A POX on Shipping Comanies - 1894CSS DOWN!!!!

[Haycock]

So... I just posted a bunch of pics of my new 1894CS... AFTER which I noticed a rather significant point of DAMAGE to the face of the muzzle... I don't know how I missed it when inspecting the carbine in the shop or cleaning it at home... I guess I was just too jazzed up on new-gun-joy-juice in my brain or something.....

(Insert heartfelt sigh)...

Apparently this carbine was dropped at some point... I presume by whatever shipping company handled distribution, though honestly I guess it could have been at Marlin too... the box adjacent to the muzzle is clearly damaged...

The bottom line is that there is a spot on the muzzle about a third the size of a penny where the metal looks as though it has been ground down by a misplaced stroke of a hand grinder... it DOESN'T touch the actual crown but it does slightly mar the edge-line of the outside of the barrel...

I thought long and hard about how to handle this, and in the end I concluded that although Marlin would probably fix it for me I don't really want to SHIP IT AGAIN IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND EXPOSE IT TO THE EVIL VAGARIES OF WHIM AND THE FICKLE HANDS OF THE BLOODY SHIPPING GODS, A POX ON THEIR NAME (spittle flies here).... GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

So, I have left my precious where the nasssty UPS hobbitses can't touch it again.... in the hands of my smith who will fix it for me... he assures me that he can clean it up by taking no more that a thousandth or so off just the outer portion of the metal and that it'll look just like it came from the factory... I'll probably have him do a trigger job while he's in there....

No doubt this'll all be fine in the end, but man..... was I ticked off! Plus, I won't have it back for a month now.....


Just had to vent to folks who'd understand my sorrow..... cuz my wife sure doesn't


Haycock

[rjohns94]

i hate when that happens. I hope your smith can soon make it right. blessings

[kimwcook]

Feel for you. Hope it turns out well in the end.

[C. Cash]

Sorry to hear this! It is amazing what they can do. I've had two cases heavily damaged but have been very lucky in that they missed the firearm by a hair, both times. My new strategy is a 10 dollar plano gun case placed inside a much larger box stuffed with foam peanuts. So far so good.

[wecsoger]

Sorry about your luck. Does it look like something done by worn down very high grit sandpaper? Probably from rubbing on a conveyor belt matting. Get it caught in a stack of freight and held stationary, you can rub the hide off an elephant in short time.

I should know, I've worked in the overnight/express shipping industry for a couple decades. (no, not UPS)

Were I to ship a rifle, I would build a custom, rectangular frame, minimum of 1"x4"'s, and preferably 2"x4"'s. I would use minimum 5/8" ply (*not* OSB!) for the sides with the 'base' side screwed down every 12" and glued. The other side, the 'top' when I put it on would also get a 1 1/2" to 2" drywall coarse thread screw every 12", and a couple every 6" on the end.

Inside, closed cell foam, custom cut for fit, *minimum* 4" separation from the frame edges from any part of the rifle.

I would drill a couple small holes along one of the top boards and fit in two rope handles at the 1/3 and 2/3 measurements for easy carry.

I would also "dirty up' the box with extra spray paint and some sprayed on labels like "drill well extension", "job site 14", "J&J measuring probe" or something industrial sounding like that.

I am very serious. Yeah, it will cost a little more in addition to the usual rip off rates of FDX and UPS, but it will make it there. Hey, I would do this if I was just shipping a little 30-30 Glenfield to someone.

If you don't feel comfortable throwing your package out the second floor window or running it over with your car on flat ground, don't ship it that way.

[Haycock]

Sorry about your luck. Does it look like something done by worn down very high grit sandpaper? Probably from rubbing on a conveyor belt matting. Get it caught in a stack of freight and held stationary, you can rub the hide off an elephant in short time.

Yup.... that is EXACTLY what it looks like.... un-freakin'-real.....

I should know, I've worked in the overnight/express shipping industry for a couple decades. (no, not UPS)

Were I to ship a rifle, I would build a custom, rectangular frame, minimum of 1"x4"'s, and preferably 2"x4"'s. I would use minimum 5/8" ply (*not* OSB!) for the sides with the 'base' side screwed down every 12" and glued. The other side, the 'top' when I put it on would also get a 1 1/2" to 2" drywall coarse thread screw every 12", and a couple every 6" on the end.

Inside, closed cell foam, custom cut for fit, *minimum* 4" separation from the frame edges from any part of the rifle.

I would drill a couple small holes along one of the top boards and fit in two rope handles at the 1/3 and 2/3 measurements for easy carry.

I would also "dirty up' the box with extra spray paint and some sprayed on labels like "drill well extension", "job site 14", "J&J measuring probe" or something industrial sounding like that.

I am very serious. Yeah, it will cost a little more in addition to the usual rip off rates of FDX and UPS, but it will make it there. Hey, I would do this if I was just shipping a little 30-30 Glenfield to someone.

If you don't feel comfortable throwing your package out the second floor window or running it over with your car on flat ground, don't ship it that way.

And that pretty much sums up why I chose to let my smith fix the darn thing instead of casting out upon unknown waters again.... twice!

Now I just have to bide my time for another month.... ah well, maybe it'll be done before Christmas.... that'd be nice!


Haycock

[2ndovc]

About a year ago those RATS at UPS ruined a pristine Model 88!

Talk about wanting to "go Postal" !!!!

jb

[Kansas Ed]

I've had Zero issues shipping USPS. Just an FYI>

Ed

[El Chivo]

I'm thinking it might make sense to always remove the butt stock when shipping, that seems like the thing most likely to break.

I can see where a rifle would be a problem because of its weight, it would tend to move around inside the box. I ship a lot of other things, musical instruments mostly, and rarely have a problem. One thing I did have a problem with was a box of kitchen stuff that wasn't packed all that well, the heavier items wore a hole in the box and began falling out. I couldn't really blame the shipping company for that.

If a rifle is allowed to slide back and forth in its box it's likely to get damaged somehow.

I'm going to be sending a 336 back to Marlin and I'm going to make a custom cut-out in cardboard so it will stay put. Of course, I have no control over how they will pack it upon its return.

[Mutt]

I have several single action that need some attention , but I'm too afraid to send them by what ever means to be repaired . Too many horror stories . I have a lot of money invested . And no good single action smith within about a hundred miles ." Dag gummit " as my Grandfather used to say.

[wecsoger]

Well, I passed on the minimum what you need for a shipping case. If you don't want to build one, I highly recommend the Pelican series cases, you can lock and secure them also. List price is high, but you can buy them all day for about half price list off Evil-bay. I have traveled worldwide with Pelican cases, they are a gold standard and *almost* impervious to damage.

This is lever related to a point so I guess it's worth spending time on. I was deadly serious about how I would ship something. In my time at the company it was both heartbreaking and irritating to see items broken, mangled, destroyed, etc. because of inadequate packing. Each one represents a failure in customer service and possibly an account we could have lost. Yes, sometimes the packages could have been treated better going through the sort operation, but there's only so much you can do. Package your items to the level that they can be handled by a a poorly trained, third world orangutan in a hurry who's never heard of you and doesn't care about your item other than to get it snatched out of a loading cart and slammed onto a belt.

A related gripe I have is with companies and their shipping departments. They wind up trusting their honor and integrity in the marketplace by trusting their product to the same orangutans, poorly paid and motivated. There product is inadequeately packaged, poorly marked, poorly secured, then the customer blames the shipper or the company because their product arrives broken or defective.

I could relay other 'war stories' and dirty little secrets, but 'nuff said. If your packaging won't pass the two story test or the drive-over test, it's inadequate. Plan accordingly.

[firefuzz]

Sorry to hear this! It is amazing what they can do. I've had two cases heavily damaged but have been very lucky in that they missed the firearm by a hair, both times. My new strategy is a 10 dollar plano gun case placed inside a much larger box stuffed with foam peanuts. So far so good.

I buy and have sold several guns thru internet auctions After having the stock snapped off and the tangs bent on a 1st year production Browning Citori by UPS this is how I ship guns, only I wrap the case with bubble wrap. If the box gets torn the bubble wraps stays in the box, peanuts won't. I take digital pics of any gun I ship too, laying in the case. That way there's no argument over the condition of the gun.

The "packing crate" described above would be wonderful, but the shipping cost would eat you alive.

Rob

PS: ALWAYS insure. I had three pistols stolen by UPS employees and had to fight for six months to get my money. Would have much rather had the guns back but it cost them.

[marlinman93]

Sometimes I think the gorillas at UPS and Fed Ex have a mission to destroy every gun they can get their hands on! Sorry they got your's too!

[jdad]

Real sorry to hear of your problems. I learned long ago that I will offer to pay extra, for Priority Mail, rather than risk Usually Pieces Scattered.

[DBW]

Feel free to let me transport your firearms around in my truck. They will never be damaged. Or returned.