shipping question

[Double Trouble]

I wonder why USPS balks at shipping antique rifles ? (I know they won't ship modern handguns...) UPS will ship ALL antique arms.

Last time I shipped a shotgun, I wrapped the barrels in bubble wrap & slid them into a rigid cardboard shipping tube. I removed the locks (it was a sidelock hammer gun) and bubble wrapped the heck out of the action/buttstock. Then, in a small cardboard box, I placed the forearm and the locks, each one bubble wrapped. Then, all three parcels were packed into a typical shipping box (firmly packed with packing peanuts).

I would have loved to had seen the look on the person's face when they opened it - I'm sure they thought I was nuts ! It was sent to a gunsmith - to repair hammer damage (probably caused during a previous shipment) and lock work.

It certainly arrived safely !

[J.B. Books]

Last year I had a gun I purchased on the west coast shipped to me using USPS. This is a valuable piece so I shipped the seller a Browning hardcase to use to mail it back to me. Thank God I did. The case was well packed but the package was struck by something that punctured the cardboard box, went through the bubble wrap and damaged the hard case (broke the wood or fiberboard under the faux leather) but did not strike the gun.

Cardboard and bubblewrap and peanuts ain't always gonna be enough!