Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds Best way ship a rifle - UPS vs USPS ?

UPS.. forget the post office

When I have shipped it's been usps with no problems. Nearest ups hub is 38 miles and only open from 3-6pm

I will never spend another penny with the post office as long as I live. Use at your own (Very Large) risk.

Big Brown can't be beat.

UPS - Open and account and schedule a pickup from your house. Package it very, very well with whoever you use

https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/packaging-and-supplies/special-care-shipments/firearms.page

I now realize this should be a post of it's own.

More Great info, thanks folks, will let you know how things turn out. All good points.

Cullbuck, I'm sure if you post a new post you can get man great answers, lots of folks willing to help. As to the FFL, all guns coming in or going out have gone to FFL holders.......it's the law to my knowledge on all shipments, unless perhaps you send a firearm to be repaired and they ship it directly back to you. That's what I believe to be true, but confirm.

Welcome to 24hr, and do put up a new post, just copy/paste what you wrote.

Thanks again folks!

I went with USPS since they were close, all went well,

Shipped on 9/16 - due on 9/22 after the weekend......arrived on 9/23, so one Wed. to the next Wed.

Cost $ 30.05 - went Ground and added insurance.

Hope that helps someone.

As Bob Hagle used to say about the 338 for elk:
Its what happens and what you need after EVERYTHING goes wrong. Sure it depends on locale and
your local UPS-USPS office & employees.


BUT-if you have a shipping problem with UPS-or damage. GOOD LUCK!
USPS bring your insurance receipt -you are good and safe-not so UPS. They are a Teamsters shop.
I will ship UPS when they tell me Jimmy Hoffa was killed by a grizzly in the Yukon and the body can be viewed in the casket at RCMP Headquarters.

Signed: Former UPS employee.

That’s the first time I heard that USPS was better than UPS...

especially lately - nobody has had any problems with USPS ... (cue the lightning bolt)

I've had good luck going USPS on the ~25 long guns I've shipped over the last several years (two in the last month). It's a convienience factor as going to the UPS hubs is a PIA for me. I always take a copy of the FFL they are going to with me in case I encounter a clerk that reacts to a firearm being shipped as if it's kryptonite. Or if I'm shipping a firearm in for repair I take a copy of their website and a print out of the ATF rules that allow that to be done.

Back when I had an FFL had one rifle damaged that was shipped to me via UPS (stock was broken at the wrist). It was a huge hassle dealing with the UPS insurance claims people.


No matter who you go with.....pack and box it up properly and insure it for full amount!

This has not been my experience; at all. Quite the opposite in fact.
I still use USPS, but I think the insurance is a waste of money. Much better to use the additional funds to package well with a hard case (Plano, etc).

I like USPS Registered Mail for long guns.

Edited to add:

PITA packaging requirements notwithstanding.

I'll pile on here. Just back from shipping a heavy item I sold on ebay (non firearm). Total of about 50# to the Left Coast from Florida. With insurance: $160. And then the clerk said the insurance would only cover it if it was lost as I had used the mfg original box rather than reboxing in a new box!

Took off the insurance and it was still $111. How the hell is everyone offering free shipping nowadays???

I've been cleaning out the closet and shipping out scopes and other stuff via USPS. Except for one letter I spent $10 on for 2-day delivery that arrived 5 days later, everything else has been timely and trackable.

Shipped a rifle with USPS on the 4th and it still hasn't arrived at it's destination. Fully insured USPS priority with signature required. Just sold another one over the weekend I'm gonna try UPS this go around.

Shipped a long gun to Indiana from LA the 24th via Registered Mail.

Smith called earlier today to say it had arrived in fine shape.

Edited to add: ~$70 postage and insurance.

I always use USPS. 40 miles one way to a UPS hub eliminates them.
I never provide insurance. If the buyer wants insurance it is in addition to the shipping charge.

Why is it nobody seems to use Fed Ex?

I tried to use Fedex before shipping the rifle I previously mentioned with USPS. When they found out it was a firearm they said that I could only ship it from a Fedex hub not the store. The way the guy was talking it sounded mostly like he was afraid that there was a firearm inside and that he was making policies up because he told me three different things.

I looked up Fedex's policy on long guns when I got home and it turned out that my method of shipping wasn't compliant with their rules but not for the reasons the clerk had stated. Basically it says an individual can ship to an FFL but the package must be sent as next day which would have put the shipping at about $150.

I'm sure you could ship it some other way but if anything were to happen to it they would probably say that they were not liable since you used the wrong method of shipping.

I just shipped a rifle via FedEx last week, from their closest hub (to comply with that rule). You CAN ship rifles to an FFL-holder using FedEx Ground. Handguns are the ones that must go overnight.

Even using Ground, that shipment took only about 3 days to arrive.

-Chris