How I build a gun shipping crate

[Justin Urbantas]

A few years back I got fed up with shipping carriers. They managed to break 2 guns, denied liability in the damages, and refused to pay.
So, I vowed not to let that happen again. Since I started making these crates , I haven't had any damages.
 
For building materials I use 1/4" plywood, 1" rigid foam, 1x4 boards,  2" screws, 1" screws, and drywall nails.
 
Lay your gun out on the plywood, and measure  for your gun, making sure you take into account the 3/4" boards all the way around.
This one ended up being 60"x 10 1/2"

Cut your plywood however is easiest, then cut your 1x4s to length.
Drill and countersink 4 holes in your short 1x4s, then screw the 1x4s together with the 2" screws.
Nail the plywood to the 1x4s, and you've got a box.
Measure and cut your foam to line the box.
Cut another piece of foam to fit on top of the first piece.
Lay your gun on the 2nd piece of foam, and mark all around it with a sharpie.
Cut out the foam to fit your gun.
Put your gun in the box, then cut more pieces to cover it in the box. Usually scrap pieces.
Use the 1" screws to put the lid on securely.

That's about it.
You could probably drop if off of a truck, and drive over it, and the gun would be okay.
I hope this helps some of you guys out. Having a gun break in shipment is a terrible thing.

[rich pierce]

Nice. Thanks for sharing.

[smart dog]

Nice crate, Justin!
dave

[Dennis Glazener]

Same way I build mine and I have never had a gun damaged in a crate like that. You can buy that insulating board in different thickness and almost always end up with a perfect thickness to fill the crate top to bottom and have the middle sheets the exact thickness of the rifle /fowler you are shipping.
Dennis

[B.Barker]

Don't know if your way is cheaper than mine but I may try yours and see how I like it. I've been using the spray foam in my wood boxes and it has worked very well. Nice looking crate you came up with.

[Bob McBride]

That’s exactly how I do mine. Lowe’s/HD has blue 1” insulation sheets (4’x8’) that I use for the filler when I don’t just wrap it in a blanket and bubble or similar. I duct tape over the edges and corners to keep the carriers from getting splinters.

[bob in the woods]

I thought I packed the last one extremely well, and have never had any trouble in the past, however this time the gorillas who handled it managed to somehow delivery a blow to the cock that was sufficient to snap the tumbler shaft.  The box shown is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

[t.caster]

My crates are like that too, but I have always put the gun in a gunsock and wrap the gun in bubble wrap or crumpled newspaper. Never had a problem. Knock on wood.

[flehto]

I've shipped many LRs in TOW's  cardboard shipping container and have never had a damaged rifle. The container is made up  of a cardboard box and a cardboard sleeve....both are made of heavy duty cardboard. Included is a plastic foam form that fills the box  and the  inside  can be custom shaped to fit the LR. There's  a long  plastic bag that accommodates my LRs w/ 46" bbls. The only thing I supply are 2  pieces of foam that are tightly squeezed in at the Bplate and muzzle to prevent shifting. When the box is taped shut, it's slid into the sleeve which has its ends taped.

The advantages of this container is that it lightens the total weight { lower charges} and is more manageable when handled.  The buyers call me when they receive the cardboard  crate and are asked if the LR and crate  arrived undamaged and the answer has always been yes. The cost of the cardboard container was $40 ea plus shipping and I order 4 at a time...Fred

[JW]

I'm not a builder, but I've shipped 5 or 6 long guns in similar crates. Previously, I had built boxes from cardboard and they worked fine, but I felt much less anxiety using plywood and 1x4s. The only real difference in the crate above is an idea I got from a crate that Roy Stroh packed with a rifle he built for me. He used part of a foam mattress pad wrapped around the gun. Super simple and plenty of padding once the gun is encased in wood. 

USPS hasn't damaged any guns I've shipped or received. The only gun that was very nearly ruined was shipped UPS. The cardboard box was beat to Hades, but the gun was unscathed by the slimmest of margins.

[smokepole45cal]

Justin maybe I over-engineer by nature but I would also stick your crate inside a cardboard box with insulation on the ends. My shipping place showed me how when I sent my last rifle out. Not expensive, takes a few minutes, and another layer to shock-cushion the muzzle and butt during shipment and handling by workers.

[Jerry V Lape]

I build the crates pretty much as Justin with couple changes.  I have Lowes cut the plywood to dimensions needed on their in house panel saw.  Use my pneumatic brad gun to nail and glue the sides to the bottom of the plywood and the top I screw on.  At a couple places in the box I will add a couple pieces of the 4x1 as cross braces also positioned to block the gun from shifting.  I pad with heavy cardboard and put a 4 inch thick block of foam or folded cardboard on the ends to protect muzzle and butt.  No way the gun can move and the extra blocking inside makes it unlikely the container could be crushed.  I drove my SUV over the empty box to prove that to myself the first time I made one.

[Marcruger]

John Bergmann has used that concept for years.  Works super.