Snowflakes in Hell

Holy Hazmat Batman

Posted by: Sebastian on date

Nov 7th, 2007 | filed

I just noticed there’s a hazmat fee for shipping powder and primers, that amounts to 40 dollars for them to be each shipped separate from Midway. I can drive to Cabela’s for cheaper than 40 dollars!

11 Responses to “Holy Hazmat Batman”

SteVe Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 5:34 am

Yup, you gotta watch out for the fine print. I believe it’s a flat rate, so order in bulk.

The Duck Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 8:52 am

Stock up my friend, it’s only going up

the pistolero Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 9:15 am

A-yep. I saw that too. Local fun ,er, gun stores are still good for at least one thing. ;-)

Ahab Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am

Pyrodex doesn’t get charged a hazmat fee.

Clearly, buy more muzzleloaders.

guy Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

“I believe it’s a flat rate, so order in bulk.”

It is. I thought that was the whole purpose of the fee in the first place - incentive to support your local gun shop or get used to having LOTS of powder/primers around the house.

Of course that might have just been one of those Unintended Consequences(TM) thingies.

DirtCrashr Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

We do a bulk purchase at my club that gets distributed among members who participate. However I am seriously re-thinking my purchase of 53-grain match bullets in a 1-in-7 twist…

Peter Said,
November 7th, 2007 at 2:06 pm

Midway (and a lot of others) charge the hazmat fee for components, yet don’t for ammunition, which, the last time I checked, contains both primers and powder. Go figure.

And while we’re on this rant, how come it’s so d*mned difficult to get real black powder? My sidelined flintlock would like to know.

Firehand Said,
November 8th, 2007 at 12:54 pm

That’s why I’ll drive a bit to get to a local place with powder & primers.

I think they have to pay the hazmat fee on propellant and primers because it’s considered a shipment of ‘that item’, as opposed to ammo where it’s a component. Or something like that.

straightarrow Said,
November 8th, 2007 at 5:46 pm

I don’t know if this has an effect on the matter, but pyrodex falls into the same category as modern powders, they are listed as propellants. However, black powder in an explosive.

That might have a bearing on its availability due to shipping, storage concerns etc.

deadcenter Said,
November 9th, 2007 at 12:02 am

The Hazmat fee pays for the DOT training certificate required of the shipper in order to ship flammable and reactive compounds, powder flammable, primers reactive. I’m not positive, but if cartridges are exempt from the hazmat fee it might be because each casing does not contain enough of either compound to be considered a hazard, a de minimis exemption, but that’s a guess plain and simple.

Best bet, either buy local or find a club that orders in bulk. It’s usually an 18 to 20 dollar charge so if you can split that between 4 people it’s a bit more palatable.