Comments on: How to Ship Gun Stuff Without Getting Burned

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 18:59:10 +0000

Great advice for packing gun material. I’m sure it’s more complex than normal packing so this is helpful.

By: Alex Trodder

Alex Trodder — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 23:49:57 +0000

I like your idea of using tennis balls and a cardboard mailing tube to ship barrels. Many rifles can have their accuracy improved by upgrading the barrel. This won’t be the case if the barrel is damaged when it is sent to you. I’ll have to remember that tip if I ever need to ship a barrel in the future. Thanks.

By: John Bloomfield

John Bloomfield — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:05:16 +0000

Think YOU have problems shipping fragile items? A friend of mine is a professional restorer of ceramics, some of the modern studio pots she has to pack and ship are worth $1000’s. In her experience (30 years worth) the best packing material for fragile items are not foam peanuts, bubble wrap or any of the modern packaging materials but crushed up newspapers. Once packed wrap the outer container in industrial grade cling film which will stop the box coming apart

By: Monte

Monte — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 03:34:48 +0000

ELR,

I don’t know about ‘non-expanding’ foam, but I’ve gotten any number of items packed using materials similar to this:

http://www.storopack.us/en/products-solutions/flexible-protective-packaging/foamplusr-instant-foam-in-place-custom-packaging.html

The catch is that its not exactly cheap, especially not for consumers who need one or two bags for one-off shipping. You can find related products on Amazon, but the smallest quantity I could find was like 24-30 piece sets, at a cost of several dollars per bag.

I’ve heard tell of people using DIY foam bags, using Great Stuff expanding foam (use the door/window variant, that expands less aggressively and is less likely to bend/break things) inside a trash bag as described briefly here:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6563836_expanding-foam-uses.html

By: ELR Researcher

ELR Researcher — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 22:00:02 +0000

I did a Google search on “non-expanding packaging foam” and found NO products. A couple of articles that mention such a product BUT no actual product identified. Others know of a specific product? Link please. Thanks.

By: ELR Researcher

ELR Researcher — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 19:19:48 +0000

All well and good IF you are doing the shipping because there is a good chance that the return shipment will be in the same “container” – IF not thrown out at the outbound location (communicate accordingly).

I use Schedule 40 PVC pipe for storage and shipping. For shipping I then put the well-sealed and capped pipe in a box as close as possible to the size of the PVC pipe cap – into a cardboard tube, if available. The barrel should NOT move within the pipe – tightly wadded paper towels work fine.

For most barrels a PVC pipe with a standard tennis ball sized ID (2.57-2.700 inches for type 1 and 2 tennis balls) would actually allow you to ship three (3) “standard” diameter barrels in the same pipe. I strongly suggest a size much closer to the max barrel OD. [PVC standard dimensions – http://www.harvel.com/piping-systems/harvel-pvc-pipe/schedule-40-80/dimensions. You might even consider the “furniture grade” pipe like you can get at Home Depot, which is available in colors (less chance of mistaking the “package” for an industrial left-over).

Editor: ELR, you raise good points. I usually roll the barrel in bubble wrap before it goes in the PVC. That eliminates most movement. I like the larger diameter tubes as I think they are stiffer, and less likely to roll between packages and get lost.