432.2 Handguns
Handguns and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person are nonmailable unless mailed between the parties listed in this section, after the filing of an affidavit or statement described in 432.22 or 432.24, and are subject to the following:
Firearms meeting the definition of a handgun under 431.2 and the definition of curios or relics under 27 CFR 478.11 may be mailed between curio and relic collectors only when those firearms also meet the definition of an antique firearm under 431.3.
I sold one of my C&R pistols on GunBroker. Last time I shipped one, Gunbroker shipping via FedEx overnight was around $60. This time it came up at $125 -- HOLY CRUD! So I started looking into alternatives. It turns out C&R holders can ship handguns via the less expensive USPS services, just like other FFL holders. Hurray! They can ship C&R handguns, but only if they're antiques. WTF! Well thanks for nothing.
BTW, it turns out it's way cheaper to ship using the FedEx web site than the Gunbroker shipping web site . . . Gunbroker used to give substantially better rates than the FedEx site, thanks again for nothing. It was also cheaper using FedEx's packaging (I used one of their small boxes), than my own random sized box. I was also able to save some more bucks by keeping the packaging to the bare minimum. Got the price down to about $80 in the end.
Over the years, it's become more and more difficult to ship C&R handguns reasonably: When I shipped my first one, I only needed to use one of the UPS air services (2-day or 3-day was fine) -- now they require the more expensive
next day air services. So does FedEx. It looks like least expensive way for mere mortals to a ship handgun is to take it to an 01 FFL and let them ship it USPS priority mail. Unfortunately, this means paying an FFL transfer fee . . . and mine just raised his.
For more information, see:
https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_009.htmLarry
