doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sold my Greener hammergun,opinions on shipping?

hello there lads,
It looks like I sold my old greener hammer pigeon gun.
Now, I realize this has been hashed over many times before, but I am looking for the best, well lets say,less accident prone & best in getting your insurance dollars back if the shit hits the fan.
I will be making a box, something with perhaps a 1"x 3/4" pine frame with 1/4"ply sides, whatever, it will be all screwed together, & will be custom lined with multiple slabs of 1" Styrofoam insulation, as much as it takes for me to feel its good.
This will be one solid, well made box.
If this seems overkill, perhaps it is, but I have loved this gun for close to 20 years, and want her to get there in one, well actually three, pieces ):...so what do you reckon? fedx , ups, Usps. I trust my box, but looking for bestif things turn ugly
thanks
franc

It is very hard to beat USPS priority mail in my opinion. But I have never had a problem so I can't address your query about making a claim against them.

I made a similar box - I used decking cedar (a little lighter than pine). I glued the bottom and side joints, in addition to screws. That box was for a Joseph Lang double rifle and I sent it Registered mail in that instance. It was VERY slow, but VERY secure. I followed on tracking as it was signed in and out of every stop along the way. If you elect to go this way, shoot me a PM.

Why go to all that trouble, Buy a plastic takedown case that is foam lined, make sure you get the card board box. ship it priority mail or registered mail. I have shipped many and received many shipped that way. Only had one damaged and that was by UPS.

The way you packed it I'm sure you could ship it by towboat on the Erie Canal and it would be just fine!...Geo

Hello Brent,
yes, the wife n I have an ebay store, & nothing has gone awol in 3 years or so.The tracking thing is the way to go for sure.
I will be nervous whatever way it goes.
Please comment guys, especially about when things go wrong,
cheers
franc

Frank when you build your box, put a wooden divider between the barrel and butt/action. Not just to keep them separate but also to reduce crushing possibilities for that 1/4" ply. Doesn't really need to be screwed or glued, but it can be.

Your Greener is a great gun. I was sorely tempted since I have recently bought a Greener hammerless from just about the same era (sold 1903, built 1901 or 2 as I recall). It would be nice to have a hammer and hammerless brace of similar guns.

I use Priority Mail almost exclusively. It's easier, faster, and cheaper and I have had zero incidents with over 100 guns. I'd recommend going down to Wally World or similar and buying a hard plastic case, then boxing that up. Simpler, lighter, and as strong as wood. But much lighter for shipping, and the buyer can reuse it!

I'd ship it in a one piece cheap plastic Walmart gun case taped shut then bubble wrapped inside a larger cardboard box.

You ship a gun in two pieces inside the same container you could be asking for trouble.

Priority mail works for me. Packing well as you describe is 99% of the job. Friend pointed out to me if I was happy dropping the gun from three feet to the floor in my package the gorillas in shipping could not harm it. I ship a lot of guns wrapped in a dense foam taped to each part, then place them in a LOM case and or hard plastic case which is double boxed in cardboard. I want both soft then hard layers protecting the gun. The cost is extra weight and increased shipping cost but be honest. You will never collect what it�s worth if it gets damaged in shipping. So over pack and be happy.

I have adopted a PVC pipe approach

I put the barrel in a gun sock, then a thin bubble wrap, then into a length of PVC pipe. On the stock I gun sock it, bubble wrap and into a slotted above drain pipe.

I put all the pipes into a larger box, wrapped and padded heavily.

I realize it is overkill, and creates a heavier, larger box to ship, but it has served me well.

On shipping service, I have used UPS (cannot say for sure that is best, but has worked well)

I like FedEx, insured for full amount.

Wrap the barrels/forend and frame/buttstock separately in multiple layers of this:
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/...-cloths/1431741

Ship in this https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Pillared-Ta...KGGDF7P3JHYNJQC
inside the cardboard box in comes in, sprayed over with this to hide all reference to a firearm:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Flat-Khaki-Spray-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-11-oz/1000459669

Relatively cheap, very effective, and easy.
JR

As others have stated, the package needs to with stand being dropped from 3 feet & crushing.
My experience is that when dropped it lands on a corner, so pay particular attention to corner strength.
The crushing will come from being walked on, so proof for that.
Many is the delivery I get with boot prints on it, corners busted out & speared through with a fork lift tyne.

But worry not.

O.M

The good news, with Amazon Prime, the case in the below link can be shipped to your house in a cardboard box for about $25. The bad news is that despite a foam lined box, my seller didn't break the gun down and wrap in paper or bubble wrap the stock and barrel separately to prevent shifting. Heavens knows how the USPS did this to the gun in breaking it down into two pieces, but not the two pieces Ithaca intended. The big difference between Priority and Registered is that with Registered, each person in the USPS chain who handles the gun must sign for it. Not so with Priority. I sent a gun off for repair a month ago and the only reason it went Priority instead of Registered is because the clerk couldn't find the ink stamp to mark the taped seams. It got there, though.

https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Rimfire-Sporting-Black-Large/dp/B00KJNIY24/ref=sr_1_16?crid=3LTX23WX72TAC&keywords=plano+gun+case&qid=1550527716&s=gateway&sprefix=Plano%2Caps%2C616&sr=8-16

Actually the opposite is true. Shipping a gun assembled in one piece in a cheap plastic case is the best way of getting the stock cracked. Seen it numerous times. The case gets bent, and the stock is the first to give. Putting a 2x4 in the box with the case will prevent that.

I still takedown every gun I ship if possible and ensure they are separated well.

Yup, exactly. I can't imagine shipping a normal double with the barrels mounted to the receiver.

Hello jOe
I know you have had some really nicer, and much more expensive guns than mine,a lovely old Scott, & was it a Purdey? but did you just really....

"ship it in a one piece cheap plastic Walmart gun case taped shut then bubble wrapped inside a larger cardboard box
You ship a gun in two pieces inside the same container you could be asking for trouble."

That seems a little cheap even for a gun like mine...now no harm meant, mate, really.
But I'm going for oVerbUilt
cheers
franc

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." Archimedes

"Ship a shotgun assembled and I will break the stock."
Cliff the Mailman. Cheers!


Gil

you can get a 4'x 8' x 1" sheet of polystyrene for about $15, its a great deal for packing stuff
cheers
franc

I cannot speak for HojOe, but I believe what he told you is correct, due to my past experiences. The last several I have bought have come exactly like he said, and in perfect condition. Sometimes we overthink something. I've accumulated several of those cheap, plastic cases now. And, the next one I ship will be shipped out the same way I have been receiving them. Last one was in one of those cheap, plastic, closed cell eggshell foam cases, with each component separately wrapped in bubble wrap inside it. I don't think you can improve on that.

SRH

Long cases beg to be bent into a arch. I received a muzzleloader last year shipped in a long cardboard box. Even though well wrapped in bubble plastic, the box arrived with a bow in it.

The one piece stock was broken clear through out in the 'forend' area. Looked almost like the ends were set on separate stacks and someone heavy used it as a foot log...Geo

You have to put it in a stout bigger box with about 3 or 4 inches of clearance all the way around.
Guy shipped me a Fox 20 ga. on trade ....he shipped it in two pieces with each piece bubble wrapped...when it got here it had a massive dent in one barrel where the contents had shifted.

Needless to say it went back faster than it came.

A while back I shipped a 32" Winchester unsingle in one piece inside a cheap plastic gun box bubble wrapped inside a bigger box. I've shipped several shotguns in one piece without any problems....but I do have common sense when it comes to things like shipping.

well thanks for your input lads,
I guess I'll just have to do what I think is best
cheers
franc

I ship barrels in a 32" long, 3.5", OD .25" wall thickness PVC pipe capped at both ends with one end glued in place, the other taped. Barrels are wrapped in cloth. The outgoing address was originally written in indelible Sharpie on the outside with a layer of clear tape over the ink. On one occasion it went inside a box with the stock bubble wrapped. The pipe has been shipped so many times back and forth with shipping labels taped over that it brings to my mind one of those Victorian era steamer trunks plastered with shipping labels. Gil
P.S. Then there's the story of canvasback receiving an assembled gun in a box from France without a stitch of cushioning.

Gil, I received a I. Hollis gun, from McDonald's Gunshop in Australia, many years ago in a cardboard box with nothing else but newspaper wrapping for the components.

Perfect condition. Go figure.

SRH

There it is.

O.M

Quite possibly.

SRH

I ship quite a few guns and have had good luck with the method I have developed. I break down the gun and put the 4end back on the barrels. I have had felt sleeves made for the 2 halves . Each half goes in a felt sleeve and is wrapped with stretch wrap. Then each half is wrapped in foam padding and secured with stretch wrap. Then the two half are secured together with stretch wrap. This is the placed in a 6x6x36 double wall carton with bubble wrap to take up any remaining space. The result is 2 parts enclosed securely that cant move or come in contact with each other inside a rigid carton that does not look like a gun.

I don't want the carriers to take this as a challenge but so far this has worked with lots of guns getting to the destination without damage. The moral of the story is over packing is your best insurance.

Hammerguns need special attention to ensure the hammers are protected .

I used to use Plano take down cases inside a carton and had good luck with them as well but the expense and space they take up got to be too much

Yes I think jOe got it almost right. I ship my guns broken down and bubble wrapped in a Benelli take down case and wrapped again in an outer package. Not sure that intact or broken down is significant but the length of an intact gun makes me uncomfortable. Have sent guns all over the US and Canada and so far no problems what so ever. I do prefer the public mailing companies over the private ones.

Here�s what may happen when a gun is shipped put together. A fabulous 16 gauge George Abbey hammergun with a rising bite action and a Purdey style thumb lever. Seller sent during the Christmas holiday in a very strong cardboard box and in crushable foam. But UPS managed to bend the long box and presto! a three piece gun!

Gil, there were two guns in there but don't remind me.

I use the PVC tube for the barrels and forend. The tube goes in a 6x6x36 box along with the stock/receiver. Each component is carefully wrapped in cloth and then bubble wrap and is packed into the tube and the box so that there is zero movement.

The tube not only protects the barrels very effectively but being inside the cardboard box, it lends a significant amount of strength to the box and protects the stock/receiver in that way. I've never had any hint of a problem except the complaints about how hard it is to unpack. LOL Pretty sure those complaints would be worse and more heartfelt if their newly purchased gun was damaged.

BTW, It was PA24 who got me onto the PVC tube idea.

Pretty sure I first used a PVC pipe to ship barrels about 1980. It does work well.
JR

Thanks all of you,
I've looked at those amazon plano type cases, I just dont think they have enough depth for a hammergun, as they are often only 4" or so deep, probably less tham an 1" room for padding either side of hammers, I want more than that. It will be taken down to the three parts. To me, shorter is stronger, less places to bend n snap.
I will picture my creation when I send it off next week,
cheers
all,
franc

Put that inside a bigger box.

Break it down into TWO pieces and wrap securely and send it USPS
PRIORITY MAIL.

Hi Stallones,
I guess your meaning, forend on the bbls as one piece?.
As Stan said, one can over think things, but You gotta do what you think is best
over n out till i have box pics,
cheers
franc

YES KEEP THE FOREND ATTACHED AND WRAP WELL. I SEND ALL MY ANTIQUES USPS PRIORITY