Shipping a rifle

[gregr]

How do you guys ship a rifle back to the factory?

Here is some quick background: I need to get a rifle back to Ruger, and they said I could ship it with the scope attached. It`s a long story I don`t want to tell yet again, but this rifle has been a lot of work trying to get zeroed, and the scope has been off and on multiple times, and I just do NOT want to remove it again. So I could place the rifle w/scope in a cheapie hard case I have for shipping. It`s padded and I`ve shipped a rifle in it before, but I need to find a corrugated box that the hard case would fit into, and Ruger says not to have anything on the outer box indicating there`s a firearm inside.

Anyone done this before? Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[BugI02]

On occasion I have been able to use construction boxes that originally contained long items such as baseboard heating units or lighting or trim materials. That said, some don't have what I consider adequate rigidity, especially if what was shipped in it filled the entire interior space like wood trim

I would seriously reconsider removing the scope, unless Ruger wants to evaluate the combination for some reason. It is unlikely to hold zero in the rough and tumble of shipping and possibly ending up with a broken scope in the mix IMO isn't worth the risk. Personally, I would feel better keeping the glass in my safe. I know shipping to the factory is one of the times you can use USPS for the purpose, but also IMO now is not the time - the mail never was the picture of reliability and it has gotten far worse in the last year. As far as the rifle is concerned, bubble wrap is your friend, lots and lots of bubble wrap. Taking phone pics of how you wrap it and the completed package prior to shipping is also a good idea in the event of bad things happening

 

[IUKalash429]

Reach out to a few FFLs around you - ask for a leftover long gun shipping box that's destined for their trash/recycling.

And as Bug mentioned, bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts is a must. Think about the egg drop experiment from elementary school ... you want to stabilize your contents and prevent anything from shifting around during transit.

 

[gregr]

Ok, the rifle is on it`s way back to Ruger. I put it with the RMA paperwork into the hard case, and drove to the FedEx shipping location. They didn`t have a corrugated shipper box that the hard case would fit into. So. I drove over to a UPS shipping location. THEY had a corrugated shipper box the hard case would fit into. Far from a custom fit, but at least it fit. After MUCH bubble wrap, the hard case was secure inside the corrugated shipper with no movement.

Ugghh. What an ordeal. Now, I just hope Ruger can fix the issue. I have confidence in them however. Ruger generally makes a very fine product, and perhaps even more than that, their warranty and Customer Service are top rate.

 

[Colt556]

I need to send an M1A Super Match to SEI to be bedded into a McMillan stock and have been thinking about ways to do it. I am going to use a hard plastic gun case and cut up a hot water heater box to fit around it. Hopefully that will hold it nice and snug so it makes it to Arizona in one piece.