Shipping A Rifle

[tome]

I shipped a bench rest rifle ( heavy ) from Ocean City Md. to Clark Summit..i mailed it on Sat morning and i just got an email that it had arrived today..Monday was a federal Holiday ( presidents day )..so it took 3 days and cost$ 46.35 with $ 1100.00 in insurance..the postage was $24.05..restrictive delivery $ 8.00 and insurance $ 14.30..reason for posting..the post office is hard to beat shipping a rifle..and to give you'll an idea of shipping costs..of course the FFL was on top of that..his FFl would only receive from another FFL

 

[LCazador]

FYI , shipping that item UPS would have cost about $10 less with the adult sig. required feature and $1100 of insurance . Postal has been pretty slow in my area . It's not the same service everywhere .

 

[jdb]

UPS's manager refused to ship my rifle to anywhere but the "address of the actual actions manufacturer". USPS was happy to ship it!

 

[tome]

UPS shipping point is a Francoise here..no guns..i can only tell you of my experience with USPS..all good

 

[fdshuster]

It's been my experience that the individually owned/franchised UPS shipping stores will not accept anything firearms related, not even a rifle scope going back for repairs. Tried to ship a Savage rifle back for warranty work, clearly stated on the insurance coverage form that it was an unloaded rifle, and the clerk went ballistic, acting as though I had a bomb in the shipment. She caused a major scene because of her hysteria.

Have since been using USPS & FedEx.

 

[Rtheurer]

I have never shipped a rifle..... Only Paper Punching parts and axle shafts.

 

[fdshuster]

rtheurer: That may work until/unless you have to submit an insurance claim for a lost or damaged shipment. An axle shaft that has a broken wood or fiberglass rifle stock attached? I don't think so.

 

[Rustystud]

Just some advice... When shipping via U S Postal. There are U S Postal Policies/Federal Law regarding shipping firearms. Failing to disclose, or intentially concealing the identity of a restricted item ie: "firearms" is a Federal Felony. I suggest you read and follow federal postal regulations.
Nat Lambeth

 

[Rtheurer]

You mean like the Anshutz 2002 Air rifle they ran over with a fork lift and broke the Aluminum Stock in half in 2008. Reason for no insurance claim... Not packed by a UPS Employee or aproved vendor.

It was in Hard case with towels wrapped around it and taped so it would not slide in the case and then a Carboard box over the case also taped up. When I used to work at the gun shop part time we recieved hundreds of guns in plane old cardboard boxes like the ones you get them when yo ubuy them.

Frank... It was a toung in Cheek response... What no humor today????
RussT

 

[tome]

I have no intent to conceal a damn thing..i know long guns only

 

[1holeaddict]

I will have to verify Toms story is 100% correct and he is a stand up guy. Im positive that the receiver of this rifle was thrilled that it arrived so quickly. Time to make one holers ;D

 

[wnyhunterpaa]

For what its worth - my experience:
I have done both the USPS and UPS.
USPS is great as long as nothing goes wrong.
- I have had shipments that they can't locate with the tracking number, then they show up at the receiving end. It is a little frustrating. Nothing lost yet.

UPS has been flawless with all my shipments and reasonably priced for across the country.
About $10 less is what I have experieinced.
I do know that the 'UPS Store' locations have problems with firearms and ammo due to insurance/bonding.
The UPS Customer Center (where the cargo and trucks go) is great with both firearms and ammo.

 

[Erud]

I've shipped firearms every which way and the best way I've found is UPS ground and schedule a pickup from my house. Pack it up, print the label, and wait for the driver to show up. When he shows up I tell him it's a firearm and he says "no problem". He signs a paper for the insurance if the value is high and gives me a copy, then drives away. Even better if I can time the pickup when something else is getting delivered, then there's no extra charge for the pick up. Shipped one last week valued at $1550 and it coast me $36.85.

Sure beats the hassle of taking it to the hub and crossing my fingers that the person behind the counter understands that it is not a terrorist act to ship a firearm......

 

[dansig]

I paid for shipping for a rifle 2 weeks ago, shipping was $1085 and it still hasn't arrived.. don't even think it's left the FFL yet..

wish UPS accepted firearms for international shipping..

 

[HoytFlinger]

I have shipped a bunch of rifles using USPS with zero problems. I always take a copy of the FFL that I am shipping to. Never once was asked to see it. I just tell them rifle going to a dealer and they are good with it.

 

[fdshuster]

hoytflinger: Same with my experiences at FedEx/Kinko's. I always have a copy of the receiving FFL's license, package clearly identified as a firearm (long gun), and they could care less. Have never been asked for the FFL copy.

 

[jobhopper66]

Just thought I would share an incident that happened recently at my local post office while attempting to ship a long gun. I had shipped numerous firearms via the post office without a hitch and about 2 months ago they flat out refused to ship one for me. Made absolutely no sense so I called the USPS complaint department and explained what happened. I have to admit the woman I got was great and she said someone would get back to me within 24 hours. She confirmed that there was no reason for them to refuse my shipment. My local post office called me to discuss the problem and admitted they were wrong. I have to add that the postal employee and postmaster who gave me the hassle were cowards and wouldn't come out and face me so they sent another employee to the counter. I still have the best luck with the postal service but my local post office doesn't get my business, I now drive 3 miles to the next town and they welcome my business with open arms. This same post office mailed the very gun the other one wouldn't on the same day. I guess the point of this story is if you think you are right follow through and make some calls.

 

[DaveC]

We own a UPS Store and our contract with UPS specifically prohibits shipping any firearm, firearm parts or ammunition (ammunition is a HazMat issue).

When I ship my own rifle or pistol I take them to the UPS hub or to any FedEx shipper. With the USPS, if the package is lost they have up to a year to find it before they pay the insurance. With UPS any damage claims will come down to “proper packaging”; double boxed with 2” of space between the inside and outside box, bubble wrap and peanuts for packing materials – never towels/old clothing/etc.

 

[butchlambert]

I wouldn't ship UPS even if the only option was by mule team. I wanted to ship an item 3-4yrs ago. The UPS store said they would box it up for $150+shipping and insurance. When it arrived the $2500 was destroyed. They refused to honor the insurance because it wasn't packed properly. Yes! I blew a fuse. They packed it. I had to get an attorney involved to get my money back plus attorney fees. So far both of the USPS offices are great. They know what I ship and I do know how to pack items. I probably mail an average of 3 packages daily.

 

[1holeaddict]

Well Through the years i had to ship back 2 Remmy shutguns that the barrels came off from a bad weld, A Remmy model 7" twice "due to the action gouging shells, A Savage model 12 Benchrest "three times" due to a bad chamber, A Savage model 12 BVSS due to a bad chamber. The first transaction with UPS went smooth with a pre printed label. The second was accepted by the woman behind the counter but was then refused by the pick up guy "same pre printed label" The third one was denied by the woman behind the counter. From that point on i set up for a pick up at my house. The UPS guy is here twice a week with packages ;D and he knows exactly what I'm shipping and gives me no problems. I guess that there are a lot of uneducated employees that are involved with UPS and their drop off centers.