Jerry, I am retired from Fed Ex as I mentioned. Any company can have a damaged or lost item and one of the worst calls I ever had to make, and I went to the customer, was to tell the family that a cherished and high dollar shotgun was lost. I had no idea but that it was stolen. Fed Ex hires many veterans and Fred Smith is a two tour Vietnam Vet., flying some very tough missions. I know him personally and if there is a real John Wayne type in the shipping business, it is him. Unfortunately, we know there are employees hired with the express purpose to have an opportunity to steal or damage, very sad but true. I hope they can repair your barrels, I worry every time I ship a firearm so I always over insure one.

Al...Thanks..With problems, I always like to start at the top..saves explaining the situation several times. Do you have a contact number and name..just in case we have problems ?..thanks..Jerry..

I once saw a B grade snapped at the wrist that was an Annie Oakley gun, it went through the post office with NO insurance. Pack well and over insure. If you have ever spoken face to face with an irate anti-gun nut, you know what a lot of people are capable of....you will never understand it, just over insure to prevent your loss but I know money can't replace what you can loose.

Call 1-800-463-3339. That is 1800GoFedEx. They can help you to file or follow-up on a claim. I do not have a name, many of my old group are retired. Good Luck, yours is a tough situation, I know it looks like someone did it intentionally and had to work at getting access to the barrels but the hard question will be was it a Fed Ex employee or someone else, I honestly don't know how their policy will look at it. I just know for sure Fed Ex has many good people and you can expect them to want to do the right thing. When I was there we felt like we worked for Fred, like the old Ford Motor folks felt they worked for the Ford family, not just a company.

You just stated.."pack well..and overinsure"...Then.."I don't know how FEDEX will look at it" If we purchased insurance...which we did ($1000)..and the item was not damaged when it was given to FEDEX..how could anyone BUT a FEDEX employee have done the damage ? PVC pipe doesn't bend or dent...The tube would have had to be broken for the damage to be done. So...how else could a dent like that be done without removing the barrel..then replacing it...I'm sure they will fight it..But...so will I...

Take photos of the tape on the open end of the PC pipe and send them to the smith. Are they the same type of tape and is it in the pattern he used to seal the container?

I mentioned to Breck when I called him that it looked like there was more tape on the end than I had originally put on. Clear packing tape ..so...The other end has a PVC cap on..permanently...That tube has been to Calif. a couple times..Georgia..and a couple trips to Missouri..and now Virginia..With all the gun haters in Virginia, there are probably hundreds of suspects !!!

I am changing the way I ship barrels because of this incident. Barrels will be packed in presence of FeDEx clerk and then marked “Previously inspected. Do not Open” . Insurance requires inspection. Barrels will be placed in triangle shipping tube, then PVC pipe, then cardboard shipping box. All three layers will be sealed with tamper evident tape.
Can’t prove it, but I strongly suspect that the barrels that were removed from the packaging during shipment, and that is when they were damaged.
Any insurance money collected from the claim that is in process will be sent to the gun owner to defray any loss in the guns value.

I think that's a pretty sound plan.

Considering this new shipping case.
 

This may slip past the social justice warriors.