
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20 hours ago, MikeBurgess said:

I have traveled with guns and ammo many times and have never seen a restriction on what checked bag the ammo is in,  almost every trip I have had ammo either in all my checked bags, breaking it up to disguise how far over the 11LB limit I actually am, or in the bag without the guns to keep both bags under the weight limit.

 

That said if you can fly Alaska Air, their ammo limit is 50lb like any other bag, for the 9 days of nationals last year I flew with a little over 2000 rounds in my luggage .

 

You are right, it is not a requirement to ship it in the same bag as the firearms, just a suggestion. That was relayed to me by a TSA agent as a way of simplifying the search of your luggage if they decide to check out your firearms. Some airports want to search the bags, others don't. I have had my bags put on a plane without so much as a shrug, and flying back faced about a 45 minute delay waiting on a TSA agent to inspect my bags, swab them, find powder residue. (no kidding, I just shot 400 rounds at a match), then he had to call for a supervisor to come search them again. 

 

Another oddity is they take the bags off the plane when you land to the corresponding airline baggage office and hold them until you go pick them up with ID, a good idea in my opinion. What is off is they place these giant tie wraps around your bag to stop you from getting to your firearms. Makes it kind of Captain Obvious that you are carrying guns. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mind you I do fly internationally into the US, but we HAVE to have the ammo and gun in separate bags.  I ship our ammo down well in advance when we cross into NY on our way to a match and hit up a UPS center on a Friday afternoon.  I've never had an issue contacting whoever is running the match and shipping the ammo down to an address they've given me.  It's been 2/3's to their home the time other to the range. 

 

UPS isn't consistent but I did have to provide ID the first time this year along with a question "Cartridges" ?  The other time the guy was too busy staring at my wife's bosom to care about anything.  I also managed to get a US based UPS account so I don't have to pay retail like last year.  I ship a decent amount for a small biz.

 

I do use the plastic boxes.  I also bought the nylon reinforced packing tape.  I usually tape 3 boxes together wrapping around all 4 sides. The cardboard box can't be too big and I usually double box and then wrap it in brown paper completely covered in clear packing tape. With the ORM-D printed on orange paper.  Never had a issue.  Getting the nylon tape off can be a bit of a pain.

 

The ammo boxes are breaking as they are shifting around during transport.  Pack that sh*t tight!!  You should see the conveyor systems the big companies use, it's not delicate by any means.

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