TexasCHLforum.com

It is common knowledge that I can ship a long arm withing Texas without involving an FFL.
I was recently informed that the same is true for intrastate pistol transfers. However, I have lost the cites.

Can anyone point me to a legal basis for this? I want to be on solid ground here.

Rex B

I cannot give you the legal cite, but you are correct as far as ATF and Texas State Laws.

However, the problem is with the Carriers.....1st you cannot use USPS at all for Pistols. Only FFL's can do that.
UPS and Fed-Ex are supposed to do this for you, but lately most of their hubs have been refusing and stating that it is their policy that a transfer from Non FFL individual to another Non FFL individual must be done through a FFL......No matter what the Law says......

I have had both UPS AND Fed-EX tell me this.

You can ship a handgun to an individual in the same state who is not an FFL, if you can find someone to ship it.

The information is available here: http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faqindex.htm
Look under "unlicensed persons." You can also search for the underlying law, 18 USC 922, but it's hard to understand.

You can't send handguns through the U.S. mail (though an FFL can), and FedEx and UPS will not ship to an unlicensed person. I'm told that Lone Star Overnight will do it, but I haven't used them.

- Jim

Thanks for the link.

But we are under no obligation to disclose contents to non-USPS shippers, correct?

Rex B wrote:But we are under no obligation to disclose contents to non-USPS shippers, correct?

That is incorrect. Federal law says that you are obligated to follow the rules of a private party like UPS. They require you to disclose when you ship a weapon.

I have never heard of anyone being prosecuted for shipping surreptitiously, but that doesn't mean it never happened. I am assuming that FedEx and UPS can X ray packages or run them through a machine that detects nitrates (i.e., explosives).

- Jim