Delaware Concealed Carry Forum

General Gun Discussion => Gunsmiths Corner => Topic started by: Wire Paladin on May 10, 2018, 07:24:02 PM

Title: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: Wire Paladin on May 10, 2018, 07:24:02 PM
I bought a pristine mod.25-2 .45 cal circa 1980 Revolver from a seller online. Wonderful ! The piece has likely never been fired since it left S&W's factory. Anyway, the former owner never cocked it for fear of leaving a trail around the cylinder. I cocked it to do a dry fire after bringing home from an FFL gun store here in DE.
Low and behold the hammer came back and dropped as expected but the trigger never came forward to it's ' start " position. I took it to a Delaware gunsmith who ultimately gave up trying to find the cause for this failure. So I don't have much faith in local gunsmiths.

I want to send it back to S&W for proper repair. I'm told in order to ship the gun all I have to do is box it up nice and bring it to UPS... an FFL is not necessary since it's not being sold but only being shipped up and back for repair. Is this how guns are returned to the maker ? I've never sent a gun of mine in the mail, that is to say, UPS, or any other carrier so I dont know the correct and legal procedure. Can any one give me the straight scoop on this ?  Many thanks.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: Radnor on May 10, 2018, 10:37:44 PM
Chris @ Federal Firearms
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: Tonym on May 11, 2018, 01:49:26 AM
I had chris handle sending a gun to and from the factory for me but it is legal to handle it on your own.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: lynch on May 11, 2018, 08:54:57 AM
 I needed to send a Rossi R851 back for repair. I went to UPS and they wanted $79.00.
My local gun shop sent it for me and only charged $15.00
Guess what I did.  ::)
Like the others indicated, shipping from FFL to FFL can be done by mail.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: CorBon on May 14, 2018, 12:25:24 PM
As near as I can tell, informing UPS that you are mailing a firearm is like telling the WaWa clerk that your Twinkie is for a wedding.  Suddenly, your $1 Twinkie is now a Twinkie Wedding Cake Edition, and you’ll pay $15.99.

Something to be careful of, though — when you go to UPS and tell them that it is a firearm, they will repeatedly try to get you to say that it is broken or otherwise damaged.  I can only assume that they believe that this will get them off of the hook if they actually damage the item, or even lose it. 

And once you’re done with that nonsense , then you hand them a king’s ransom so that they can then try to lose or damage your stuff.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: SturmRugerSR9 on May 14, 2018, 04:28:06 PM
I believe I would have to go with the guys that say take it to a gun store, especially if they sell that brand, and let them ship it back for repair for you. They do things like this nearly every day. Get a receipt.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: Cbmarine on May 14, 2018, 04:44:16 PM
Several years ago at the advice of an FFL, I sent a firearm directly to a repair shop (not by USPS). The shop expressed surprise and indicated that I wasn't allowed to do that.  They repaired it and insisted on overnighting directly to me for $125. Lesson learned.
Title: Re: Can anyone offer the facts about mailing a gun back to S&W for repair ?
Post by: Ladian on May 24, 2018, 11:04:45 AM
I’m a little late in replying, but I’ve had to ship my new S&W Shield back to the factory. It was about 8 months ago. They sent me prepaid shipping label to print, and I took it to FedEx. Once S&W received it, it took about 2-3 weeks, and it was shipped back. No issues.

Overall it was a happy experience.