Shipping ammo from NYS update/FYI

[Patrick L]

I just thought I'd share this in hopes it might be helpful to some. I wasn't exactly sure where to put it.



I just shipped 2 loads off to Precision Reloading for ballistic testing for the first time ever. I must be honest, I was DREADING this due to various horror stories I have heard recently. Did I mention I live in upstate NY?



Well anyhow, I was amazed at how totally painless the process was. I elected to try UPS since their main facility is just a bit closer than the FedEx one, FedEx was going to be my backup. The woman at the counter could not have been more helpful. As per the PR instructions, I had printed out and affixed the little diamond label. She saw that, asked "Oh are you shipping ammo?" Her only questions were whether it was under .50 caliber, and the quantity. Since the answer was shotshells and only 12, there were absolutely no issues. She went on to say how ridiculous all these new laws were, she felt they accomplished nothing but made her job harder and forced her to disappoint customers who clearly were not up to no good, just trying to do everything legally. Clearly one "on our side."



I was also pleasantly surprised at the cost. I wasn't sure if there would be any hazmat type of charge, apparently not. $14 from NY to SD. And I packed them up in a small box measuring about 6x7x10 or so. Typical small Amazon type box.



It's so refreshing to be able to post something positive!



Just FYI!

[murf205]

I think it all depends on who is at the counter that day. I have a UPS store only 2 miles away and when I ask them a gun or ammo question, they turn pale as a sheet. I wouldn't have expected that in the deep south but apparently they don't know their own regulations. Glad you had a pleasant encounter.

[farmbif]

your so very lucky. I live in the very pro gun state of Tennessee, yup, where the new home of Smith and Wesson is and the inventor and producer of the bump stock and others and I got nothing but the run around when going to local Fedex and UPS places for info on exactly what I have to do to ship ammo. It sure as heck might have to do with who is at the counter on a particular day. i could say more with the bitter taste I feel im my mouth right now. but I know better and will continue my quest next trip to a big city to be sure I can ship any ammo and how and from where before posting any for sale or anything like that.

[bullet maker 57]

Ammo has to be shipped from a company terminal, not a UPS or Fed-EX store.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes,it definitely depends on the person behind the counter. UPS is my preferred shipper and with an online account I generally just try to intercept my local driver which is pretty easy in this rural area.

[kenton]

I usually do my best to comply with their rules and don't mention what is being shipped unless required to do so.

[JimB..]

Ammo has to be shipped from a company terminal, not a UPS or Fed-EX store.

This!

If you go to a retail location you’re wasting your time and likely to get bad info. Some folks report that ignorance works for them, the counter person accepts the package, but that’s not how it usually goes.

[Shawlerbrook]

You can also pay extra for the UPS pickup service if you have an online account.

[Barry54]

What do you anticipate the pressure of the test loads you sent in will be?

[Patrick L]

Hopefully normal. Just substituting a Cheddite primer in two published loads, but these days some primers are just not available. Cheddites are everywhere though. I didn't want to just substitute willy nilly, better safe than sorry.

[Barry54]

I’ll be looking forward to your results. I’ve started substituting them in loads that show 9000 psi or less in the data.

Tom Rosters lead and bismuth data book I bought from precision reloading has several recipes that say Winchester 209 or Cheddite primer. I suspect the Fiocchi primer is close enough too.

[Patrick L]

Mainly I'm checking because these are 28 ga loads. 28s and 410s tend to run at higher pressures to begin with, don't want to stray into questionable territory. The other thing, I recently got Briley tubes. In a dedicated 28 gauge gun I might not be overly concerned, but a tube set is another animal altogether.

I've loaded 10s of thousands of them in 12, 16, and 20 gauge. But then again there is more tested data in the bigger gauges.

For what it costs, it's cheap insurance to find out for sure.

[thump_rrr]

You have piqued my interest.
I have been loading metallic cartridges for about 15 years but I’m just getting into shotshell reloading.

I was given everything from hulls, wads, 100lbs of #7-1/2 shot(If memory serves me well) and 2,000 primers.

[Patrick L]

Shotshell is definitely different. I've been doing both safely since the mid 80s (my early 20s!!!!) The same basic precautions certainly apply.

The thing with shotshell is that folks tend to do more substitutions than in metallic. Of course the official rule still is stated: NEVER SUBSTITUTE COMPONENTS. But the reality is, probably 99 out of 100 shotshell reloaders do it to varying degrees.

It is compounded by the fact that companies like Claybuster, PC, Downrange etc. market wads that are specifically marketed to be a lower cost replacement for name brand Winchester, Remington etc. and supposedly can be directly substituted. The recent shortages due to Covid, the Chinese, whatever have compounded things. Often you just couldn't get "X" brand primer. Cost also plays in, as Cheddite or RIO primers were always available at lower cost than Winchester/CCI/Remington, and now in the shortages they often WERE available when the others weren't regardless of price.

Just like in metallic, powder companies publish tested data. But they can't possibly test every combination. How much does a substitution change things? That's the million dollar question. And there's no hard answer.

Gauge comes into play too. Generally, the smaller the gauge the more careful you need to be. Many 12 gauge loads generate only 6000-7000 psi. 28 gauge loads are pushing 11,000-12,000 psi. A primer substitution in a 12 gauge is likely not going to be a big deal. Proceed with caution to be sure, but likely there will be no surprises. A substitution in 28 gauge or 410 could be much more interesting. Oh and one more thing, many shotgunners (myself included) use sub gauge tubes (like a barrel insert) to shoot smaller gauge shells in a bigger gauge gun. (The why of that is more than I want to go into now, but it's a good thing) and while a dedicated gun in say 28 gauge might well be pretty stout, those tubes are not something you want to be shooting rockets out of.

So, I am having two 28 gauge loads tested. Both have seemed perfectly fine in my 28 gauge 870. But I now have a set of 28 gauge tubes for my 12 ga OU, so I'm just being cautious.

So anyhow, this just scratched the surface of the shotshell thing. It's fun.