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Shipping gun barrels

deersniper

Protecting the Sheep
Banned !
Minuteman
  • Feb 22, 2007
    13,722
    19,915
    Northeast
    Does anyone know how to pack stuff? I think I’m 4/7 for private sellers sending me barrels sticking out of the shipping container

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    They act like slide hammers when shipped lol
     
    My wife asks me why I keep the heavy cardboard tubes whenever I get one.

    “Shipping barrels, of course...”

    She just shakes her head and walks away.
    Lol sounds like my wife and my “shipping department “

    I’ve had barrels arrive sticking out of those tubes too. Need to really tape them and or put some screws through the ends
     
    I at least make sure to wrap them heavily with bubble wrap, and double or triple the cardboard layers on each end. Limiting movement as much as possible helps too.
     
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    You gotta pack 'em tight.

    I've had close calls but only with really heavy .50BMG barrels. They were packed well but the best way to ship a barrel that big is to just wrap the barrel and cover the ends really well and slap a label on it. Otherwise you're liable to get an empty tube.

    I pack the shit out of 'em if I have to send a barrel. It ain't moving and if I don't have a box the right size I just cut up a piece of cardboard, wrap it and tape the piss out of it. I also wrap the muzzle and chamber/extension with bubble wrap and tape, just in case. You'll need a knife to get to it and it might look awful fugly with a WTF? vibe but it won't be arriving gommed up.

    Let me guess, SCAR 17 barrel? Looks like one I saw recently, just a guess.

    Love how the didn't bother to wrap the end. At all. Five stars all the way.
     
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    Lol sounds like my wife and my “shipping department “

    I’ve had barrels arrive sticking out of those tubes too. Need to really tape them and or put some screws through the ends

    Round wooden discs or cut dowels screwed in place and taped over if you use a tube.

    But a flat piece just wrapped tight around a well padded and taped barrel works best. No movement, no slide hammer biz. Cheap too.
     
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    I will break down a cardboard box and roll the barrel up in it. If I don't have a cardboard tube.
     
    Last edited:
    Lol sounds like my wife and my “shipping department “

    I’ve had barrels arrive sticking out of those tubes too. Need to really tape them and or put some screws through the ends
    The best free packing I've found is plastic grocery sacks. We always have a ton of them and I use them as packing filler, better than bubble wrap, and who the hell has a newspaper subscription these days (the only better alternative)? I completely limit movement virtually without any added bulk and weight to the package, just stuff one end up, insert barrel in the middle, and start stuffing all around it to limit movement.

    For the ends, I use circular hard cardboard for reinforcement, none of that corrugated shit. Think of the same material the tube is made out of, but flat. MRE boxes is great for this if you have any of those around. Put the end cap on it, and then tape the shit out of it with Gorilla Tape to completely seal it up. I shake it pretty hard and drop it a couple times to make sure I'm not getting any shifting around before fully taping the final end up.
     
    I at least make sure to wrap them heavily with bubble wrap, and double or triple the cardboard layers on each end. Limiting movement as much as possible helps too.
    This! Pluse tape the shit out of the end of boxes.
     
    Used to go to bass pro shops, get their leftover fishing rod shipping tubes. Stick the breech and muzzle ends into a chunk of styrofoam or those plastic thread protector caps for pipe fittings, then bubble wrap and stuff into the cardboard shipping tube. Tape the ends up real good and, well, there you have it. Throwing a steel tube into a box with some wadded up newspaper isn’t gonna cut it, especially with Ace Ventura running the s&h department.
     
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    The 6.5g AR Stoner barrels (24" and a spare 20") I got from Midway were very well packaged.
     
    Wow an AI barrel no less, not that it is ok on any rifle, but a AI WTF

    It never ceases to amaze me that people would risk having to refund a $100 + purchase to save $3.00 in packing materials.
    Yeah and a lot of times it is $1000 + I have a few contractors I work for that will spend a dollar to save a nickel, but they can't see it. Its those types that are doing this kind of stupidity.
     
    If you’re really serious about it, a proper size and length Schedule 40 PVC with a cap glued on one end, and a threaded plug on the other. Barrel inside, then the whole thing goes into a cardboard box with enough packing to keep it from shifting inside. I used to do this with fine double gun barrels because they are relatively thin walled and can get dented easily.
     
    Haven't tried it but I'd agree with something along the lines of @vh20 's suggestion. Wrapping the barrel in foam or bubble wrap, sliding it into a sturdy cardboard or plastic document tube/simple length of PVC pipe and taping over the plastic caps (or gluing one and taping the other, or threaded or what have you), and that in a typical cardboard box with bubble wrap around it would be pretty secure. Might not need that much protection but better safe than sorry.

    Edit: Saw a suggestion on another forum for padding the ends of the tube with folded dish towels since they won't rupture like bubble wrap can.
     
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    I've gotten fishing rods in PVC. I have no idea why the gun folks can't think of that. PVC would work great so long as you cap both ends and make sure the barrel is also bubble wrapped and packed tight in there.
     
    PVC works dandy, have used it flying all over for fishing poles.
    I even glue on one end cap....

    I have not had issues when using appropriate amounts of padding (I do use old rags or towels at the ends) when using a cardboard tube though.
    both sending and receiving.

    i just received a couple triggers just tossed in ziplocs and then a much bigger box and very little padding.
    It didn't hurt them and sure was not impressed by the packaging attempt.
     
    I manufacture and ship gun barrels for a living. I'd like better ideas on how to ship hundreds of barrels at once with little to no carnage during transit. I use crates, pallets, foam, netting, reinforced layers...ect still, somehow little marks or scuffs always occur.
     
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    I manufacture and ship gun barrels for a living. I'd like better ideas on how to ship hundreds of barrels at once with little to no carnage during transit. I use crates, pallets, foam, netting, reinforced layers...ect still, somehow little marks or scuffs always occur.
    AC pipe wrap foam, tape, hard foam stuck in PVC pipe. Obviously you get a ton in each pipe but they’ll make it unscathed.
     
    I manufacture and ship gun barrels for a living. I'd like better ideas on how to ship hundreds of barrels at once with little to no carnage during transit. I use crates, pallets, foam, netting, reinforced layers...ect still, somehow little marks or scuffs always occur.
    Most of the various foam type products will prevent scuffing...IF you can prevent movement. No shifting along the x, y or z axes. NO movement allowed inside of the package. Consider the weight of the barrel, especially the weight of the entire barrel focused on say the muzzle...lots of psi there! The padding material should not crush to the point of failure and then allow movement, exacerbating the issue. Your employer should hire someone to design shipping containers for their barrels. The cost would be rapidly offset by fewer complaints and return of damaged goods.
     
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