SCORE!!! ???

[Longknife]

 I have always been fond of SXS shotguns, and own several originals and some repros too. I was really excited when I found, on line, a fine English SXS Muzzle loader by the renowned makers Lewis and Tomes.   It was in really good condition and an 8 Gauge too!!!! I paid the seller the very fair asking price and he promptly packed it up and sent it VIA United States Postal Service,,,,,,, THATS when it all went down hill!!!!

 


picture host ru

[somehippy]

Eeesh! Poor old girl.  The consolation would be at least it doesn't appear to have splintered terribly, allowing for a straight forward repair as opposed to a puzzle. 

[TN Longhunter]

Man, that would have one crying in his beer.  But as hippy stated could be a straight forward repair.  Good luck getting anything out of USPS.  I was shocked to see the wood boxes some sellers use  but they really protect the gun. Just make sure you have a good charge on your drill when you unpack.

[Mike Brooks]

Cardboard box right?

[wattlebuster]

Thats just about par for the usps/us gov. 

[sqrldog]

Most of the stuff that gets damaged does so because of poor packaging. Unfortunately the people  that handle the shipping really don't care about your package. The other thing to consider is most packages travel between usps hubs on FedEx trucks and planes. I think that should explain some of the problems encountered in shipping. Good luck with the repair or the insurance.  Tim

[Lucky R A]

      I have never had a new gun damaged, after having several wooden shipping crates badly mauled by UPS, I switched to USPS and have had no complaints.  I did have two restored antique guns broken at the wrist that were shipped to Montana.  They were shipped in the box in which the owner shipped them to me., and probably did not have enough shock absorbing material at the ends.  You have to have heavy foam at both ends of the gun inside the crate.  Handlers frequently drop the crates on the end or throw them around.  Always pack for the worse.  Cardboard boxes with guns wrapped in bubble wrap just don't cut it.   Pay the extra postage for a heavier box and there should be no problem.

[Brent English]

Sorry for your loss.  Really.  I too have bought several guns that were poorly packed that arrived broken.  You really have to pack them well.  Pack so that a gorilla can throw them out of a truck into oncoming traffic.  Wood boxes are great, but you have to augment them with lots of room for cushioning material.  Double boxes of cardboard work too, with a couple of boards placed strategically inside and again, lots of room for packing, especially at the ends.  No time to be cheap when it comes to packing a old gun.

[Pukka Bundook]

It's an awful pit they didn't dismount the barrels for shipping. A whole lot shorter and better able to stand the rigours....

[n stephenson]

Sir, I too am sorry for your tragedy !! My UPS guy told me years ago , to pack for the gorilla. I once had a 44inch barrel get separated from a pvc tube with the ends screwed in!!!  The sad part is, that most of the supposed "insurance"  they have , they come up with reasons not to pay, most often , improper packing. I`ve heard that basically , if you don`t pay them to pack it , you can forget it.  Nate

[T*O*F]

It's an awful pit they didn't dismount the barrels for shipping. A whole lot shorter and better able to stand the rigours

I was just getting ready to say the same thing.  Wrap the stock and barrels separately in several layers of newspaper, then tape them together to make them a single unit.  Then bubble wrap that.  You'd have to bend the barrels to do any damage.  Also, since shipping charges are predicated on box size as well as weight, you could use a smaller box and probably save shipping charges.

This gives me an opportunity to use a 'period correct' word I just learned.
These incidents give me a case of the fantods.

[Eric Krewson]

I had an osage bow stave that was 3"X3" broken in half by the USPS, I thought it was invincible so it was the only thing I ever shipped uninsured.

[deepcreekdale]

When my son was stationed in Alaska, lots his friends had their hunting rifles shipped to them. Many of them were coming damaged and it turned out at the Denver airport, there was a somewhat organized group that would purposely damage packages they thought contained guns. Then they started identifying the boxes as containing golf clubs and they started having less damaged guns. I realize most package handlers treat every box as if was indestructible but it might be wise not to identify shipments of firearms as such. Hope it is possible to fix that cool old shotgun.

[Buffaload]

I actually saw this go on in Salt Lake.
Ed

[dogbest]

I worked with an engineer who had worked part time at UPS while attending college.
He said the dock guys who loaded trucks hated UPS so much they would slam boxes
on the floor hoping to break the contents.

[lexington1]

That's too bad. I've have only had the one claim through the USPS and I'm totally convinced that their insurance is nothing short of a complete scam. Generally I have had good luck with them, but the one claim I had I felt was totally given the run around. I'm guessing that the same could be said of the other carriers as well, but USPS just happened to have been the one I had a problem with. Just the world we live in today 

[Dennis Glazener]

For what its worth. I have made two claims for carrier damage, one with UPS and the other with USPS Priority mail. The one made to UPS took 1 call and had the check in two weeks or so. The one with UPS took numerous calls and over 7 months before I got the check. In fairness USPS was a small $50 claim and UPS was around $340.

I have had far less damage with USPS than any other carrier.
Dennis

[Seth Isaacson]

Our UPS delivery guy likes to delivery our packaged to the next house down the road fairly often. Not to big of a deal, but I'm rather tired of paying shipping for items I have to get in the car to go pick up. Overall I've head better luck with UPS for most things. I've had items come damaged from retailers that they allowed me just to reject delivery on in the past. Anymore it seems like they avoid having to interact with you at all on delivery. I can't remember the last time they actually wanted me to sign for something like they always used to.

Now USPS I have had a few bad issues with. I had a $100 textbook disappear in the mail. Over a month after it was supposed to be delivered, I literally received one corner of the back cover of the book with signed severe water damage (looked like it had been submerged). They were so kind as to give me a note indicating my packaged had been damaged in shipping. 

[Longknife]

This was packed in a cardboard box, wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap, but as stated there was not enough padding on the ends. This gun weighs 15 lbs. and from the feel of it there is some lead weight in the butt. The box wasn't damaged at all, it appears to have been bounced on the butt end pretty hard. I talked to the seller before shipment and asked him to pack it very carefully, he told me "I haven't lost one yet and I've shipped hundreds",,,, I also asked him to insure it and he did insure it for the FIFTY BUCKS!!!!! He said he would re-imburse me for the gun but I am negotiating a fair price to keep it and repair it myself.....Ed

[albert]

bought a fine N.Lewis double rifle and when I received it from UPS , the stock was broken in half. I wanted to keep it , and finally after a few months I got half my money back ,and the gun.

[Brent English]

Wanted to share this photo of a gun I recently got from a fellow contributor here on this board.  It's a great example of how to pack a gun.  It's an inexpensive gun, but still the man took the time to respect the piece and do what needed to be done to get it to me in a safe manner.

[Dennis Glazener]

On a couple of guns that I had to ship to the west coast I made a similiar box and bought a sheet of that blue insulating board in 3/4" (or was it 1/2") thickness. I put one piece on the bottom, then glued several together for the mid-section and then used a top piece to fill the box all the way to the top. The mid-section pieces I glued together, then laid the rifle on it and drew around it with a pen. Then took my saber saw and cut the outline of the rifle out. Put this section back in and put the rifle in the cutout, then the top piece and then screwed the plywood down. The rifle was tightly held in the middle of the insulating board. They both arrived safely with no damage.
Dennis

Wanted to share this photo of a gun I recently got from a fellow contributor here on this board.  It's a great example of how to pack a gun.  It's an inexpensive gun, but still the man took the time to respect the piece and do what needed to be done to get it to me in a safe manner.