Sending out my rifle for a new barrel. My smith I normally use is within driving distance so haven’t done this in a while. Curious if the Fire has a opinion on what cost effective hard case is worth amazoning? Shipping this out Friday, stocked rifle and my supplied barrel. Also is the best option still USPS? Again, it’s been a while.

I spose were it me I would manufacture my own case with some of that pink foam construction board and some scrap lumber and put a simple rope or leather handle on it......

Buy the cheapest one. They come to you from Amazon packed in a cardboard box. Put your rifle in the case, put that in the box, fill the voids with paper, plastic peanuts, whatever packing you have, send it off USPS Easy Peasy.

Another option would be UPS used to sell a 6x6x48" cardboard box, if that's long enough. Rifle in a soft case, packing material around the soft case. Used that method a number of times with good results.

^^^^^^What Mr. Jnyork said!.....that’s how I would do it, and have done it. 👍

Walmart and a few other discount stores used to sell cheap plastic rifle cases that were in the $15-$25 range that work fine for shipping. If they come in a box, it usually says on the outside of the box what is inside, so I usually turn the box inside out and put the case inside when shipping... I wouldn't trust a cardboard box by itself- too many horror stories about UPS, USPS, or FedEx destroying guns in cardboard boxes. At least with a stiff plastic gun case you have a pretty good chance of it surviving an intentional or otherwise toss or stomp on the outside...

Bob

Ditto, and sometimes I skip the soft case. Wrap the rifle in a couple of layers of bubble wrap, you can get long rolls at Walmart or several other places, then use enough padding of whatever to keep it centered in the box. You can buy 6x6x48" boxes from several sources. I've been using heavy brown wrapping paper as padding, you can get rolls of it again at Walmart. When it's wadded up it has has a fair amount of crush strength to use around the rifle.

Shipping by private parties is getting ridiculously expensive but if you separate the stock and barreled action you can put both into a 6x6x36" box and save $10-15 on shipping. Plus with each one bubble wrapped they help keep each other stabilized in the box.

U-Haul will sell individual boxes on line, most everybody else sells them in 25 packs, but you might laugh at how they ship them. I bought a half a dozen 6x6x36 and another half dozen 6x6x48 and they came in a huge flat box 59x48x3" but shipping was still really reasonable. I cut the shipping box into two flat panels and now use one to put under my motorcycle for oil changes to keep the garage floor clean with the other panel as a spare.

Forgot the specific brand, but Shiloh shipped a rifle to the LGS in one of those plastic foam lined cases inside a cardboard box. It arrived with the muzzle sticking out through the end. Obviously launched by the carrier into something solid, and additionally, the rifle weighs about 15 lbs. No significant damage to the muzzle though. If/when I ship anything along those lines, the ends are padded inside with a few folds of an old towel.

One hears similar stories here with an occasional stock broken at the wrist.

If I ever have to ship the Sharps, I will build a box.

Go cheap, then put inside cardboard with plywood next to the case.. Pay UPS the extra freight. Heartache is expensive and takes way too long to get over.
They can snap anything, so prepare for the worst. (I'm not prepared to ever ship a rifle again myself.)

Be careful of cheap gun cases that have the eggshell foam in them. Some of them the rifle can slide from side to side and end to end in them and get marred by the hard plastic ribs/ridges at the inside edges of the case. Add whatever additional packing, wrapping or stabilization needed to ensure that doesn't happen if you go that route.

Use a inexspensive hard case around the house if ya got one.
Then do what jnyork and gringo loco said.

When it comes back.
Perfect excuse to upgrade a new case for the rifle.

Make the other one your shipping case if needed again.

Suggest you always block the stock butt and the front of the barrel with heavy card board or something the barrel won't penetrate. GW

Done! Thanks dude

I custom cut slabs of plywood for the 2 large slab sides of the box, ship in a cheap hard case. A little more $$ in shipping, a little more peace of mind. What you have on hand or what you want to pay will determine the thickness. I think I used to use 3/8".