[John Rogers]

I checked with our longest serving FFL in San Diego and he said "To ship a firearm that shoots a CARTRIDGE or can be made into a gun that does, across state lines, it has to end up at a FFL, even if it/they are to yourself at a new address. He noted that this is federal law which trumps state law. Muzzle loaders including new "Italian" copies are exempt, even to California as the federal government does not consider them as weapons! As you are doing now, check the real references not someone's advice.

As I noted earlier, I would get TSA approved cases, which can always be sold later and use them. If you pull the rifles apart that can and probably will cause questions if inspected or the packages are x ray'd or searched or.....