Shipping AR parts

[anthonylapoint]

Alright, so my brother turned into a banner waving gun hater. He will spend two hours talking about how guns are bad mmkay. Although he may be lost, I would like to get his AR before that is lost too. He has a Bushmaster with folding stock, no muzzle brake/suppressor and a few 30 round mags.

My question is, I know the lower receiver can't, but what can he send through the mail to me without it being illegal. I want him to send it in parts because he lives in California and the gun isn't legal to begin with, I figure in parts it won't be so bad.

If he does send the striped lower, will the mail police find it and confiscate it?

I don't want it to go to an ffl, as ill just register it myself.

Anyone have safe ways to ship these parts? I know all are legal to send except the lower but will there be issues sending them anyways?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I don't want to lose the gun as it was $1100 dollars before the folding butt stock and acog were added.

Thanks guys

 

[5spd]

He can send everything but the lower to your door, nothing has to be taken apart as in pieces.
You cannot send 30 round mags to KA as a complete item, that needs be taken apart and sent as parts kit. He will not need to mark ANYTHING on the packages to indicate gun parts.
He can send the lower to your FFL if he will accept it from a private seller.

 

[thrusty]

+1
Lower is the part with the S/N and considered the firearm. It MUST go to directly FFL to be transferred to you (legally).
Everything else can be mailed to you.

 

[rideHPD]

First off, I AM NOT A LAWYER, THIS IS JUST MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW.

Try Calguns.net, they know the law better than I do.

So he's shipping it to you (outside of CA) from his residence in CA? Then all he has to do is mail the complete rifle to your FFL for the transfer. From my understanding it only really matters what the laws are on shipping into the state, in regards to title transfer. For instance, when I send a rifle to have work done on it out of state I simply mail the rifle where it needs to go, and I don't have to declare it as a firearm or anything of that nature. You can probably split it, ship the upper to your door, and the lower to an FFL, that way you aren't shipping a CA AW out of state, although I don't know what the law is regarding to items leaving the state, as pertains to CA DOJ. This whole situation sounds very sketchy, as I can only assume you mean your brother has an unregistered AW, if that is what you are referring to by it being illegal (which is ironic as he is now anti-gun).

If that is the route the item(s) are going then the magazines don't need to be disassembled.

 

[Strykervet]

Dude, sounds like you need to call a lawyer and ask him or her. They'll usually consult you for free over the phone long enough to answer your question. NFA trust lawyers, if you have 'em there, would likely be most helpful.

 

[anthonylapoint]

Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated.

My brother bought the gun in Vermont, where we are from. Then he moved to California and now is a vegetarian and hates guns. How funny (not really).

To answer your question ridehpd, no he hasn't registered it in CA and yes, it is not a legal gun in Ca. Needless to say, his girlfriend hates guns too and says throw it out. Hell no.

The predicament is he is afraid Ca will see him sending it in the mail and care. I told him they don't give a shit about out going mail to much.

So, everything but the lower should be easy obviously. That's exactly what I told him.

Does the postal service scan mail? I have another funny story about my other pot smoking brother......that's for another time I guess

 

[thrusty]

USPS is actually the easiest to mail a firearm...just make sure it's insured and tracking numbered.
UPS requires you take it to a distribution hub and depending on how much you insure it.
FedEx does not take firearms from individuals unless you are a business and have jumped through all their hoops.

As long as you declare it, you're fine. Sometimes workers get scared shit-less...mainly because they don't know what to do. Have the USPS or UPS rules handy when you go to ship and you're GTG.
Google shipping firearms via USPS, UPS, FedEx and you will have your answers.

 

[wfjames22]

FedEx does not take firearms from individuals unless you are a business and have jumped through all their hoops.

This statement is incorrect. Look at the FedEx terms of service on their website. All the requirements are there in print.

 

[bluto77]

I AM NOT A LAWYER AND THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

If it were me, just to keep things as simple as possible for your gun hating brother, I would tell him to ship the upper to your front door and there are no hoops to jump through with any carrier. Then take the lower to a FFL dealer in CA and have them ship it to your FFL dealer. This makes life easiest on your brother. Because when he goes to ship the "firearm" part of the package, the USPS, UPS, and FedEx are all going to make him feel like he just walked in with a bomb in a box, regardless of their rules and regulations. I can only imagine this is magnified in CA. Of course, that then makes a "record" in a FFL logbook that your brother had a lower receiver, and I"m not sure what the law is on that in CA. If by simply having a lower receiver he is considered to have an unlawful AW, then this may not be the route to go. If by having a lower only, he is NOT considered to have an unregistered, for lack of a better term, AW, then this is by far the easiest thing to do. You have to keep in mind, if he now hates guns, he's not going to like what he has to go through to ship this one to you.

And the other option.....which is basically what you're asking if I'm reading in between the lines correctly......is to....you know..... While I don't recommend that option since there is absolutely no reason to do so, should he/you choose to do it, hypothetically speaking, I would say to at the very least break it down into an upper and lower and ship separately. I'd probably, hypothetically speaking, go ahead and strip the lower before moving to the next step and send via not the USPS. But I wouldn't do it in the first place because there's no need. But if you did decide to go that route, that's what I would think would be best.

 

[19Scout77]

Assuming your brother visits you regularly, in advance of his next visit, provided the assembled rifle is legal in ct, have him send the entire rifle to himself, in care of you at your address. Do not open the box, it must be opened by him when he arrives. He is absolutely permitted to ship himself a rifle at your address, but only he can open it. After he is there, if he later decides to transfer the rifle to you, go to a local ffl and effectuate the necessary paperwork.

 

[thrusty]

This statement is incorrect. Look at the FedEx terms of service on their website. All the requirements are there in print.

Ok, I do agree with this statement...I was not clear enough.

Here's the FedEx policy on Prohibited and Restricted Items
Prohibited & Restricted Articles | FXF Rules Tariff - FedEx

 

[Luky]

Not a lawyer, but i do live in Kalifornia and have "registered assault weapons". Very familiar with the topic.

Fyi, if your brother simply removes the magazine catch from the lower it should become "legal" to register here in Kalifornia as it will not be an AW (cant hold a hi cap mag). There is a huge market for black rifles here, all with bullet buttons and 10 round mags. He can only use 10 round mags and would need a "bullet button" installed to hold the mags "permanently" in place. If he owned the 30 round mags pre-1994 they are ok to have here, but he can't put them in a rifle that was not registered by jan (?) 2000 as an AW in Cali or sell them assembled to anyone but LEO in state (pop the bottom plate off and they become "repair kits" - can sell to anyone). No problems with him shipping mags or rifle out of state to your ffl(just pull the mag release from the lower). I am guessing he lives in the SF Bay area. Too many fruits, nuts and flakes up there and along the coast warped his brain. At least San Diego and OC are still red areas...

Fyi, if he ships just the lower mark it as "machine parts" and add some misc metal stuff with it to send it through the mail... usps medium flat rate box is like $11 up to 70lbs. since it is your brother I don't know if it needs to go to a ffl. Depends on your state laws. I believe in some places a family transfer (like father to son) does not need ffl.(like if you were at his house you could hand carry it home). Check with a local ffl.

 

[thrusty]

Hint.....If you have to disguise what you're shipping, you are (knowingly) doing something wrong.

 

[Luky]

Hint.....If you have to disguise what you're shipping, you are (knowingly) doing something wrong.

Really? How many firearms have you heard of getting stolen in shipping? Lots of stories out there about this. When I had the engagement ring made for my wife the jeweler in Jersy shipped it in a package marked "AIDs research foundation" just because they had so many problems with items being stolen in shipping... After they started doing this not one item was stolen.

 

[crazyquik]

Are you even sure you can own it with the passage of the newly-broadened CT assault weapons ban?