Marlin270
Member
I read a bunch of the "how to ship" postings on this site and others. The overall answer is that it varies.
I got two defective (cracked receivers) rifles in my last on-line order, so I had to ship them back to the dealer. I called UPS, they said "you have to take them to a UPS manned service counter." When I got there, they made me unpack it and repack it in front of them, with the clerk inspecting every piece of material looking for something besides the firearm. That office is a 20-mile drive and the hassle of repacking wasn't fun. But they did finally ship it, UPS ground. This was the first one and I didn't want to repeat that experience.
So I stopped by FedEx/Kinkos to ask if they could ship long guns. The shipping manager there said, "Ground? No problem. No ammunition, one firearm per box and you must pack it yourself." The next day, with the rifle packed, ready to go with the form they gave me filled out, the clerk (different guy) says, "No, only Next Day Air." He wanted $110 for that. So I gave up on FedEx.
Called UPS again and the new person said, "Firearms are okay ground, expect handguns. You have to use 'on call pickup' unless you have a daily pick-up account. You can't ship from the UPS store or third party vendors." So I went to their web and did an "request pickup." That worked. No unwrapping: Driver just grabbed the box and loaded it to the truck.
So one day to the next it may vary. Not much fun, but now I have some inkling of the hassle-factor. Your experience may vary.
I got two defective (cracked receivers) rifles in my last on-line order, so I had to ship them back to the dealer. I called UPS, they said "you have to take them to a UPS manned service counter." When I got there, they made me unpack it and repack it in front of them, with the clerk inspecting every piece of material looking for something besides the firearm. That office is a 20-mile drive and the hassle of repacking wasn't fun. But they did finally ship it, UPS ground. This was the first one and I didn't want to repeat that experience.
So I stopped by FedEx/Kinkos to ask if they could ship long guns. The shipping manager there said, "Ground? No problem. No ammunition, one firearm per box and you must pack it yourself." The next day, with the rifle packed, ready to go with the form they gave me filled out, the clerk (different guy) says, "No, only Next Day Air." He wanted $110 for that. So I gave up on FedEx.
Called UPS again and the new person said, "Firearms are okay ground, expect handguns. You have to use 'on call pickup' unless you have a daily pick-up account. You can't ship from the UPS store or third party vendors." So I went to their web and did an "request pickup." That worked. No unwrapping: Driver just grabbed the box and loaded it to the truck.
So one day to the next it may vary. Not much fun, but now I have some inkling of the hassle-factor. Your experience may vary.