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.

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

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

Eric how close do you live to Brad Bachelder?

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

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.

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.

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/bla...ry?id=12244017
Happy Mailing