Cartridges are regulated as explosives. That single fact explains every rule further down this page.
The postal position, word for word
Publication 52 puts ammunition in its nonmailable explosives list and spells out what travels with it.
The same chapter closes the air lane for the whole hazard class, listing explosives among the materials always prohibited from air transportation, and section 341.2 states that explosives are generally prohibited from being mailed under federal law with narrow surface exceptions for approved toy propellant devices and safety fuses.
Item by item, including the inert parts
Reloaders ask about components more often than about loaded rounds, so the table covers both. The last column is our own answer, which is stricter than the postal one on purpose.
| Item | In the mail | Private networks | SMKlog checkout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loaded pistol or rifle cartridges | Prohibited | Contract terms only; barred from FedEx retail counters | Declined |
| Shotgun shells | Prohibited | Same contract route | Declined |
| Primers | Prohibited | Fully regulated explosive freight | Declined |
| Propellant powder | Prohibited | Fully regulated explosive freight | Declined |
| Empty hulls and casings without primers | Mailable, not a hazardous material | Ordinary parcels | Declined by our filter |
That last row is worth stating rather than hiding. We asked our own calculator to price a box of 1000 empty brass rifle casings with no primers on 2026-07-28 and it came back blocked, with the message that online labels are not available for firearms, weapons, ammunition or explosive parts. Postal rules would carry that box; our filter reads the word casings and stops. Wide beats clever in a category where the failure mode is a seized parcel.
What a heavy, dense box does cost here
Ammunition boxes are small and heavy, and shippers underestimate what that combination prices at. Here is a comparable unrestricted parcel on the lane we use for every reference figure.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Transit window returned |
|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $20.98 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $20.50 | Not returned for this row |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $22.62 | 8-9 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $23.70 | 2-3 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $29.72 | 5-6 business days |
Sixteen pounds of anything legal lands in the low twenties on this route. Steel cans, reloading presses, cleaning kits and range bags all price in that band, and none of them trip the explosive rules.
Ground carriage is a contract, not a checkbox
Cartridges that move legally by road travel as limited quantity ground freight under an agreement between a licensed shipper and a carrier, with trained staff, correct marks and paperwork on file. Nothing about that arrangement is available to a person with one flat-rate box and a printer.
The mark on those boxes is not ORM-D any more
Shippers still describe cartridge cases as ORM-D out of habit. That designation expired at the end of 2020 and the limited quantity mark took its place, a change our marking guide covers with the regulation text.
Describe components honestly anyway
Our filter declining a box of brass is a small cost. Describing that box as metal scrap to get a rate is a large one, because a misdeclared shipment loses carrier liability and can be pulled from the network at any point in the route.
Ammunition shipping questions
Can ammunition go through the mail?
No. Publication 52 section 341.22 prohibits ammunition regulated as a Class 1 explosive and designed to be fired from a pistol, revolver, rifle or shotgun, along with primers, blank cartridges and propellant powder.
Can I ship cartridges by ground with UPS or FedEx?
Only under a contract. FedEx states that ammunition may never be shipped from a FedEx Office or other associated retail location, and UPS accepts it only as expressly provided in its own tariff and terms of service, read on 2026-07-28.
Are empty brass casings mailable?
Publication 52 section 341.21 says hulls and casings without primers are not classified as explosives or hazardous materials, so the mail accepts them. Our own checkout still declines them, which we would rather state than hide.
What happens if ammunition is shipped anyway?
The parcel is nonmailable matter. Postal rules require nonmailable explosives found in the mailstream to be reported and handled by postal procedure, and a misdeclared shipment carries no carrier liability for the sender.