Shipping of Airsoft guns

I may need this soon. Mine would be within the UK.

was reading a thread on zero in forum about a guy who had a random check done by a delivery firm who found it was a replica gun and against their company policy and stopped the delivery,i think he had to go to a depo and collect it and try again with someone else.so it might be worth a phone call to make sure of the company policy of the courier before sending.

I use normal Royal Mail for stuff under £100 and Parcelforce if it's over.

I've traded loads of guns with no problems and most people have used Parcelforce to ship, even though they and every other company I've looked at state in their T's & C's no "Dangerous goods - eg Explosives / Fireworks / Christmas Crackers / Radioactive Materials / Deactivated or Replica Weapons and Munitions / Firearms / Swords / Knives / Axe / Chainsaw / Anything with a blade larger than 1.5 inches / Weapons"

It's definitely an issue if you send it overseas but within the UK, you pays your money and takes your chances I guess ...

Why is it "definately an issue if you send it overseas?"

Because, as you have detailed in the rest of your answer, most (if not all) of the rest of the world takes a different view to guns or gun-like objects. Whether one agrees with a particular governments laws or carrier's rules is immaterial - the question relates to how to comply with rules and what is the easiest/safest/reliable/compliant way to sent toys that look like guns to others.

I think the most reliable/compliant method must be to use the same method that retailers use. So, what method does Shoot 'n Scoot / Airsoft World / Fire Support etc use?

While we are on the subject, what about this bs of using a deact to make an airsoft and being charged reactivating a deact? I would think the gov't has a lot more to worry about than some guy shooting a bb out of a deact. Looks like a little common sense would go a long way here.

You'd think so, but there's a massive amount of paranoia in the popular press about deacs being reactivated, so the Police take a particularly dim view of people messing about with the insides of them, whatever your intentions are. The law is also quite vague about what reactivating entails, so maiking it fire a toy BB could still be contrued as tuning it back into a weapon.

Something that's best avoided by all involved, as all firearms offenses over here carry a hefty 5+ year prison sentence, from memory.

While we are on the subject, what about this bs of using a deact to make an airsoft and being charged reactivating a deact? I would think the gov't has a lot more to worry about than some guy shooting a bb out of a deact. Looks like a little common sense would go a long way here.

My theory on this subject
Say a drug lord wanted his guys to have AK47's, UZI's or whatever
He could buy or steal alot of deacts, then cut them open and do what he needs to make them live,
But say if the police raided his house he could just have bought a large amount of airsoft internals so he could say "I was converting them for airsoft use"
thats just what i have heard, probably wrong. And at the end of the Day airsoft isnt high up on the governments list of concerns so if your playing around inside a deact, even just to make a toy, to jail you go.
I dont agree with the current laws on firearms in the UK, espically those concerning the converting of Deacts but thats the way it stands.
Although im not sure how big an issue it really is (meaning not many people want to do it as the modern airsoft community seem content with guns on sale, not no one cares go for it), i once got into a very heated deabte on my local site forum about if it was Illegal, my opponent, who is prbably on this forum saying "No its not illegal, it would be a fun and intresting project for you to do" and just generally telling me i didnt know what i was talking about.
anyway, lets not take over this thread and get back on topic.

CW if this is getting too off topic feel free to remove this post

P.S It was the SWAT forum I was known as "Misty Assasin" if your on here Mike im going to take my chance to gloat and say i was right it is illegal to convert deacts....

@ Jetta, I meant it's an issue making sure you find a shipping company where you're not contravening their T's & C's, as the likelihood of the parcel being scanned and then impounded is greater when it's going out of the UK than for internal post. If they scan it at a depot outside the UK and find it's in contravention of their T's & C's you may well be kissing your expensive pride and joy goodbye. If it's within the UK, as Dadio said, at least there's a chance you can go to the sorting office, appologise and rescue it.

We have rather strict rules over here relating to genuine firearms, and those relating to realistic imitation firearms and deacts are nearly as tough as those for acquiring the genuine article in the US...

Hiya Misty, there is a WW2_Mike on here but I don't know if it's "our" Mike.

Hiya Misty, there is a WW2_Mike on here but I don't know if it's "our" Mike.

I think hes gone mostly modern now tbh
btw have you seen the WW2 event at SWAT next year?
viewforum.php?f=206

I think the most reliable/compliant method must be to use the same method that retailers use. So, what method does Shoot 'n Scoot / Airsoft World / Fire Support etc use?

I believe it was mentioned on Zeroin at one point that account holders have some exemptions. So retailers may be able to ship RIFs via Parcel Force, etc. but not everyone else.