Shipping Your Firearms Ahead Of You

[OLD SF MJT]

Does anyone out there have any information regarding the legality of shipping firearms to a destination for use in a match? I will be flying and would perfer not to put them in my check baggage...Between the idiot behind the counter making a specticle, the little old lady behind me nearly wetting herself and the TSA...well, let's just say the TSA "person," it was less than a pleasant event for me!!!

I know that you can't mail them. And shipping them to an FFL is one possible option...if I want to pay $25 per gun and fill out another set of yellow sheets and have my name on the ATFE's list of EVIL folks who have "purchased" more than two guns in less than 30 days! Somewhere, I heard that it is legal to ship the firearms to yourself at your destination. I neither remember the detail nor where I saw the info.

Any help out there!

[ima45dv8]

You are correct. A friend in Florida FEDEX'd his guns up to my house in advance of a match he was attending here. I made him send me the links to the appropriate BATFE regs before I would agree, but I can't find them right now. I've sent him an email and asked him to resend the information.

From what I remember, you address them to yourself and no one else can open the package.

I'll post the specifics as soon as he responds. It will likely be tomorrow morning since he has a night job.

...Mark

[Rob Boudrie]

And shipping them to an FFL is one possible option.

Not an option for handguns unless the FFL will be with you at the match. If you are an out of state resident, an FFL to consumer transfer is subject to all regulations ... including "no handgun purchases out of home state".

Most hotels will receive packages for guests without any difficulty - just mark it "hold for guest arrival on mm/dd/yy".

Now days, the ammo can be more of a problem than the guns since they frequently pay attention to that pesky 11lb limit.

[ima45dv8]

See item B10. The key is that the receiver not open the package, thus they are not taking possession of it. Address it to yourself and tell them not to open it.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b10

*This is not intended as legal advice, and anyone who tries to make sense or logic of these or any other government regulations does so at their own peril.

[davidball]

If I might make a suggestion . . . learn to enjoy the TSA process. Especially when encountering a ticket agent with little or no experience in the process. Calmly tell him/her, "OK, now you ask me to open my luggage and show you the firearm . . . now instruct me to show you that the firearm is not loaded (the amateurs really freak when you reach down and grab the little bugger) . . .," and so on.

Of course, it is always more pleasant to deal with someone who a) knows what they are doing and doesn't think a firearm is a tool of Satan himself.

Funny story . . . I'm traveling back from the Florida Open with my wife and two sons and checking three competition pistols through the Tampa airport. The agent processing us knows what she's doing and is very professional and checks the luggage in. Immediately after processing the pistols she looks up from the computer and she says, "Is Bryan Ball traveling with you today?" I say yes, because he is my son. She says, "He is on the terrorist watch list." I say, "But he's only 10 years old and doesn't even own a chemistry set." She asks, "What's his middle name." I tell her "Jacob." She says, no problem the guy on the list is Bryan T. Ball and suggests from now one I be sure and put Bryan's middle initial on all ticket orders to avoid further confusion.

I can only imagine the chaos had the agent been an amateur who was afraid of firearms.

[shred]

Once on the way back from the Florida Open at check-in we got asked if we wanted the paperwork to carry the guns onboard with us. We politely declined.

Using a TSA lock for the case isn't a bad idea, especially if you can get a beefy one and do a variant of my lock-the-guns-to-the-case trick with a non-TSA lock.. they could open the case up and look around, but not run off with anything.

[OLD SF MJT]

The technique that I use when I do fly with a firearm is to stick one of those clear, plastic "Invoice Enclosed" envelopes to the top of my 'traveling' gun case. I slide the signed firearms declaration into it, lock the case, hang the TSA lock on the suitcase & send the whole mess on its way. The TSA folks can open the suitcase and check out everything, but the weapon remains safely locked away. Haven't had a snag YET!!! It just gets a bit dicey when you're checking in two long guns and a pistol necessary for 3-gun competitions.

[Mistral404]

I think the original thread was about shipping firearms.

FEDEX and UPS have their own rules. You need to understand them before your decision.

FEDEX typically will not allow you to ship a firearm to yourself. It has to go or come from an FFL. That said, shipping is done quite easily. DO NOT Declare it as a firearm.

UPS I have never used to send and receive to myself. You can send it to a UPS store--they maybe locally owned so they may charge you a pick up fee. Their hours are better than the UPS depot.

Flying with firearms is always a laugh! Regardless of what the TSA regulations say, each airport implements them differently.

Fundamental is a locked hard case. This is one they rarely budge on.

However, I have had them ask for the combo to the locked hard case that was in my luggage. I have complied.

Snip the lock on my locked outercase but leave the lock on the inner hard case alone.

Leave all locks alone.

Ammo is another story. I have had them tear the tape off of clear ammo cases to visually see what they could see from the outside-have a round fall out and leave a round in the bag!!!!