what shipping company to use for shipping a rifle action

[Chrismadrid]

Barrels are exotic tubes until they're proofed.

[davewilson]

Bob, you say they don't seem to want to talk to the wrench, or they can't talk very well with the wrench in their mouth?

[dog caller]

I happen to know a little bit about this since I have been gainfully employed by UPS for about 18 years [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] If you are shipping an actual rifle, the only way and individual can legally ship it is to ship it to an FFL holder. Most gunsmiths have an FFL, so this should not be a problem. Just have your smith fax you (or e-mail you) a copy of his FFL and take it with you when you ship it. I concur that you need to take it to your local UPS center and NOT to a UPS Store or a Mail Boxes Etc. Ask your driver where his center is and take it there. Since an un-barreled, action is still considered "Controlled" by the BATF, the same requirements are in effect. A good alternative to Next Day Air (which is quite expensive) is Next Day Air Saver. It is still handled by a smaller amount of people, still guaranteed delivery the next day but has no commitment time (as opposed to 10:30 AM or 12:00AM or whatever your zip codes time happens to be). 2nd Day Air and 3 Day Select are also good alternatives at a MUCH more reasonable price. The main reason you should honestly describe the contents of a package is because of the insurance. If you fail to accurately describe the contents, good luck on UPS paying a claim if the product is lost or damaged. Just my .02 woth but I think you are better off going by the book. I sent some 300 H and H brass to a member of this board not too long ago. On the description, I just put down "brass stuff". When the guy in FL got the brass, he said it looked like it had been run over by Dale Jarrett! Some of it was not salvagable. Had I accurately described the contents, I could have filed a claim and got paid for the damaged brass (up to $100 without any extra insurance costs). Since I didn't, however, I was stuck with owing Keith an apology and nothing else. I knew I didn't like Dale Jarrett for some reason [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Hope this helped!

BTW, buffalobob, "alloy cylinders" is good [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[mo30284]

I'm a driver for UPS. A good hint is when you fill out the shipping label, I'll use Kirby Allen as an example. Put Kirby Allen Inc. not Kirby Allen custom guns or gunsmith!!! In big Hubs this will keep the thief's from thinking it's a gun. It's also smart to pay extra 1.50 and get an adult signature required. This will help in case the main UPS driver is off or on vacation from leaving it on the porch, because some gunsmiths work out of there houses and the fill in driver might not know that a gunsmith lives there. It also let's the driver know that it is something of value, and can't be left with out a signature.