Safely Shipping a Parker

[Jim Kremmel]

I’m needing to ship a Parker to a fellow members FFL, and am considering buying a Plano pillar lock hard case. Can anyone recommend this or another case, or provide other suggestions on how to ship safely? I’ve previously wrapped the barrels and buttstock separately in bubble wrap, and used an oversized box with foam peanuts, but I’d like to know what others do. My apologies if I missed a sticky on this, thanks.

[Dean Romig]

I build my own using 2”x3” lumber and 1/4” luan with dividers to seperate barrels ftom the back half of the gun. Never had a problem yet except when Canadian customs didn’t want to take the time to remove the screws to see what was inside.





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[Reggie Bishop]

I mainly use a 36x6x6 heavy duty corrugated box. I wrap the barrels/fore end in paper, then bubble wrap. Lots of bubble wrap! Same with buttstock. So far this has worked fine for me. Most dealers ship in corrugated boxes of one type or the other. I did have a member here once ship a gun to me in a wooden crate. I have also received guns shipped inside a LOM case, inside a corrugated box.

[Jeff Higgins]

All I can add is get ready for a shock if you have not shipped anything recently. The rates have gone up quite a bit.

[Jim Kremmel]

Thoughts? Cameron Packaging in Ohio has several options.

[Frank Srebro]

Here's a story on a gun shipment. I bought a higher end restocked/vintage SxS from a fella in TX. He packed it well in mucho bubble wrap and with cardboard between the pieces. Cardboard outer box. Gun arrived as per the tracking date and with UPS packing tape on both ends and just a slight tear in the box. I opened the one end and took out the barrels and forend, unwrapped them and checked the bores, ringing etc. Good. Then I looked in the bottom of the box for the back end of the gun. Not there. What!!! So I called the gent in TX and asked if he forgot to pack the back end. Nope, he said it was in the box when it left TX and of course he was somewhat skeptical until I asked him (seller) to file a claim with UPS and also report to the BATF that the serial-numbered frame end was apparently stolen enroute, and the box was then resealed with UPS tape. At that point the "gun" was still legally his because its serialed frame hadn't been received nor entered in my record book.

Next day I got a call from an UPS security agent and gave him details of the gun and emailed pics of the box and the gent's original sale pics. Two days later he called me to relate he found the back end of the gun in UPS's facility where they keep items that fall out of boxes that aren't well sealed. The agent had it sent to me by Next Day Air and when it arrived it was still wrapped in the original bubble wrap except for a small section removed so that UPS personnel could identify what the item was. There were a few small dings in the stock but no damage to the frame. As best we conjectured the box caught on a conveyor which caused it to fall and the original UPS tape to tear, and the back end fell out but wasn't noticed under the conveyor. The conveyor operator then apparently resealed the box which was still heavy with the barrels and forend, using more UPS tape. In sum, the seller gent in TX then had to backtrack with the BATF to cancel the stolen gun report, and a later police check verified it wasn't on the then current list of stolen guns. I had a good stock man do a quote for refinishing (it was a custom English walnut stock) and UPS settled up for that $ number. Lots of consternation and rework by all involved.

Long story short ..... be sure to pack well and double seal the ends with something like filament tape if using a cardboard box.

[Dean Romig]

Frank, These kinds of horror stories are what have made me decide NEVER to use corrugated when shipping guns. If my sturdy and well made wooden boxes are destroyed or opened in any way it will have been intentional.





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[keavin nelson]

Frank's comment on using the heavy duty filament tape is spot on.

[randall rosenthal]

Frank's comment on using the heavy duty filament tape is spot on.


on cardboard i use black gorilla tape. never a problem and easy to see tampering/

[randall rosenthal]

i build custom crates and pack cardboard boxes to ship somewhat fragile artwork all over the world. shotguns seems like a fairly easy thing to get right. no need to go anywhere near the lengths i go to. what i would add is you can purchase one time insurance for fairly reasonable amounts. UPS tracking and the like works great when everything goes right. when it doesn't they don't have a clue. the one time they lost something it took 6 weeks to resolve and it was sitting 15 minutes from the recipient. and never trust the stick on label...put all the info on the box too.

[Dean Romig]

Right, and I have insurance on all of my guns, even when I ship them until they arrive at their destination and ownership paperwork has been exchanged and accepted...
But, regardless of whether the value is recovered, they are still either damaged, destroyed or lost forever. I refuse to take that chance if I can build a virtually indestructible wooden box/crate.





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[Gary Cripps]

What Dean does. Wood crate-easy and sure with good foam packing material.

[Phillip Carr]

I use the Cameron boxes. They work very well. Anyone that bought a shotgun from me in the recent past had the gun shipped this way. The other way is I have custom wooden boxes built, ( I am a terrible carpenter).
I wrap the barrels, forend, and receiver in Microcloths. Held on with rubber bands, followed by a layer of bubble wrap, then fillers. ( sometimes pecans ��a) I have never had an issue. Sometimes mark Golf clubs on the box, and boxes are sealed with a fiber reinforced moisture activated tape.
Further when possible I leave off anything in the FFL’s name referencing firearms.

[Phil Yearout]

Bubble pack, sturdy cardboard box, strapping tape. Have never had an issue but maybe I've just been lucky. I once received a gun in a leg o' mutton case inside a cardboard box, no additional packing in either. Gun was fine. I also once received a $1400 fly rod in just the rod tube and bag, and the shipper didn't even insure it! It was fine too.

[Dan Steingraber]

Thoughts? Cameron Packaging in Ohio has several options.

I've received several guns in this type box with no issues. Bubble wrapped inside.
DS

[Harold Lee Pickens]

I have always shipped guns in LOM cases wrapped in bubble wrap and inside a cardboard box, black gorilla taped ends. So far never a problem, and yes cost of shipping has risen, and I never put anything on the label that would indicate that it is a gun.

[edgarspencer]

I have built 30 Walnut gun boxes for customers. Because each one is built for the specific gun, with the exception of 3, the guns are sent to me for fitting. One customer, who has ordered five boxes, has sent them to me in massive, over-built boxes, as most of these are very expensive guns.
I build my shipping boxes from 1" finished pine frames. Construction 2x4, or 2x3 are often high in moisture. Tops and bottoms are 1/4" plywood. Screws are wide head cabinet screws with torx heads.
I never wrap anything directly in bubble wrap, because bubble wrap will almost always leave a "fingerprint" of bubbles on wood, that may have have a film of preservative, oil, whatever. That fingerprint is a pain to remove.

UPS will always charge a "Special Handling Fee" of $12.00 for any out of the ordinary packaging, like Pelican cases, wooden boxes, Transit cases, etc. For this reason, all wooden boxes are wrapped, or inside, cardboard boxes. This was at the advise of the head of the UPS facility locally.
I never go to "UPS Stores" and other commercial UPS agents. I only go the the actual UPS facility. In my case, that is on the grounds of the Hartford/ Springfield airport. I always state contents as "ANTIQUE SHOTGUN-NO AMMUNITION ENCLOSED" and insure for an amount that gets their attention.

[Dean Romig]

I’m with you Edgar on every point… except the Hartford airport of course.





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[allen newell]

I use an aluminum gun case to ship and it locks tight. Indestructible

[Brian Dudley]

Thoughts? Cameron Packaging in Ohio has several options.

Cameron offers some of the best cardboard gun shipping boxes that you can get. They are heavy, large enough for any breakdown gun, and have separate sections so everything is double boxed essentially. I have several of them that I bought from them. And I have received shipments from many customers in them as well.

[Chris Pope]

I pack them in a plastic Benelli gun case adequately padded with whatever material works, bubble wrap, clean dry cotton, etc. then gorilla tape the Benelli case closed and put it inside a card board shipping box. Those plastic cases Benelli’s come in are pretty rugged.
Some really good tips in this thread. Thank you.

[Brian Dudley]

Another option is to take it to an FFL that you trust and have them pack it and ship it. If there is one that you trust around you. Some prefer this for the simple fact that the FFL likely will be much better set ip with packing materials than the individual, and some do not want to hassle with the packing and shipping of a gun one time.

[Chuck Bishop]

The Cameron box that I ordered a few years ago actually had 2 boxes. The internal box that contains the gun and an outer box that the inner box was shipped in. Very thick cardboard. Use both boxes when shipping.

[Joel Hackett]

If you don't have a hard case, I often buy the thicker pool noodles instead of bubble wrap.

If you wrap everything in paper, you can slice the noodles lengthwise and slip the barrels inside and tape them in place. You can do the same with a stock / receiver by wrapping it around the perimeter and taping in place.

The high density foam works well in suspending parts in foam when thrown around in shipping. I've used them many times in shipping heavy propeller blades without issue as well.

[randall rosenthal]

If you don't have a hard case, I often buy the thicker pool noodles instead of bubble wrap.

If you wrap everything in paper, you can slice the noodles lengthwise and slip the barrels inside and tape them in place. You can do the same with a stock / receiver by wrapping it around the perimeter and taping in place.

The high density foam works well in suspending parts in foam when thrown around in shipping. I've used them many times in shipping heavy propeller blades without issue as well.

i use pool noodles and pipe insulation also. when i ship fragile things i crate them and then put the crate in a cardboard box surrounded by bubble wrap or foam or both. if possible i hard mount to the crate. the truth is shotguns are a fairly sturdy object to begin with using common sense care should be sufficient. i would worry more about loss , theft, or mishandling.

[Stan Hillis]

i would worry more about loss , theft, or mishandling.

Mishandling is the whole reason for "O C packing" before shipping.