Why don't FFL's know gun shipping laws?

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  • Grelber

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    Jan 7, 2012
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    Maybe it is just my bad luck but the last couple times I've tried to ship a gun I've run into FFL's who do not know what is legal and what is not. Specifically, they think that an individual can't ship a handgun to an FFL directly either by Fed-ex or by using the service shipmygun.com..

    Isn't there some sort of a rules and regulations test associated with maintaining an FFL licence?
     

    JettaKnight

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    Maybe it is just my bad luck but the last couple times I've tried to ship a gun I've run into FFL's who do not know what is legal and what is not. Specifically, they think that an individual can't ship a handgun to an FFL directly either by Fed-ex or by using the service shipmygun.com.
    You've been to a gun store, right? You've talked to folks behind the counter, right?

    Isn't there some sort of a rules and regulations test associated with maintaining an FFL license?
    :laugh:
     

    Joniki

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    Our laws are written by people who can't carry on a conversation with a five year old. I have read Indiana law and much of it makes no sense.
     

    Alpo

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    A lot of receiving FFL's won't receive a firearm from an individual. Is it the law? No. Is it their business decision? Yes.
     

    Old Syko

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    A lot of receiving FFL's won't receive a firearm from an individual. Is it the law? No. Is it their business decision? Yes.
    In many cases this is why and many have a damn good reason for it. One local FFL who knows the laws to a tee will not accept from a non FFL due to past instances of people shipping to him without him having any knowledge of who the recipient is to be or why it was shipped to him in the first place. It's not worth the hassle.
     

    Alamo

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    I went through this when I needed to ship a handgun to my buddy in Florida. Took a couple of three tries to find one in Florida that would accept it, And then I couldn’t find any FFL on my end who wanted to do the shipping. They just said you can do it yourself and it will be cheaper.

    Because I thought they would know more about the rules and I was anxious about screwing up, I was willing to pay them well to ship the gun, but no.

    So I finally just read everything I could find on it, and then after about eight calls to FedEx figured out exactly what theit procedure was and where I had to drop off the gun. And then they screwed up the delivery on the other around for a little while, but finally got that sorted out.
     

    Trigger Time

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    Most FFL's dont know gun laws because they arent really 2nd amendment, self defense type gun guys. They are of the old target shooter camp or hunter camp. Or that's what you will find with a lot of the older shops. Not all by any means but a lot.
    The newer gun shops with younger guys around 50 years old and younger who own them are typically more pro 2nd amendment without the "but". And are very knowledgeble about laws concerning guns and carrying and such because they are actual gun guys who use them and carry them daily for self defense and have taken training or are former military ect. The gun community has evolved leaps and bounds just from the 90's from where it was and as far as training and mindset is concerned as well as getting people in the community to carry and to keep an open mind. More people carry guns now than ever before.
     

    M67

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    Jan 15, 2011
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    ?

    There's a ton of people out there who think silencers, machine guns, and anything short are illegal. People who think a shotgun blast will make a full 360 impact and clear a room and just the sound of the action will make every one within 10 yards crap their pants. That just because someone is a blood relative 5 states away that you can give them a gun without (legally) getting a FFL involved)

    There's just enough misinformation with the general public as you'll find with a gun store. I highly doubt there's a "how to run a gun store, what's legal and what isn't" quiz. It's not high school, it's all CYA mode anymore and as stated before, there's a lot of stores out there who won't receive a firearm from an individual.

    As for shipping, depends on the UPS and Fedex store. While may be legal, some will outright refuse to ship for you if you say it's a gun. Again, not agains't the law, just CYA mode
     

    croy

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    Apr 22, 2012
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    Dealing with individuals shipping transfers can be a huge hassle. There's been times where I've had to spend a lot of time on a transfer from an individual where ffl to ffl is a pretty quick process.
     

    jgressley2003

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    I bought a gun through gun broker and decided to pick a shop because they was about $10 cheaper than most other FFL’s. After winning the bid I called my FFL, gave them the info of the dealer I purchased it from and the guy tells me “ Ah they will just fax me their info and I should have it in a couple days.” Three days later the dealer calls me asking if I have an FFL lined up and I said yeah I gave them your info but I don’t think he knows how this works. I’ve ordered online 3 times and get nervous each time. Obviously the above story plus the other 2 times the dealer was closed when the delivery was made on the first attempt. I always get the feeling that the gun will get shipped back or lost.
     

    jwh20

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    Feb 22, 2013
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    It clear that for SOME FFLs, the transactions that are common with something like GunBroker.com are foreign to their common practice. Most generally just do regular retail transactions and that's all they know. There are also, however, some FFLs who deal almost exclusively with "remote" transactions and can be very helpful for GunBroker.com and other similar situations.

    I've found the key is to discuss what you're doing with the FFL IN ADVANCE so that he, and therefore you, are NOT surprised at the outcome.
     

    Winamac

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    Sep 11, 2011
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    It clear that for SOME FFLs, the transactions that are common with something like GunBroker.com are foreign to their common practice. Most generally just do regular retail transactions and that's all they know. There are also, however, some FFLs who deal almost exclusively with "remote" transactions and can be very helpful for GunBroker.com and other similar situations.

    I've found the key is to discuss what you're doing with the FFL IN ADVANCE so that he, and therefore you, are NOT surprised at the outcome.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ When I am bidding on GB I call my FFL and first see if he/she is agreeable to receive said gun(never take them for granted, even though we are old friends). Then I do all the leg work that I can with regards to setting up the FFL transfers(fax #, phone #, Other shops name & address, etc...). I try to eliminate as much butt pain for my FFL as I can because I realize they DO NOT have to perform the service for me. I pay my FFL usually $30.00 for their time and use of their FFL. Then again...my FFL knows the laws because they have been in just the gun business as a family since 1969. Guess I am just lucky?
     

    Grelber

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    For what it is worth, just used shipmygun.com for the first time.

    Notes.
    1. Fed-ex one day
    2. For a pistol shipped across Indiana it cost me $39. Would have been $29 but I added insurance at their rate of $1.00 / $1000.00 .
    3. They were prompt contacting the receivers FFL , everything happened in less than 1 business day.
    4. Address field on their website wanted to use my home address as the ship to address, easy to fix but weird.
    5. When putting in the ship to address it asks for a first name and last name instead of a business name. To get around you just put the first word of the business name in the first name field & then finish it in the last name field.
    6. They supply good instructions about including copy of drivers license and buyers pedigree info & etc.
    7. Their fed-ex box size field was wrong, but maybe the field is intended to be for circumstances where they supply a box instead of Fed-ex. In any case, when you get go Fed-ex the boxes are smaller than the dimensions on the shipmygun website.

    My conclusion is that I think once the learning curve is past this will be pretty much painless and cost effective. Still need good communication with the FFL on the receiving end.
     
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