can I ship a handgun to myself?

[Guest canynracer]

I have a gun in CA...it is my gun I got when I was younger, my brother has it, how can I get it here? can he ship it to me? or better yet, can I ship it to myself? its a S&W bodyguard

[Guest bkelm18]

This what I read on the BATF website. I think it says you can. But it means you shipping it to yourself. In your situation, you really aren't shipping it to yourself, your brother is shipping it to you. I guess to get the definitive answer you probably just need to make a phone call or two just to be safe.

May a nonlicensee ship fire-

arms interstate for his or her use in

hunting or other lawful activity?

Yes. A person may ship a firearm

to himself or herself in care of another

person in the State where he or she

intends to hunt or engage in any other

lawful activity. The package should

be addressed to the owner. Persons

other than the owner should not open

the package and take possession of the firearm.

[DaveTN]

If your brother can get a carrier to ship it; it is legal. However… he is required by federal law to notify the shipper that it is a firearm. I doubt you will get any carrier to ship a handgun without either the sender or receiver having an FFL.

[Guest ETS_Inc]

If your brother can get a carrier to ship it; it is legal. However… he is required by federal law to notify the shipper that it is a firearm. I doubt you will get any carrier to ship a handgun without either the sender or receiver having an FFL.

It is not legal. The firearm, for all intents and purposes, is your brothers, according to BATFE. It is in his possession, not your own. If you were actually in CA, and wanted to ship it back to TN, then it would be a legal act, on its face. I say "on its face" because you would be the actual shipper and receipient of the firearm. However, since your brother would be the actual shipper, it is not the same. If the BATFE dug into the shipment, and found out that the gun had been his, not yours, you could be in trouble. Of course, if there's no papertrail showing the gun was ever really in his possession, it would be damn-near impossible to prove that you hadn't brought it with you to CA, and decided to simply mail it home, rather than deal with the idiots at the airport.

Now, for an extra bit of pain-in-the-buttski. Like I said before, since the gun has been out of your control, and under your brothers for an undetermined timeframe, it is legally considered to be in his possession. Even if you went to visit him, he legally couldn't give you the gun, as it would constitute transferring a handgun to a resident of another State. Not to mention the fact that CA State law requires ALL private-party sales of handguns to go through an FFL for a proper NICS check and DROS (10-day waiting period).

So, legally, no he can't ship it to you, even if it had been your gun at one point in time.

Realistically, if your brother went to FedEx with a pre-packed box, told them it was "precision machine parts," told them his name was Mr. canynracer, and shipped the box to Mr. canynracer, would anybody at FedEx ever know what happened? Highly unlikely. Of course, if the box were broken open during shipment, and they realized what was inside, they might get a bit miffed.

Or, let's say your brother is planning to visit TN next week, and plans to do a bit of target shooting with you. Well, the pistol you gave him years ago is his favorite gun, and he wants to show-off his talents with it. So, he ships it to himself, care of your address. He "visits" you, and on the return leg of his trip, he decides to hand-carry the gun back, rather than deal with the idiots at FedEx.

See what I'm saying?

[Guest Engloid]

If you ship to yourself, you have to be at the place it originates and the place it goes to... so why not just take it where you want it? You can even take a gun with your checked baggage on an airplane.

[Guest Boomhower]

Or, let's say your brother is planning to visit TN next week, and plans to do a bit of target shooting with you. Well, the pistol you gave him years ago is his favorite gun, and he wants to show-off his talents with it. So, he ships it to himself, care of your address. He "visits" you, and on the return leg of his trip, he decides to hand-carry the gun back, rather than deal with the idiots at FedEx.

See what I'm saying?

Yeah, I think my brother would ship it to himself at my address before he made the 20 hr. drive to TN. That way he wouldn't run into any problems on the road.

[Guest canynracer]

You guys ROCK!!!!! Frank (ETS) you are my GD HERO!!!

Thanks all!!

[Guest ETS_Inc]

You guys ROCK!!!!! Frank (ETS) you are my GD HERO!!!

Thanks all!!

I do what I can, brother. Glad to be able to help.