O.T. Shipping primers

[1886]

Does anyone have the facts/procedures about shipping primers within the country? Thanks, 1886.

[Tycer]

UPS with hazmat fee. I have had several people send them to me USPS Priority Mail. Not good if you are caught.

[1886]

I spoke with Fedex and UPS. They both told me that I have to have documentation stating that I have been hazmat trained in order to ship! Is this b.s.? I did a google search but not much turned up. There are many guys selling and shipping primers. I find it difficult to believe that they are all Hazmat "trained". Thanks, 1886.

[Rusty]

It's been a while since I hauled Hazmat in bulk form but at the time I had to be certified to do it. Some items are only considered hazmat if there is over a certain amount of it. I don't think primers or powder either one fall in that category. They would be hazmat no mater how small the amount.
There also has to be information about the product so that if there is an accident it can be handled in a safe manner. If you look at a tanker hauling hazmat products there will usually be a sticker on it in several places stating that if there is an accident emergency personal are to call an 800 number. Trucking companies contract with these companies to act as the emergency contact. That might be part of the problem, you won't have access to someone that can be contacted 24/7 in case of an emergency. There is no way for someone to know how the item should be dealt with.
While it may sound like a crock, things like this are usually dealt with to cover the lowest common denominator.

[shdwlkr]

The last that I saw it didn't matter if you ship 100 primers or 25,000 you still had to pay the hazmat and declare what was in the package.

[Charles]

The haz-mat regulations about certification, documentation and proper packaging make it impractical if not impossible for one ordinary joe to send primers to another ordinary joe and follow the law.

[Modoc ED]

I just got back from our local UPS Depot where I picked up a package from Cabela's. I asked the shipping department how I would go about sending a box of primers via UPS. They verified some of the information above. You have to be trained and certified to send HAZMAT (i.e., primers) material via UPS. They said the only way for a non-certified individual to ship HAZMAT material is to have someone that is certified to ship it for you. Believe it or not, they said that just because a gunshop receives primers doesn't mean they can ship them either for themselves or for a customer.

EDIT: Forgot to say -- The UPS guy finished off the conversation by saying that if you sent HAZMAT via UPS without telling them (snuck it in) and they found out, they would flag your name and address in their system and that they would not deliver or receive packages to/from you.

[rhead]

Believe it or not, they said that just because a gunshop receives primers doesn't mean they can ship them either for themselves or for a customer.

The person receiving the package does not need to know the proper way to pack and label the the package.
Just because a law is stupid does not mean that it is smart to ignore it. UPS can be fined for accepting an improperly labeled package. If it is from a repeat offender they Will be fined heavily.
Look for the hazmat fees to go upeven more in the nextfew years, and the regs will get tighter. No laws would have to be passed to do that. What would happen if someone at DOT decided that shipping loaded ammo could be hazardous?

[JustaJeepGuy]

Look for the hazmat fees to go up even more in the next few years...

When they first instituted the HAZMAT fee, it was $7.00, and it wasn't "supposed" to go up. Suddenly, it was $11.00, then $20.00. What's it at now? Where will it stop? Why was it even imposed in the first place? I don't recall reading stories of primers and powder blowing up all over the place 20 years ago. Could it have been another governmental power grab?