The Fear of Mailing

[William Maynard]

With the Pheasant season over now. I have considered sending my Parker barrels out for alittle face lift. Now, the fear of putting something into the mail that cannot be replaced no matter how much insurance you put on it has me questioning if I really want to do this. Anyone have any advice on how to package and the best way to send would be appreciated.

[Dave Suponski]

I have used UPS,FedEx and USPS to ship many guns and parts around the country.At this point all I use is USPS Priority Mail insured. In fact I just shipped a very nice EH to Oregon for some stock work and it got there in 3 day's and that's coast to coast. I probably over pack my stuff but I would rather err on the side of caution that try to save a few cents on the weight of shipping.

[Eric Eis]

If you can wait until after the Xmas season to ship your gun, way too many packages this time of year so if you can wait untill Jan it would be safer. Eric

[Phillip Carr]

In also ship USPS Priority mail. I ship my barrels most of the time in a PVC tube I made. Use the 4" PVC pipe. Glue a Cap on one end, a Threaded union on the other and use a threaded plug to close. Then put a soft towel in the bottom of the tube. Use news paper and bubble wrap around the barrels. Slide the barrels inside. Snug it up with a small towel on top, and screw in the plug. Some wraping tape over the plug and things are well secured.

[David Holes]

usps priority mail is how I ship. Did have two guns not make it from 1st. post offfice, but shipper labeled his store as a gun shop on shipping label. I think it is best to have nothing about a gun on shipping label. The guns were insured but what a hassel for all.

[William Maynard]

Thanks for all the input. I have just heard alot of nightmare stories about packages not showing up, or damaged packages. I think I recall in one of the threads about a PVC tube being busted open??? I guess it is like taking a gamble. When I first purchased the gun I had Griffin and Howe in NJ go over the whole gun... Strip clean, time the ejectors etc... In stead on mailing it, I drove in to them... Took several hours one way.. I understand I can't drive across country to make personnal deliveries...Guess I will keep my fingers crossed........Dave, did you get the two guns??

[Pete Lester]

I share your disdain for shipping Parker's. Sounds crazy but if I need work done I drive out to Ilion NY which is about 265 miles each way.

Registered Mail although expensive seems to be a cheap piece of mind and even the USPS recommends it for valuable irreplaceable items.

http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/registeredmailservice.htm

[Linn Matthews]

re the PVC tube idea--one of our members has reminded me that he uses the "heavy duty" PVC tubing (80 vs 40) and glues the ends on, after making length a little oversized so that the end can be sawed off and the tube used again.

[Joe Wood]

Agree to wait till after Christmas for shipping. The only addition I make to the posts above is to put the pvc tube in a cardboard box--you local golf club store has a lot of 'em just the right size. Stay with the USPS and it's doubtful you'll ever have a problem. I ship Priority Mail but Registered Mail is probably the safest way possible.

[Dave Noreen]

Just made the six and a half hour each way drive to Bend, Oregon, for some barrel work by Keith Kearcher on the most important gun in my arsenal. Good peace of mind.

[Richard LaMendola]

Having worked for the USPS, the safest way is definitly registered, it is signed for by each person that handles the parcel and it is either a outside register or in a locked bag. It is still early so if mailed this week you should be ok.

[Richard Flanders]

Registered insured is the way I go. And I like the bbls wrapped in bubble wrap in sched 80 PVC or ABS packaging.

[Eric Eis]

So Richard L it's ok to ship until about Dec 7 or so but after that you would recommend waiting until the first of the year? That's about the same time frame a friend of mine told me who use to work for UPS. Eric

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Eric how close do you live to Brad Bachelder?

[Eric Eis]

Gary I am about 2 1/2 hours from Brad.

[Bill Murphy]

I have used 6" pvc glued and screwed at one end and screwed at the end to be opened. However it makes a heavy package for just a set of barrels. I make it clear to the receiver of the pvc package how to get into the tube. I use U.S. Postal Service Registered. It has always worked. Larry Del Grego Senior taught me that in the early seventies. I also over insure barrels because a lost set of barrels is a lost gun.

[David Holes]

No, the guns dissappeared sad to say. One was a 4e ithaca single trap that was very clean, the othera fox 12 not so special. The ithaca was to be a trap gun for my 11 year old. It was lady own and shot and not shot much. I felt it a loss to collectors. A friend and I hand delivered our last guns to our stockmaker. He met us at american walnut, where he grades gunstock wood. Neither one of us want to risk shipping on these guns so we will make another trip in the spring.

[William Maynard]

I found this story this morning on Good Morning America very ironic. The Story was about shipping items through the mail. Which carrier was the best at handling packages. The folks at Popular Mechanics did a high tech test. Fed Ex had the most drops. UPS had the second and USPS had the least. Get this, putting "Fragile" on the box put the package at risk for more damage. check out the story and video. There is a 15 second commercial in the begining.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/black-friday-shipping-company-careful-holiday-packages/story?id=12244017
Happy Mailing