Hey Everyone,

My brother just purchased a Mini-14. After a long, long time of searching for the exact Mini-14 he wanted, he finally found it.

He wanted something done to the barrel, so he had it sent to a company with an FFL in Colorado to do the work.

He notified shipper it was a rifle before sending, and notified them again when it was "Lost".

The receipt says machine parts.

The question is...now what?

Did he insure it for the full value? Did he have it documented as a firearm other than when he dropped it off?

It's been said before; Always ship firearms via USPS with insurance and tracking. Also, always use an FFL to do the shipping as they must fill out and submit a USPS Form 1508.

he needs to talk to UPS and tell them that tracking number is actually a firearm,
and that you are going to contact the ATF/Police to notify them of a lost firearm
they will (or should) go the extra mile to find it,


if not, report it lost/stolen

It kind of sounds to me like he took the rifle to a retail location that isn't supposed to accept firearms shipments and the employee lied on the shipping forms in order to accept the shipment.

UPS accepts firearms shipments ONLY at "UPS Customer Centers" which are big warehouse distribution center things, not at normal retail locations.

https://www.ups.com/us/en/help...pments/firearms.page

quote:

Firearms (including handguns) may be shipped only through a UPS Scheduled Pickup Account (specifically, Daily Pickup, Daily On-Route Pickup, UPS Smart Pickup®, and Day-Specific Pickup), or through a UPS Customer Center (counters at UPS operational facilities). Note: Firearms (including handguns) are not accepted for shipment via UPS Drop Boxes or UPS On-Call Pickup®, and may not be tendered to or dropped off at locations of The UPS Store®, any third party retailer, or any UPS Access Point™ location.

If that's the case, and they don't find the rifle, he may be SOL on insurance.

It is not lost. But rather stolen. My ffl is dealing with a "stolen" firearm by a UPS employee it seems. Every time item moves it is scanned. This is a big issue for UPS. Has been. That is why they "require" you to send handguns overnight. Less internal theft.

Press them hard. Immediately go up the UPS chain. Get local LE involved to investigate. Even the ATF if they have a local office.

It is not lost. It is stolen.

Ups can tell you where exactly. Time and location the theft occurred. That is where you and LE needs to start their investigation.

Lost means it grew leg's and walked off. It did not disappear by itself.

Trying to get cute and save some money doesn't pay off.
Do you think the guys at UPS, FedEx & USPS don't know what you mean by "machine parts"? Especially going where they do? (manufacturers, gunsmiths, gun stores, pawn shops) Seems to me that might just be the green light some thief needs. Less in house oversight, less recourse for the shipper.

"had it sent"?. If he sent it then he is pretty much screwed if it wasn't declared. But in any case the best advise is to report it stolen and go from there.

Well, he spent yesterday harassing UPS to get an answer.

Good news is that the clowns at UPS found it. It's being assessed for damage since the shipping container it was in was completely destroyed somehow.

So far, the sights that he had in the box are missing.

I have both a UPS and FedEx shipping depot near me. I'm shipped many, many firearms but have only ever either used FedEx or shipped through an FFL near me who used USPS.

UPS here is squirrelly about individuals shipping firearms despite their policies which allow it. So I always used FedEx. They never blinked, but then I always made sure they knew it was a firearm and, of course, was shipping to an FFL.

I've never had a firearm lost, stolen or damaged. I agree with one of the other commenters that it was probably not shipped from a depot and was not shipped overnight as is required.

I've known people who, to save the overnight, tell UPS or FedEx it's a "machine parts" or something like that. I would be concerned they would not honor an insurance claim for damage to a firearm if it was not shipped overnight and according to their policies. Their attitude was that it was not legally required and what the shipper didn't know wouldn't hurt them. The first point is irrelevant for the most part and the second is perhaps true, but it might hurt the person shipping it.

It'll be interesting to see how they respond. I expect they will tell your brother he is out of luck and lucky it was not stolen.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGWolf:
I agree with one of the other commenters that it was probably not shipped from a depot and was not shipped overnight as is required.

UPS required that handguns be shipped next day, but that requirement doesn't apply to long guns.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
It is not lost. But rather stolen. My ffl is dealing with a "stolen" firearm by a UPS employee it seems. Every time item moves it is scanned. This is a big issue for UPS. Has been. That is why they "require" you to send handguns overnight. Less internal theft.

Press them hard. Immediately go up the UPS chain. Get local LE involved to investigate. Even the ATF if they have a local office.

It is not lost. It is stolen.

Ups can tell you where exactly. Time and location the theft occurred. That is where you and LE needs to start their investigation.

Lost means it grew leg's and walked off. It did not disappear by itself.

The ATF doesn't care about lost or stolen guns.

Would you go to the IRS when someone takes cash from your wallet?

I have had no problems shipping firearms via USPS either with my 03 or without.

Shipping to/from a gunsmith is permissible.

I always declare a firearm, sometimes a clerk doesn't know what to do, I bring a copy of the USPS regulations.

Glad it was found, hopefully it hasn't been destroyed.

quote:

Originally posted by walker77:

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
It is not lost. But rather stolen. My ffl is dealing with a "stolen" firearm by a UPS employee it seems. Every time item moves it is scanned. This is a big issue for UPS. Has been. That is why they "require" you to send handguns overnight. Less internal theft.

Press them hard. Immediately go up the UPS chain. Get local LE involved to investigate. Even the ATF if they have a local office.

It is not lost. It is stolen.

Ups can tell you where exactly. Time and location the theft occurred. That is where you and LE needs to start their investigation.

Lost means it grew leg's and walked off. It did not disappear by itself.

The ATF doesn't care about lost or stolen guns.

Would you go to the IRS when someone takes cash from your wallet?

they care if it is still on your bound book and you have not filed that loss/stolen report

3310.11

I hope he packaged it well. UPS will use the excuse that the packaging was insufficient to adequately protect whatever is in the package in order to avoid paying a claim.

C & r license will not allow shipping handgun by USPS. form 1508 is expressly for dealers and manufacturers. This form has to be filed by the shipper when shipping concealable firearms .

I always ship UPS. I have never had a problem.

I have more problems with shipping using FedEx, generally speaking, and USPS has lost quite a few.

In fact, the last item I had shipped to me was sent FedEx, and is gone.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
I always ship UPS. I have never had a problem.

I have more problems with shipping using FedEx, generally speaking, and USPS has lost quite a few.

In fact, the last item I had shipped to me was sent FedEx, and is gone.

I've found it varies by location,,

here FedEx sucked, but are improving,

UPS is ok,

USPS good,

talking to some of my customers in different areas of the US, they all have different experiences,

had one guy call me 3 times to make sure I was not shipping FedEx to him, apparently they are really bad there,

UPS Said it got stuck in a conveyor belt

I was just in the cargo ramp area at a very large international airport. First night when we drove through, a cargo container was in the road, apparently fell off a truck of trailer. Later when we came through, it was up on the grass, off the road. Last I saw, it had been there for three days. It wasn't fedex or UPS. It appeared to still have packages inside.