UPS OR FedEx for Gun People

If you work with firearms enough eventually you will  run into a situation where you need to send a gun via mail. You might break a part or perhaps need to send it to get some custom work done. Whatever the reason, there is always that little bit of "damn it, I have to walk into a crowded room and announce that I have a gun in a box". 

Yesterday I sent a few handguns out to get some custom work on them through Danger Close Armament (frame specialization), Tuebor Precision (slide machining), and Heritage Gun Works (Class III manufacturer). They were kind enough to generate a shipping label for me so all I had to do was drop it off. Right.... Unless you account for the suck at Fedex. 

I walked in and, as per instruction, declared the to the clerk that the box contained a firearm. You would have thought I stuffed it in his face. He then proceeded to consult his coworkers as to whether or not they could do this. 

Once it was ascertained that they could indeed ship a firearm, it was a question of ground or air.  

Meantime... While on hold with corporate...

I told them that I had to policy pulled up on the Fedex website and the lady, moves the phone slightly away from her face and says "that's nice" and continues to wait. 

The one guy calmed down a bit and started to make small talk about the type and caliber. He seemed to have some background knowledge of firearms but was clearly not an owner. When I answered there were two in the box, a 1911 and a Glock, one of the female clerk's eyes rolled and she announced she was going to go get lunch and left.

Time elapsed...

The person from corporate didn't know the policy either and forced them to have to ship Priority Overnight (4X the cost of ground). Heritage Gun Works (HGW), knowing the policy and having shipped hundreds of firearms in the past prepared the label for ground. They then moved me to the side and compelled me to contact HGW to get another label made. Of course, after a brief explanation, HGW got right on it and sent it via the email supplied by FedEx.

This shipping station; however, appears to have 1997 interweb and it took a solid 20 minutes for them to get my label. After that ordeal, the clerk said (yes I was there long enough to go through a shift change at Fedex) they would get it shipped out; I lingered a bit to physically watch them put the label on the box and put it in the outgoing shipment rack.

Today, I had a another firearm that I actually damaged in T&E and needed to return for repair. This shipping label was for UPS ground. I walked into the UPS store. Was immediately met by a clerk and asked how I could be helped. I said "I need to ship this out and it contains a firearm, so whatever your process is for that"

He replied "we just have to tape it up, that's the process"

[handed me the receipt that he had printed simultaneous to my declaration; queue tape gun]

"Have a good one sir, we will get this out today".

So I don't know about you but I am sold. Also, don't say USPS, I have had numerous items stolen out of boxes by that fraudulent, government-run monstrosity. 

Special thanks to Heritage Gun Works for their diligence on this one.

What do you think? Comment below.

ADCOR DEFENSE: Forward with Poor Service

At SHOT Show media day I stopped at the ADCOR booth and took their "Range Day Challenge". It wasn't too bad of a setup. They strapped you into a decently constructed plate carrier (as far as I could tell) and had you shoot the targets while using their charging handle system. They then had you plink to 500 Yrds with a Horus Raptor on one of their setups; I guess to show accuracy...?  Two things. 

1.) Where were the plates in the vest? Those are a game changer for any weapon upgrade. So either they forgot the plates, or didn't bother lining them up or the charging handle is out of reach for some. Draw you own conclusions. Their system does maintain standard controls and, as I demonstrated, shows some improvement- you do not have to throw your face out of the way when you Big-Boy Stroke.

2.) 500 yards? With a 16X optic from Horus Vision? I can hit targets at 500 yrds off of carry handle. While the optic from Horus was very beautiful I would have liked to see them push out farther with it if they wanted to demonstrate the weapon's accuracy. 

So in summation, yes they had some decent innovations and I told them that at the time of filming. You all know me though, I pull no punches. Although their enhancements may be positive influences on the AR-15 platform I have not personally tested them. I will give ADCOR credit, they have a former combat veteran on staff that stands by the product (pictured in the video). I am assuming he is on the payroll but I will yield to his military credentials and allow them to speak for themselves- If he says its good kit then its good enough for me until I find otherwise. 

That said, I do not think we are ever going to know the answer to that question. There are several tenants that a company has to fulfill before I am willing to work with them. While ADCOR was on the mark with their product they failed miserably in the customer service side of affairs. While I do not intend to disclose any identities or air any of the recorded phone calls. I will say that in my post SHOT Show follow up that not all of the people I communicated with maintained professionalism. I am going to ask you, the reader/viewer, a very simple question. The same question I always ask when we talk about customer service:  If ADCOR is going to conduct themselves in such a manner to me- the one wielding power over a portion of the interweb. How are they going to treat you, the individual consumer?

In closing, the Horus representative that I spoke with was top notch.

Thanks for checking in everyone

Spectre