The US postal service scores again

[Buckshot Bob]

 

[Sedalia Dave]

YEP insuring firearms for shipment is a waste of money. Doesn't matter if it is USPS, FedEx, or UPS. You'll have to fight tooth and nail to get a claim approved and if they do they keep the firearm.

[Pat Riot]

3/8s to a half an inch? The man needs some calibration of the eyeballs. 
 

I’d bet that rifle box was on a pallet on a forklift or on some machine sticking out a bit and rammed into something. 
 

 

[Pat Riot]

1 minute ago, Sedalia Dave said:

YEP insuring firearms for shipment is a waste of money. Doesn't matter if it is USPS, FedEx, or UPS. You'll have to fight tooth and nail to get a claim approved and if they do they keep the firearm.

Years ago I was shipping some crystal figurines by USPS. The man at the counter asked if I wanted insurance. I paid a little over $700 for these two figurines, but I bought them in Germany. I asked if I could insure them for $2000. The man said said “Sure, but good luck getting that amount from the post office.” He then went on to explain the hassle of getting money from the USPS for an insured package. 
It takes months to settle a claim. The USPS is “self-insured”. They foot the bill on claims and they have people whose job it is to dispute claims and drag their feet for months before honoring a claim. 
I thanked the man and took my figurines to FedEx. I understand they’re a little easier to get insurance claims settled, but luckily I have never had to test that. 

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

Here's a thought. TAKE OFF THE BUTTSTOCK! That would eliminate a much of the leverage needed to break the gun. Plus it would shorten the package. Personally I also put a couple of broomstick handles in there for extra support. With shotguns I also disassembled the gun as much as I could to shorten it, especially doubles. Worked for me.

[Sedalia Dave]

8 hours ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

Here's a thought. TAKE OFF THE BUTTSTOCK! That would eliminate a much of the leverage needed to break the gun. Plus it would shorten the package. Personally I also put a couple of broomstick handles in there for extra support. With shotguns I also disassembled the gun as much as I could to shorten it, especially doubles. Worked for me.

 

Me too.

[Pat Riot]

5 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Me too.

 

8 hours ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

Here's a thought. TAKE OFF THE BUTTSTOCK! That would eliminate a much of the leverage needed to break the gun. Plus it would shorten the package. Personally I also put a couple of broomstick handles in there for extra support. With shotguns I also disassembled the gun as much as I could to shorten it, especially doubles. Worked for me.

Very good ideas. Thank you. 
 

Something that I have noticed that Ruger does when you send them a long gun is this:

They want you to ship your gun in the box it came in. When they ship it back they put your gun in the original box then put it in another tight fitting heavy duty box. It makes for a pretty secure set up. Also, they don’t use USPS.

 

I cannot tell you how many boxes I have received vis USPS that arrived dang near destroyed over the years. Also, I have received packaged that were wet or that had obviously gotten wet. USPS seems to go out of their way to damage boxes coming from or going to firearms / shooting sports related businesses. 

[Eyesa Horg]

8 hours ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

Here's a thought. TAKE OFF THE BUTTSTOCK! That would eliminate a much of the leverage needed to break the gun. Plus it would shorten the package. Personally I also put a couple of broomstick handles in there for extra support. With shotguns I also disassembled the gun as much as I could to shorten it, especially doubles. Worked for me.

+1, done that myself. Had a '97 returned to me by a smith that should have known better with no packing whatsoever!!! Just thrown in the same box I sent it out in. The barrel was sticking out the end of the box when UPS delivered it. Other than some screwdriver scratches from the smith, no damage except a couple nicks at the muzzle. And he supposedly built the gun in the first place!

[Texas Maverick]

16 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

3/8s to a half an inch? The man needs some calibration of the eyeballs. 
 

I’d bet that rifle box was on a pallet on a forklift or on some machine sticking out a bit and rammed into something. 
 

 

i was also questioning comment that someone tossed it out of the truck to a buddy that missed it and it was going 50 mph. Now that would be a very strong gorilla to toss it that fast. I also agree they had to have run it into something somehow to do that much damage. Just careless handling.

 

TM

Edited October 20, 2024 by Texas Maverick

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Texas Maverick said:

i was also questioning comment that someone tossed it out of the truck to a buddy that missed it and it was going 50 mph. Now would would be a very strong gorilla to toss it that fast. I also agree they had to have run it into something somehow to do that much damage. Just careless handling.

 

TM

I found a video of various postal equipment in operation. The narration is annoying and it starts off talking about model collecting, but some of the conveyors could damage a gun that gets sideways and then has other packages slamming into it. 
 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

46 minutes ago, Pat Riot said:

I found a video of various postal equipment in operation. The narration is annoying and it starts off talking about model collecting, but some of the conveyors could damage a gun that gets sideways and then has other packages slamming into it. 
 

 

Just imagine what happens to fragile items when your 65# box of bullets drops out of the bin on top of them.

[Buckshot Bob]

16 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Just imagine what happens to fragile items when your 65# box of bullets drops out of the bin on top of them.

There’s probably not too many of the “if it fits it ships boxes” that are heavier than a box full of lead 

[Pat Riot]

5 minutes ago, Buckshot Bob said:

There’s probably not too many of the “if it fits it ships boxes” that are heavier than a box full of lead 

When I order from Bear Creek Supply I always order enough to fill an “if it fits it ships box” and they are heavy. The USPS tears these boxes up, but to their credit they tape them up and send them on. Once I lost 5 bullets from a damaged box containing 2500 bullets. Not bad for a box that was torn apart, reassembled and taped up with a roll of packing tape. That tape was on there thick. 

[watab kid]

they broke a near perfect 100 year old collectible rifle for me back in the early 2000s , lesson learned was package then add more packaging , they are brutes 

[J.D. Daily]

I have noticed that some shippers place sensitive items in original package inside a much larger box filled with crumpled package wrapping paper.  Woodward Governor company in the years I worked for a CAT engine dealer packed electronic controls and small governors & actuators in a cardboard box.  They first added to the box urethane foam, covered with a plastic sheet then placed the item in the box before the foam hardens. They then place a plastic sheet over the item then add more foam to fill the box.   The item was protected from any possible physical damage from shipping by truck or rail.  Shipping by rail is rougher that over the road.  Normal peak G loading is 7 G's from humping rail cars in a freight depot.

[sassnetguy50]

6 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said:

I have noticed that some shippers place sensitive items in original package inside a much larger box filled with crumpled package wrapping paper.  Woodward Governor company in the years I worked for a CAT engine dealer packed electronic controls and small governors & actuators in a cardboard box.  They first added to the box urethane foam, covered with a plastic sheet then placed the item in the box before the foam hardens. They then place a plastic sheet over the item then add more foam to fill the box.   The item was protected from any possible physical damage from shipping by truck or rail.  Shipping by rail is rougher that over the road.  Normal peak G loading is 7 G's from humping rail cars in a freight depot.

As a mechanic, I hated that.  As a shipping manager, I repeatedly put in purchase requests for it.

 

Found my parts via USPS (7:11 in the video)

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Bubble wrap is your friend 

[Sedalia Dave]

1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Bubble wrap is your friend 

 

Bubble wrap and packing peanuts are only good for items that do not have any fragile protrusions.

 

Personally I have had the best luck shipping very fragile items by packing them in sawdust.  Wrap them in thin plastic garbage bags to keep the dust off. Start with a box that leaves at least 3 inches of space all around the item. If the box is made of lightweight cardboard cut some additional cardboard to fit inside to strengthen the box. Put a layer of sawdust in the bottom of the box then set the item in on the sawdust. Continue to fill the box with sawdust, making sure it is gently packed around the item.  If the item is hollow like a glass box open the lid and fill the interior with sawdust as well. 

 

Shipped lots a exceptionally fragile items around the world this way with no breakage.

Edited October 21, 2024 by Sedalia Dave

[Cypress Sun]

Have to prevent the shipped object from gaining inertia within the packaging. If you don't want a long, heavy cylindrical object (like a long gun barrel) from puncturing the end of the box, place a small square/rectangle piece of 1/4" wood at the end of the barrel. The key is to make sure that the object can't move within the packaging. Better yet, remove the stock from the rest of the gun and use it to fortify the strength of the package. Objectively formed foam is your friend.