• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Recommendations for a Hard Case for Shipping a Barreled Action?

jab00

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 1, 2017
733
138
I need to ship a barreled action in for repairs and I was wondering what the best type of hard case would be to use for sending it? I've got a Pelican case that I use for my normal range use but I think that's a bit heavy and bit too big for just the barreled action (20" barrel) once I get it out of the chassis and remove the scope.

Is the foam in a regular Plano single rifle case good enough as long as I've got the barreled action and bolt wrapped in bubble wrap?

I'm probably overthinking this but would appreciate any suggestions
 
Shipping it in any hard case is going to be unnecessarily expensive. If it were me, I'd find a box it will fit in with some room around it and wrap it in as much bubble wrap you can fit in the box.
 
I usually wrap receiver/ barrel with bubble wrap with the bolt removed from the action. Make a small rectangular piece of stiff cardboard to place around the trigger. Wrap the bolt in bubble wrap. Place all of them in a Plano case secured with zip ties which is then inserted into a cardboard box with enough padding that the box doesn't shift inside. Should be GTG.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jab00
The first thing I do is wrap the barreled action in foam pipe insulation and tape it shut . Find a box that is fairly close to the barreled action size wrapped in foam , fill all the air space so if it gets dropped on end it doesn't hammer thru the end of the box . If it's fairly heavy I cut a piece of wood for the ends so if it gets thru the foam if has a soft surface to contact.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lash and jab00
USPS, Fedex and UPS all have the triangular shipping "tubes" They are about 38" long.

Just wrap up your barreled action carefully and use one of those tubes.

The pipe insulation idea is good. I've also used pool noodles, but they may be harder to find at this time of year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jab00
USPS, Fedex and UPS all have the triangular shipping "tubes" They are about 38" long.

Just wrap up your barreled action carefully and use one of those tubes.

The pipe insulation idea is good. I've also used pool noodles, but they may be harder to find at this time of year.
Yeah - I think my plan is going to be wrapping the BA in the pipe insulation with bubble wrap around that and then make some bumpers for both ends using some scrap closed cell foam. I’ll drop that into a triangular shipping tube and then wrap that with strapping tape to make sure it stays sealed
 
  • Like
Reactions: lash
1665493919517.png

wrap it good or with sand and a decent fitting box .
1665493981889.png


the effects of tampering with your shipped package
1665494301141.png
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: carbonbased
I haven't found the need for a hard case for a barrel but i imagine you could use a blueprint hard case you can find them pretty cheep on amazon
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20221011-090049.png
    Screenshot_20221011-090049.png
    639.5 KB · Views: 52
USPS, Fedex and UPS all have the triangular shipping "tubes" They are about 38" long.

Just wrap up your barreled action carefully and use one of those tubes.

The pipe insulation idea is good. I've also used pool noodles, but they may be harder to find at this time of year.
We ship barrels and barreled action all the time selling many barrels on ebay . Our store has two grades of pipe insulation get the thicker one the sides are about a half inch thick . We also have pool noodles but the inner holes are too small most of the time.
The rear tang will cut thru most packing material if the post man is being abusive make sure and block that end. The key is stopping any movement length wise.
 
Spray it with some lube, wrap with some thin foam, stuff into a plastic trash bag. Find a box it will fit in with some room to spare. Find a trash bag that is large enough to fit that box into but don't. Open that trash bag and fill it about half the box deep with expanding foam spray and lay that in the box, lay the BA on the foam filled plastic bag and hold it so that it is about a half inch below the top of the box until the foam finishes expanding around it. Use another trash bag, spray some expanding foam in it and place it on top of the BA. Close the lid of the box and tape it securely. It will get wherever you need it to without any rub marks or other damage. The recipient won't have any trouble either.
 
We ship barrels and barreled action all the time selling many barrels on ebay . Our store has two grades of pipe insulation get the thicker one the sides are about a half inch thick . We also have pool noodles but the inner holes are too small most of the time.
The rear tang will cut thru most packing material if the post man is being abusive make sure and block that end. The key is stopping any movement length wise.

This right here is the truth - you need to be worried about the muzzle and tang jack-hammering their way through the packaging. A wad of cardboard and then several layers of foam are a good bet.

Spray it with some lube, wrap with some thin foam, stuff into a plastic trash bag. Find a box it will fit in with some room to spare. Find a trash bag that is large enough to fit that box into but don't. Open that trash bag and fill it about half the box deep with expanding foam spray and lay that in the box, lay the BA on the foam filled plastic bag and hold it so that it is about a half inch below the top of the box until the foam finishes expanding around it. Use another trash bag, spray some expanding foam in it and place it on top of the BA. Close the lid of the box and tape it securely. It will get wherever you need it to without any rub marks or other damage. The recipient won't have any trouble either.

Gotta admit that I've never thought about this, but it seems like it might be a workable method. Then I think back to my experiences using expanding foam on construction projects and realize I'm probably going to be wearing more of the foam than the packaging will.
 
This right here is the truth - you need to be worried about the muzzle and tang jack-hammering their way through the packaging. A wad of cardboard and then several layers of foam are a good bet.



Gotta admit that I've never thought about this, but it seems like it might be a workable method. Then I think back to my experiences using expanding foam on construction projects and realize I'm probably going to be wearing more of the foam than the packaging will.
Yep - I read that comment about the BA possibly hammering itself out last night.

I’m planning on putting some closed cell foam bumpers at the ends of of a 3” mailing tube (that I’ll cut close to the overall length of the BA and put some stacked cardboard either in front of, or behind that foam to fill the voids on both ends. I’ll tape the caps on the mailing tube with strapping tape to keep it sealed tightly.

The BA (with the trigger removed) will be wrapped in bubble wrap (as will the bolt that I’ll tape to the BA)

The tube will then go into a triangular mailing tube and I’ll fill the voids again with bubble wrap and then reinforce that out tube with several wraps of strapping tape.

Hindsight being 20/20, this whole process would be a lot easier if I just kept my original boxes but there’s never enough storage space
 
Last edited: