Sending a gun in for repairs

**righteousbarbarian** · September 15th, 2007, 07:41 PM

I was just talking about how much I love my Taurus 617 and lo and behold, during routine handling, the cylinder falls off and will not go back on. I think I may have also lost a tiny spring during the ordeal. Do I need to SEND the gun from an FFL or can I just mail it myself? Does anyone who has sent a Taurus in for repairs want to share any tips or tricks to make the process go more smoothly?

thanks.

**JayBell** · September 15th, 2007, 08:37 PM

you can send the gun yourself, but you cannot use the US Mail to do it.

yuou have to use UPS or Fedex, each of which will cost for overnight charges on a handgun.

Best bet here is to call Taurus FIRST, its possible they may send out a calltag and box for it, but most likely, you'll have to send it in yourself.

Note that UPS does not accept guns from "Mailboxes USA" type locations, just their main UPS hub locations.

its also possible your FFL may assist you, my FFL will ship stuff out forme, if I pay for it.

**colagrrl** · September 15th, 2007, 09:48 PM

Slightly on topic, slightly off. Is there any truth to if you field strip the gun and send it in pieces via UPS, that it is then considered 'parts' and doesn't have to be sent overnight?

**Pa. Patriot** · September 15th, 2007, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by colagrrl

Slightly on topic, slightly off. Is there any truth to if you field strip the gun and send it in pieces via UPS, that it is then considered 'parts' and doesn't have to be sent overnight?

The receiver is the firearm and will be considered as such for shipment regardless if it is stripped or not.

**JayBell** · September 15th, 2007, 10:23 PM

also USPS regs specifically address this question about stripping it.
you still cant do it.

also, be aware that its federal law that you MUST tell the shipper that you are shipping a firearm, you cant label it "precision hole puncher" or something.

**colagrrl** · September 15th, 2007, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by Pa. Patriot

The receiver is the firearm and will be considered as such for shipment regardless if it is stripped or not.

Thanks. That's what I thought, I just wasn't sure. There's a gunsmith on another message board I belong to that does warranty work for a brand of firearm I own and I've seen him tell people on occassion to field strip the guns and send them to him as 'parts' via UPS.

**Pa. Patriot** · September 16th, 2007, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by colagrrl

Thanks. That's what I thought, I just wasn't sure. There's a gunsmith on another message board I belong to that does warranty work for a brand of firearm I own and I've seen him tell people on occassion to field strip the guns and send them to him as 'parts' via UPS.

if this gunsmith is working on say a slide from a pistol, then that is appropriate advice, provided the slide parts only were sent. But if the receiver is in the shipment, as discussed above, yes, it's a firearm.
If that's what he is suggesting (lying about the contents) then he is giving bad advice. No law will be broken by shipping a handgun via UPS ground but if the shipment was lost or stolen and you tried to file a claim you would be out of luck if the truth about the contents were discovered by UPS.