This ordeal is far from over. The ATF contractors following the report of stolen/missing firearms wanted my local PD to remove the rifle from the stolen list now that my gunsmith received it.
My local PD wanted "eyes on" to verify it has been returned to me and to verify the SN.
The gunsmith, more worried about ATF who controls their license, won't ship it to me until it's removed.
My local PD suggested I called the gunsmith's local PD to suggest I know where my missing/stolen firearm is.
Finally cooler heads prevailed (2 day process) and my PD removed it from the stolen list.
Now the rifle, which was damaged by UPS mishandling, will be shipped back to me tomorrow.
I'm hoping the damages are only cosmetic and the same force didn't crack the new stock. I was told I'll know when I shoot it with some full power 30-06 loads. 🤯
Meanwhile UPS has supposedly located the pistol and it's being shipped to their investigator in....wait for it...New Jersey. Once it arrives he will verify it's my missing Ruger and overnight it back to the gunsmith in OR.
Then we'll start the ordeal of who reports it recovered again.
I will never again ship a firearm through UPS without insuring it for $1000+ dollars (chain of custody minimum). I will also insist that no namea of business, etc will be listed that has any resemblance to a firearms business. Shipping in a shorter box might also help make it look like anything else other than a firearm too.
I have a sneeking suspicion that my package may have been targeted and that's why it was damaged and perhaps someone was either trying to dispose of or steal the contents
My rifle was packed by the gunsmith inside a hard plastic gun case inside a plain cardboard box. When it returned to the gunsmith the gun case was missing. The UPS investigator said it was destroyed beyond use again and disposed of. 😡
