| Publication 52 - Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail > 4 Restricted Matter > 43 Firearms The following definitions apply: - Firearm: Any device, including a starter gun, which will, or is designed to, or may readily be converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or any destructive device; but the term shall not include antique firearms (except antique firearms meeting the description of a handgun or of a firearm capable of being concealed on a person).
- Firearm Frame or Receiver: The part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel. Frames and receivers usually include the firearm serial number and are typically considered to be the regulated component of a firearm.
Pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on a person, including but not limited to, short-barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles, are categorized as handguns. Specific definitions include: - Handgun (Including Pistols and Revolvers): A firearm with a short stock designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand and subject to 431.1, or a combination of parts from which a handgun can be assembled.
- Short-barreled Shotgun or Rifle: A shotgun with one or more barrels less than 18 inches long or a rifle with one or more barrels less than 16 inches long. These definitions include any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if such a weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches. A short-barreled shotgun or rifle of greater dimension may be regarded as nonmailable when it has characteristics to allow concealment on the person.
Antique firearm are defined as muzzle loading rifles, shotguns, or pistols designed to use black powder or a black powder substitutes and which cannot use fixed ammunition, except those that: - Incorporate a firearm frame or receiver,
- Are converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or
- Are a muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof.
Antique firearms also include any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system manufactured on or before 1898, or any replica thereof, if such replica: - Is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition.
- Uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured in the U.S. and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
A rifle is a shoulder weapon having a barrel that is 16 inches or more in length. A shotgun is a shoulder weapon having a barrel that is 18 inches or more in length. Rifles and shotguns have an overall length of 26 inches or greater and cannot be concealed on a person. Firearms which are of special interest to collectors by reason of some quality other than is associated with firearms intended for sporting use or as offensive or defensive weapons. To be recognized as curios or relics, firearms must fall within one of the following categories: - Firearms which were manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but not including replicas thereof;
- Firearms which are certified by the curator of a municipal, state, or federal museum which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest; and
- Any other firearms which derive a substantial part of their monetary value from the fact that they are novel, rare, bizarre, or because of their association with some historical figure, period, or event. Proof of qualification of a particular firearm under this category may be established by evidence of present value and evidence that like firearms are not available except as collector‘s items, or that the value of like firearms available in ordinary commercial channels is substantially less.
Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) are issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), under the Gun Control Act of 1968, and are defined under the Code of Federal Regulations Title 27 Part 478 (27 CFR Part 478), as follows: - Manufacturer, Dealer, or Importer: Any entity or individual engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail, repair (gunsmith), pawnbroker, manufacturer, or importing of firearms into the United States.
- Curio and Relic Collector: Any entity or individual who sells, trades, transfers, acquires, holds or disposes of firearms as curios or relics.
Air guns are devices that expel projectiles using compressed air or other gas (including paintball and pellet guns). Air guns are not regulated as firearms unless they are manufactured with frames or receivers of an actual firearm. Note: When compressed air is included in packages, shipments must adhere to the hazardous materials requirements within 342.
|
