This is an email I sent to a friend who bought a precarved Hawken stock from me. It was actually worse than this, but I was so angry I forgot a lot at the time I sent the email.

Good morning,
I took the package in to UPS. The young lady put it on the scale, and asked me "what is in the box,sir"? I told her, "a precarved stock for a Hawken rifle". At that point, things began to run downhill. She turned pale. She told me that they would not ship "weapons". I told her that I lied the first time, it was a wooden lamp base. She said she would need to open the box. I said O.K., if you will use your tape to reseal it. She slit it open, and peeked in as though it contained live Cobras. I asked her if she wanted me to pull it all the way out. She said she was calling her boss, and did so. He said no weapons. By this time, other employees were watching, other customers were edging for the door, and I was getting pissed off. I told her, and everyone, that it was not a "weapon, it was a chunk of wood, and that they had no valid or legal ground to refuse my business, and they would accept my money and ship my ****ed package or I wanted the name and contact number of every ****ed executive in the company to give to the lawyer I was going to contact. After a huddled conference, she said O.K., they would make an "exception", but she was just following company policy. I told her that in any job I ever had company policy demanded that I use common sense from the start. I hope the bomb squad doesn't blow your stock up. Also consider that it may be delivered by an undercover agent disguised as a UPS driver. :mad:

I shipped a pistol back to the manufacturer for some custom work with UPS a couple of months ago
I didn't have any trouble

It happened yesterday, in St. Augustine Florida. It is either new policy or stupid employees. It doesn't matter. I should, I guess, just walked out the door, but it was just so stupid and wrong I had to stand my ground.
I just retired from what they used to call "public work", and want to start building muzzleloaders again after many years. I hope I don't have trouble shipping stuff or recieving it.

The FFL dealer I use ships UPS all the time. I sent a revolver back to S&W by FedX without any questions. My guess is the employee PANICKED. It went down hill from there.

Swampsniper,
I've got a suggestion that will save you time and money and also help to keep your blood pressure at normal levels. If you open a UPS account on the internet, you can pack, seal, and label your packages at home. No one will open your packages, no one will ask what is inside the package either. You will also be able to get lower shipping rates and call for pickups if you don't want to go to UPS or one of it's shipping agents, but there is a charge for the pickup. You just print the labels out on your computer printer and tape them to the package.

kciH, I know. It is still so basically wrong, however, and I reckon I am a crusader, and old enough and tired enough that no one can hurt me or scare me any more. My Fathers people came to this land in 1749, fleeing religious persecution in Switzerland. They built rifles, some of the first and finest on this continent, built totally on this continent I still build them now, not as good as they did, but best I can. I will be ****ed if I let politically correct idiots and tyrants run me off. I've got no place to run to, and no mind to run anyway. What we are facing is history all over again, and we should know better than to let it happen, over and over, again and again. We don't need to have any more courage than our ancestors had, but just as much, and Lord knows they went to bed scared more than one night. It did not stop them, and it must not stop us. We must not do less for our children and grandchildren than was done for us. It is the straightest path to **** that I can imagine if we do. I have no idea what you believe in, but you must know that you build the foundation your children's lives begin on. It is the whole point of living, for me, anyway.
I am retired now, been working and paying taxes for 45 years. Now, I want to build rifles, for as long as my fingers work,and I want to pass it on to another generation. I will not be stopped unless they kill me. ****, Friend, I was dying the instant I took my first breath, what is the big deal? It does not matter how long you live as much as how you spend the time you have. Take this as the word of an old and ugly Redneck Boy rifleman living on the edge of a swamp. I have likely wasted more time than a lot of you have lived. Go do a search on Patrick Henry quotes, or Tom Jefferson quotes, or Washington quotes, and ask yourself if they would have tolerated this crap. "All that is needed for evil to prevail is that good men do nothing". Go ahead and give them ****, with every breath you take.
Call UPS, emaill UPS, send them a letter. Just don't take any more crap!!! I love you Kids, Swampsniper Bob

Swampsniper,
I wasn't trying to start a flame, just offering some helpful advice. If you don't want to encounter incompetent workers with no common sense, you're out of luck, it's just about everywhere you go.