No, you can't ship black powder pistols or handguns via the USPS.

[Sparkitoff]

431.1 - ...except any antique firearm meeting the description of a handgun....
431.2 - ...pistols, revolvers and other firearms ...
431.3 - ... Antique firearm means ANY rifle/shotgun/pistol which is designed to use black powder or black powder substitute....

.1 makes exception for a handgun that meets the description of handgun in .2, which states a FIREARM. .3 makes it clear that if it only uses black powder it's an antique firearm - unless it has parts that can be converted or can fire fixed ammo....etc.

.1 refers to the description of a handgun which is a firearm, and a fully and wholly BP handgun is specifically listed as antique firearm with exceptions. So, if an antique firearm were to meet the definition of a handgun - in other words it's a firearm by design - fires fixed ammo, can be readily converted, etc. than it is excluded in .1. Otherwise, a bona fide BP pistol is ok to ship according to the way this is written.

 

[Coinneach]

Over here in Aus we can send firearms between licensed people(or not) through our postal system within our own state. If I want to send a firearm interstate then it has to be Dealer to Dealer. We cannot send powder or primers through the system, pick up only. I technically can’t drive across the border and give my firearm to a dealer, it has to go onto the dealer in my state and then transferred to theirs, you get into trouble( trust me) I did. And FedEx will NOT ship firearms or parts at all. If a US company sends me a cleaning rod or a brush, FedEx will send it back. I had a set of grips sent from a company, got all the way here and sent back. Cheers to the company who sucked up the cost to resend with someone else

Well I don't know who your FedEx people were here in Australia, or in the USA, but I bought a second hand assembled TVM FL ML Rifle from an American member of this forum, who shipped it via FedEx to a friend of mine in South Carolina, who then shipped it via FedEx to me here in Qld Australia a few weeks ago without any problems other than 2 week delay by Customs in Brisbane because of backlogs. Understandably I had a PTA and Import permit approved before shipment commenced.
I've had Locks, Bullet moulds and all sorts of BP ML accessories shipped over here with nary a problem in the past.
In my experience FedEx have been 100% easy to deal with, others over here say the same.

 

[trackpin]

I ship a fair amount of stuff USPS. They only ask if is liquid, fragile , or perishable. Don't volunteer more info. Some people just like to worry about nonexistent probelms or cause them for everyone else.

I volunteered that I was sending an old double bit axe head. The gal said it was dangerous and had to check regulations, so I took it to a different post office and said nothing. I have sent many BP items, but that time just wanted to see what they would say about sending an axe head.

 

[Joemolf]

THERE IS NO PROBLEM, WHATSOEVER, SHIPPING BLACK POWDER PISTOLS VIA USPS.

STOP DOING THE WORK OF THE GUN GRABBERS.

THANK YOU.

You are the man 64 Springer! I have a few BP Colts and one or Two Remington 1858s. I’m pretty certain some were delivered to me via USPS priority mail.

 

[#BPBReloadingFFL]

I have been trying to speak to my local district Postmaster for over a decade.
It's like the person is completely incognito,, the "public" are simply NOT allowed to speak with a Postmaster!.
Try it! The counter clerk is NOT the Postmaster, your delivery person is NOT the Postmaster,, and neither will tell you the name of or whereabouts to contact the Postmaster!
Honest! Try it!

I've spoke with postmasters in NY and Georgia. If you have one that actually knows how to look for the form needed to ship a suppository firearm it's not an issue.
Most people in charge don't want to know all the rules . They have to make a decision and if they make a decision and something comes up they're afraid they're going to get the blame for it.
So they act stupid or tell you what's easiest to tell you!

If you look on the USPS Web site their is a form to download and use.
I know this and use it.
BP guns are an entirely different regulated category.
When you say that UPS has updated its policies this past February 23.
That doesn't mean every policy or every little thing they have was changed.

It means that they could have raised the postage rates. They can be offering a new way to ship stuff.

Here in the last few years hazardous labels stickers and things like that have all changed.
Some of you guys here just need not to make comments. It's intentional, don't come in here pee on all our backs and tell us it's raining!

You don't want to ship through the post office don't ship through the post office use UPS or FedEx.
The key to not being hassled when you ship is to know your vendors !!

 

[mushka]

I started to read this segment but after about three fourths of the first page it became a PITA reading so I quit reading, sounded like a useless argument coming forth.

 

[Boatncamp]

Aside from the issue of actually needing to ship a black powder handgun lets look at the real issue here.....the current POTUS and his stooges are doing there very best to restrict our rights as defined by the Constitution. Look at all the other changes he has made that are in the news and then in the courts. This one simply hasn't been in the news. That's the way he wants it, nice and quiet. It is only when it becomes big news that someone challenges the change.

 

[GYJ]

Shipping handguns via USPS is illegal by US Code. The USPS has defined what it considers handguns, which includes antique black powder handguns.

Therefore, shipping a BP revolver is indeed illegal. It's all right there in the OP.

Then post the federal statute.

 

[ormond tony]

There's a difference between what is legal and what the usps uses for it's regulations. The usps doesn't arrest people, they just refuse to ship certain things.
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness isn't in the constitution, it's in the declaration of independence. The constitution is law, the other isn't.

I had a brain fart. Reading both at the same time and brain got some wires crossed. oops.

 

[maillemaker]

I have contacted the USPS Mailing and Shipping Solution Center.

I asked them if a black powder percussion pistol (or replica) could be shipped via USPS between individuals. The answer was no.

They said:

"I have been informed these CANNOT be mailed from one private person to another. Restrictions are below from Pub 52. Thank you and have a great day!"

Per USPS Publication 52, section 431, Any kind of pistol, antique, replica, modern, or otherwise, is still considered, by the USPS, as a handgun. As such, it falls under restricted materials, and handguns have special mailing requirements (see image above).

It does not matter whether or not the ATF considers black powder guns to be "firearms" or not. What matters it that the USPS considers any gun you hold in your hand to shoot to be a handgun.

Anyone who does not want to believe what is in this thread is encouraged to print out section 431 and 432 of Publication 52 and see your local Postmaster, and ask them:

1) Are black powder pistols (or replicas thereof) considered "handguns" by the USPS.
2) What are the restrictions for mailing a handgun through the USPS.

Or, you can call the Mailing and Shipping Solutions Center:

Talk to a Live Agent Monday-Friday from 7:00am-7:00pm Central at 877.672.0007

I wish this was not so, but it is, and you should know before shipping a black powder pistol via USPS because you probably won't get an insurance claim honored, and you may well run afoul of the law.

 

[acavdragoon]

Reading through these 4 pages my mind keeps thinking these four words “shall not be infringed”…..

 

[Dale Lilly]

AH but this is a change from February 2023... were any of those BP Guns shipped or received after February 2023?



Folks,

These aren't the only regulations that have changed, quietly, this year. The other changes don't deal with firearms, but they do impact Americans.

We shall have to wait and see if the USPS enforces this rule change or not. Debating if the definitions are correct, or if shipping has worked "in the past" is a moot point. There has been a change....,

LD

I've received one revolver in May... no problems. USPS delivery guy knew what it was. He's delivered several to this old geezer over the years. Dale

 

[flconch53]

I think “potentially hazardous” is also in there, though I’m not sure how that’s defined.

The answer would still be no

 

[maillemaker]

I have to point out here, that getting a straight answer from the Post Office is difficult.

The first lady I called up at the USPS did not have a clue. She simply called up Publication 52 and was reading it to me over the phone. I said, "Look, I can read it, I don't need someone to read it to me, I need someone who understands what it means." She directed me to the Mailing and Shipping Resource center. The guy there was extremely helpful. He did not know the answer, but was clearly interested in finding the answer as opposed to the front-line phone person who simply was going to read the regulation she did not understand to me.

It's entirely likely that you will get different answers depending on who you ask at the Post Office.

So again, I suggest you print out USPS Publication 52 section 431 and 432 and take them to your local postmaster and have them clarify whether the USPS considers any kind of pistol a handgun or not (the answer is yes, they do), and what the requirements are for shipping a handgun (that is in section 432).

 

[GYJ]

And yet major suppliers are still using USPS.

There is no law to run afoul of.

 

[maillemaker]

I'm pretty sure all the mail-order revolvers I got came via UPS. Who did you order from that used USPS?

 

[ormond tony]

There is still the confusion of 431.3 "antiques (pre 1898) and replicas of antiques". How does that figure into the equation?

 

[rickystl]

In all these past years, my local USPS Branch has never asked me what's in the package. They just ask if anything is flammable or perishable.

 

[user 16256]

A common question that comes up here is, "Can I ship a black powder pistol or handgun through the USPS?"

The answer is no.

There is then always a lot of debate around this. A lot of people are confused between the Federal definition of a firearm and USPS postal regulations.

These are the USPS regulations, as updated February 9, 2023:

https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/Pub52/pub52.pdf
Go to page 99.

Alternatively, you can go here:

https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_008.htm
View attachment 243321

What this means is that you cannot ship "antique firearms meeting the description of a handgun." via the USPS. This includes replicas. The USPS doesn't consider antique firearms to be firearms unless they meet the definition of a handgun. Then they consider it a firearm.

What it also means is that you cannot take the gun apart and ship the pieces as "parts" to get around this regulation. You can't ship the frame or lock for a handgun, either.

Regardless of what the federal government may define a firearm to be, USPS postal regulations do not allow the shipping of any kind of handgun.

There are exceptions for certain government employees, and certain license holders. But your average Joe cannot ship any kind of handgun through USPS.

I use the post office (USPS) exclusivley to ship firearms all over the world. BP or not. Because it's cheaper. Been doing it for 30 years as a licensed dealer and an unlicensed citizen. Use USPS form ps1508 (look it up, they'll give you a copy at the post office if you ask) for modern firearms to a manufacturer or dealer. BP guns can be shipped to anyone with an address without a form.
The confusing part for some is that an unlicensed person can not ship a modern handgun to another unlicensed person.
A non-licensed individual may mail a long gun to a resident of his or her own state, and they may also mail a long gun to an FFL of another state.
The USPS recommends that long guns be mailed via registered mail and that the packaging used to mail the long gun be ambiguous so as to not identify the contents.
I also have the receipts from the post office since the shipping is a tax deduction.
Btw, Always insure your package for what it would cost to replace it.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have to point out here, that getting a straight answer from the Post Office is difficult.

So is consistent service.
I have it set up with my post office that they notify me when anything other than a standard first class letter or bulk mail is delivered. They don't always do it, and other times they have notified me of a delivery and I've found an empty mailbox... at 23:00 hours. Sometimes the parcel arrives the next day, sometimes days later....,

LD