Flyer said:
If the gun wasn't working and/or disassembled, would it still be considered a gun. I mean .. machined parts is kinda vague.
I am pretty sure that if you ship a gun, even detailed stripped, and don't tell the carrier it is a pistol you would be in some pretty hot water with the federal government if the carrier found out there was a gun in the box. In fact, if I wanted to sell you a pistol frame and ship it to you, I would have to ship it to a licensed dealer if you didn't have your own FFL. Imagine what would happen if that frame was shipped and wasn't described as a pistol frame, and I got caught, all because I wanted to circumvent the law requiring that the frame must go through the hands of someone with an FFL?
Having just dealt with shipping my PT1911 to get it refinished, I asked the UPS clerk what Federal law required me to ship my gun next day. His answer was very honest. He told me there was no specific law, but that the company policy to ship overnight was enforced primarily for insurance reasons. Using my situation as an example, if my gun was stolen by an employee, or lost then stolen, and used in a crime, not only could I sue the company for more than the covered insurance dollars, but the victims of the crime could sue the company. Heck, in this day and age the criminal could sue the company for having such lax standards making it too easy for the theft of the gun; thereby enabling the criminal to act!
So, as was explained to me, to avoid the theft or loss of the firearm, UPS (and the other carriers) requires next day shipping in order to keep the firearm as secure as possible, and in less hands. For them it is a game of "hot potato" and we pay to ensure they don't get burned.