Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Should I mail my rifle to myself or check it at the airport?

I am trying to minimize the "stuff" I will have to carry into and out of the airport.
So some practice packing in the next few weeks will help me decide which way to go.

All depends on who you trust more, the airlines or the post office. It's a crap shoot either way. I've never had an issue flying with a rifle but either way can be risky.

Either way you’re depending on the airlines for the shipping. The difference lies in who they answer to. Do you suppose the airlines would rather deal with an individual, or an offshoot of the Fed Gov? Besides, the mail is not handled piecemeal by the airlines like stuff that goes as luggage; kind of hard to lose an ‘igloo’ or pallet of mail headed for somewhere. I’ve never had an issue either way, but I trust the whole air travel deal a whole lot less anymore; some of the ‘help’ seem determined to find ways to screw things up for the non-PC crowd.

I know somebody who lost two custom rifles about 20 years ago to theft during an airline flight to Alaska. The rifles were definitely loaded onto the flight which landed in Anchorage, but the rifles never arrived in the baggage area, and were never found. The airline and NRA insurance eventually compensated the hunter for about 1/3 of what the two rifles had cost.

Have heard that sort thing has happened occasionally at the Anchorage airport over the years, but would guess security improved somewhat after 9/11/2011.

Well I can use the guides rifle but that would be no fun........

Double yup.

I have done this a couple of times in the past. It costs a bit more than flying your rifle as luggage, but FedEx will get your rifle there AND with adequate insurance coverage to replace your rifle if they break/lose it. Try THAT with American Airlines, you might get a $500 check out of them for your $2000 rifle/scope combo.

Just be sure you're shipping to a physical address where people live. I once sent a rifle to an outfitter in Texas, and the address he gave me was for the ranch where we were going to hunt, not his house. UPS left my rifle leaning up against the locked gate on a paved highway for 2 days before the outfitter showed up and collected it. Fortunately, people in rural Texas respect other folks' property a bit better than city folks, or I'd be out one Winchester/Leupy combo.

Not to argue with you Doc, but FedEx is not well thought in Alaska in my experience. Expensive, poor CS, limited service to bush communities, and did I mention expensive.

As I pointed out previously, FedEx arrives via USPS in rural places. I can’t imagine a better way to lose track of stuff than to use a ‘hybrid’ shipping method.

I had to use FedEx to ship a revolver back for warranty repair. That meant waiting until I flew into Anchorage on other business. When they returned it, it came in by FedEx where it was received at the Post Office, perhaps a violation of Federal law.

I mailed a rifle and shotgun to Fairbanks via USPS last fall, priority mail and insured. They arrived in three days in the same shape that they left here. It has become such a pain in the ass to get a firearm to a UPS facility that will accept it for shipment, that I have given up on them.

I have been using USPS exclusively for over a year now, and so far no horror stories. The only shipper that has lost firearms that I shipped has been UPS. The followup is neither prompt nor customer friendly.

Do you guys also mail your ammo?

It's expensive and a PITA to mail ammo to and from Alaska. I carry it in my checked luggage. I've never had a problem other than TSA likes to open the ammo boxes then wrap them in several layers of security tape. Some of my ammo boxes have so many layers of security tape their probably water proof.

That's the exact opposite of my experience here. My local USPS locations will refuse service and the UPS people, not the franchise stores, are easy to work with.

Maybe I'll check the rifle and mail some of the clothes instead?

I’ve mailed rifles in corrugated cardboard several times without any issues. Often the postal people do want to discuss firearms under those circumstances, even in plain cartons however. Last fall I made a simple crate from 1x4s and 1/4” plywood. It didn’t look like the usual ‘gun box’. Then I stapled cardboard to all the edges (to cover rough corners). The counter folks looked like at it like it was full of table legs or something, not a peep or skeptical glance. The only way to open it was to remove screws; pretty secure. I’ll certainly be doing that again.