I've got a muzzleloader that a buddy back east wants, so it'll need shipped.
I've heard and seen enough bad experiences that I'm leary.

Any recommendations on which shipper and what I can expect to pay?

Thanks

All shippers can have bubba working the docks. Double box it in a cheap plastic case, then in a cardboard box. Bubble wrap and insurance help.
If you can easily separate the barrel from the stock, that helps prevent split stocks.
I just shipped a Hawken stock only to CO yesterday, and it was 22 bucks with 100 insurance from PA. A full gun with double box may go 20 pounds, and I guess 50 bucks with insurance. I personally like FEDEX ground because I know the girls there, and they are always helpful.

Thanks Terry, I'll be checking with FedEx.

The last ones I shipped went via USPS without a hitch.

I'm liking FedEx Ground, too. Ditto stock removal unless the barrel is pinned in place and a PIA to remove. The last gun I got in the mail came from CA via FedEx, and the gentleman buttressed the inside of the cardboard box with ½x4" pine on the sides/ends and with 1/4" hardboard top and bottom, screwed in place. It cost him, like, $35 for shipping. The box showed some mis-handling but the gun inside was pristine. What's a couple more bucks for shipping if some added wood reinforcement will guarantee safe arrival (and it's cheaper than an el-cheapo plastic hard case- some of which I've seen I wouldn't trust to survive any of the carriers horny handed package sorters).

I've also taken to lining the inside of medium flat rate USPS boxes to protect the contents, with 1/4" plywood. I figure what the heck, weight is no concern with those boxes- if it fits, it ships.

What's weird is the way gun makers ship their product- in cardboard boxes, sometimes with styrofoam liners, but sometimes just packed in paper wadding. Friends with LGS's say they never get a damaged shipment. Go figure.

i've shipped over 100 mler's to members on this site. i will ship most broken down.shorter the box the less it looks like a gun and i less likely to get broken. i either ship in a old gun box or i make my own box. take a gun box apart and reverse it and put it back together. that way no logo's show.if i have to make a box i rip 3/8 plywood on my tablesaw into strips what ever thickness i need the box. nail it together and staple cardboard on one side. pack it full the staple the other side on.i tape the whole box to make sure it doesn't come open.

i ship priority mail,insured on everything gun i ship.priority gets it there fast,longer it being hauled the more chance it can be stolen or damaged.i've only had one box busted in over a 100 mler's.

Gentlemen,
Thanks for the shipping tips, it's exactly what I was looking for.
I'll be working on the shipping carton with a little less trepidation.

I double box mine, they give away the boxes at the gun store I trade with. Tape hell out of both boxes. Bubble wrap gun.

Ditto on the FedEx, full insurance, at oeast 1-piece of strapping or other along stock, shipped apart, and well padded. Haven't shipped 100, but 0 issues so far.