I recently sent a Ruger pistol back for warranty repair and learned a few things. Yes, an owner can ship a firearm back to the manufacturer for repair once he owns it (no FFL middleman needed), and return shipment can be made directly to the owner's home.
According to Ruger, the law requires that these shipments be overnight. They also said if I wanted to drop the gun off at UPS instead of having it picked up, it would have to be at a UPS hub (it's a no-no to bring it to a UPS Store). When it comes back there will have to be somebody 18 or older here to sign for it. Sending it via the Postal Service is not allowed. Also, make sure there is no indication on the outside of the package that there is a firearm inside.
BTW, I live in Missouri. I'm not sure whether any of what they told me is specific to my state. As I said, this info is from Ruger; anybody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Chin up, Chris - you've made a good decision, and this will make the best of a bad situation. Hope you're back up and running soon.

None of the info you received is regional; it is national policy and applies to any manufacturer.

You WILL have to tell FedEx or UPS that the box contains a firearm.

From what I gather there's no law. FedEX and UPS requires next day shipping. The theory is that they want firearms to take the quickest possible transit through their system. The tracking & urgency of a next day package keep it from getting lost in their system, or stolen.


Yup. UPS Stores are individually owned franchises. I don't think they can accept a firearm shipment. UPS hub/depot, no problems.

Yup. That's what happened when I had to ship a Taurus... multiple times...

That's a weird catch 22. From what I can put together, handguns are a U.S. Postal Service no-go. Long guns can be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service but it's illegal to even try.

I've heard from several friends in conceal-carry states that it is illegal to have a firearm on U.S. Postal Service property. That prohibition includes the building, and the parking lot. That means on you or in your car. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

So even if you can ship a long gun, you can't actually bring it to the post office.

Nope. It sounds the same for what I do in Hellinois.

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-John

I understand, very interesting stuff! Thanks for the info, I love learning!

Thanks for the clarifications.Typical government operation! Reminds me of a few years ago when a new law required that I show a birth certificate when renewing my driver's license. I couldn't find mine, so they told me to go to our county health department to get an official copy. When I presented my completed request form, guess what they accepted as proof of my identity? My Missouri driver's license!

FFL holders can use USPS.

It doesn't matter if it's a concealed-carry state or not. The prohibition is federal law and that does include the parking lot. It DOES NOT apply to a retail store with a Post Office kiosk in it.

Not so. It's perfectly legal to take a boxed-for-shipment long gun into a Post Office.

Do I sent it stock or can I send with my stuff on it?

Remove all your after market accessories. Otherwise, you might not get them back.

Okay, sounds good I will do that.

I want to get a extended charging handle peice, but the guy who makes them on the forum hasnt responded to my pm

If that is Belt-fed he is having family issues. Give him time or go the more expensive route of adding the Pinker Tactical charging handle. If Belt-fed does get in touch, his charling handle latch is very well done but you'll want to bore out the roll pin hole a bit. I needed to so it would spring back freely.

Are there any that do not need bored out?

I may go pinker tactical. No price on website:[

As others have said Chris you're doing the right thing sending it back to S&W.

Make sure you keep track of your paper trail either way so there are no surprises down the road. Email is a wonderful thing and if you haven't already done so, you should definitely compose a letter to that Gunsmith and tell him that you are having to send the gun back to S&W due to the damage they did to it. Don't ask them if they did it, TELL them they did it. If they are a competent gunsmith I'm sure they will be happy to write you a follow-up explaining exactly how they could not possibly have damaged your weapon.

The reason a paper trail is important is after all is said and done S&W may charge you a certain amount that you are not comfortable eating. If that is the case you may choose to file a Small Claims Action against the Gunsmith and the Shop he works in.

Contrary to popular belief it is NOT expensive at ALL to file a small claims case against someone. Most Courts have minimal fees ($25. is common) for this as they know it's laymen who are not versed in the Law. Also, you will NOT need an attorney. Should you decide you have no choice and pursue a small claims case and go into the Court without representation most Judges will act on your behalf as far as the legal technicalities of your Case. You are an individual suing a Business which usually WILL hire an attorney, the Court knows this and takes it into account.

Obviously that is the last course of action you should take. Your paper trail and advising the Gunsmith of the steps you are taking, the result of those steps, ie your cost to repair from S&W, and the expectation to be reimbursed. If they will not reimburse you, send a follow-up letter that if they do not you will have no choice but to file a small claims case. Sometimes that alone will force their hand and write the check.

As always, make sure you are 100% proof positive that YOU did not do this damage before contemplating suing someone else over it. That alone can go a long way in having this issue resolved in an amicable manner between all parties.

Best of luck!

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Live For Today Not Tomorrow

Thanks, if you would have saw how little pressure I use when working on my gun you would know there is no way I could have bent those 2 sturdy rods haha. I was firing the gun at a gun range just a week before, it sat in a case up untill the day I took it and before hand I cleaned it.

But anyways all posts are helpful I appreciate you guys helping me out, my gun is sitting beside me ready to be shipped out today, they should have it tomorrow and I hope the repair takes less than 4-7 days

Take the gunshop to court !!! They should never touch another firearm again. First they( according to you ) ruined a working firearm. Second they took your money and did not have the knowledge to do the repair. Third they did not check there work. Forth they gave you a dangerous firearm back ! If they did do this ( not sayin your lieing ) they need to be stopped. What if you or someone got hurt ! Then what ? You get sued if it was another person that got hurt, then YOU are screwed. This is not something to be shy about. Take it back to the gunshop and show them what's up. Go there when it's empty so other customers won't distract or embariss them. Be nice and ask them to give you a new one, not fix it. Document this action for if they decline to make good then you did all you could to make it right.tell them what your goin to do if they don't.

Think about what could have happened. Get that shop to stop fixing guns if they did this. You could save someone's life.

I have been to small claims court and it's not that bad. You don't need a lawyer. If you have your paperwork and time lines written down along with a report from S&W I bet you will win. If you go remember to have questions written down to ask the defendant, you are the lawyer. Good Luck !!!

Chris,

If you do decide to go to court and you need any help regarding how the rifle is serviced I am certainly more than willing to explain how it should be worked on. I am not offering legal counsel, just information pertaining to the firearm, and you are also more than welcome to use any of my "How To" videos in Court to show how the rifle is to be taken apart.

I appreciate all the help guys we will go step by step and with the help of you guys by the end we can have a safe 15-22 that I can have great fun at the range with without risking me or others when shooting it.

The gun was shipped out today, I noticed S&W sent ground shipping it wasnt next day, weird!

Next Day (overnight) generally applies only to handguns, not long arms.

Oh ic ic, I was confused.

My friend, you have waited all your life to get a gun. A couple weeks more will not kill you. Fixing this yourself may well just do that, or at least hurt you, and maybe others. The folks whom you asked advice from have responded, take their advice and send this rifle to S&W and be done with it. From the time you get it back forward, all will be well. Good luck with your repair.

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Endeavor to persevere. <><

So happy! I got my part today in the mail (didnt even order it or expect them to send me one) was completely shocked.

My gun has been sent off so but that is very awesome! I told them to just check over entire gun and send it back.

4 10rd shorty magazines also showed up in mail today hehe, cant wait to go shooting the day I get it!

S&W Service is pretty good, they don't communicate as well as they should.. But they have no issues repairing and replacing parts!

Yeah if they would have told me I prob woudlnt have sent in my gun, would have just taken it to a shop a place here suggested so I could have them check over it all.

But oh well s&w will look over my gun and I will have the confidence that they approved everything on my gun

Really bad move. It's a good thing you didn't do that; you already went down that road.

Yes, S&W will make sure it's done right before they send it back to you.

I cant wait to get it back, gotta shoot it asap!

When you get it back, the first thing you have to do is field strip it and inspect it. If necessary, clean & lightly lube it.

While the probability of the S&W Mothership technician making a mistake is low, it can happen. It's better for you to find an issue in workmanship before firing your newly returned rifle than after firing it.

Call me OCD, but anytime I receive a firearm I field strip, inspect, clean, & lube it. Before going to the range, I field strip & inspect the firearms I'm shooting that day.

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-John

I was planning on doing that, got some new lube the gun store that ****ed up this gun told me to get, and it was cheap so I got it.

I watched a few videos of people using CLP to clean, and so now I have CLP to clean it and this lube to lube it

CLP is all you need. Cleaner Lubricant Preservative. Don't use other lubes after cleaning with CLP.

-- Chuck

They told me CLP is ******, im done going there for sure.

I admit I didn't believe that CLP was that good until I tried it. I had Rem-oil, Outers cleaner, Outers oil, Birchwood Casey bore cleaner & barricade, etc. For some reason, I never picked up CLP.

I purchased a 15-Sport. Kept reading that CLP is all you need. I bought some. Dang if it didn't work like a charm. Cleaned up the powder residue quickly. Then the light lube with clean CLP helps to keep the crud from sticking.

I still can't let go of Hoppes No.9. It also works like magic, and I've associated the scent of Hoppes No.9 to good times.

Yeah. They give you bad advice & ruined your 15-22. If the price is right, you can still buy guns there. Just don't listen to any of their advice.

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-John

Whoever told you that is stupid - and that the nicest thing I will say about them. Is this the same shop that trashed your firearm?

I've used nothing but BreakFree CLP on any of my guns. I'm to young to be stuck in the Hoppes #9 crowd... but I do love the conviction in which these guys use to stick to a great product.

I've never had any issues using CLP. Like it's been stated above.... CLP to clean up powder residue, then clean CLP to lube, great performance and durability so far... combine this cleaning product with a bore snake... genius.

Yeah exactly what was said above in the last few posts is what I have read all over from my research since owning this gun, CLP is the only thing people really talk about so I bought clp and bore snake cleaner first few days of owning gun.


Cant wait to get my gun back should here soon I am guessing, wish they would update me when it ships:/

So my buddy just was talking about how he bought a $200 ak47 off of a gun shop, and how his dad sorta works there and how great of a place it is and I go where at? and he says the name, well its the company that ruined my gun!!! I started asking him questions trying to figure things out and heres the info I got.

The "AR-15 Specialist" as they called him that worked on my gun, is actually a new guy, the old "AR-15 specialist" got fired for messing up peoples guns (a little over a month ago from what I gathered so its not the same guy as far as I know).

That's even more of a reason to avoid them. They replaced an incompetent employee with another incompetent employee.

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-John

Yeah pretty pathetic

Wow. Do you not have a Gander or other large outdoor outfitter in your area?

Use a buisness that has "alot to loose" if your unhappy. ie Gander or other LARGE Co.. A place that would rather rather do the work for free than have you bad mouth their tech.
"Randy's Gun Emporium" could give two POOPs if a younger fella with .22 gets screwed. See "Randy" is only in business so he can have toys that others cant. "Randy" knows that his 10 to 20 die hard hunters will be in the shop twice a year for a "major purchase". The hunting crowd, the three end of days preppers with a fear of WalMarts security cameras and his two true friends, the two that helped "Randy" bury that "package" back in highschool. This is all "Randy" need to keep the shop lights on. "Randy" could care less if he makes a yearly profit, thats what his accountant is for.

This place was bragging for selling $300,000 inventory in one month, and the shop looks like a broken down house with a collapsed roof and has a gun shop in the part of it....if i ever go back ill get a pic of it for you guys, THAT should have been first sign to not go in but they actually had great prices and nice inventory, and I didnt think anyone could mess up taking a flashhider off.

Just bustin your chops man.

Lesson learned. Could have been worse. You sure as heck won't do that again.

Just make sure to let us know the outcome.

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-John

You got it! I want to f*#@)$(@#$ shoot!!! Called s&w its not in the system yet (they had it for a few days.....lol.....) but he said it should take 1 day to fix and 2 days to get back, then hes like "id expect it in 2.5-3 weeks" hahahahah ***?

Oh well, ill get it when I get it and ill post pics with all the new stuff

GOT IT BACK! Yayyy. Cost $0

Look good. Did S&W share any repair info on the ticket sent with the repaired rifle? I'm curious to know what they fixed/replaced.

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-John

Got no info at all..its actually pretty bad they wouldnt even state which was fixed, or which parts were fixed, in all honesty it was a very horrible communication when it came to dealing with all of this.....but the thing was everything was absolutely GREAT when it came to how quick it was fixed, the price (free), and the quality job they did (got it back and it works just as it did new).

So I mean even though I was upset over the communcation and customer service, everything went super well so it was sorta a mixed review haha!

Very nice.
NOW, Make your bed you dirty azz!

Mixed review? Chris, Chris, you are one tough guy to please. As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently sent one of my brand-new firearms (not S&W) back for warranty work. This was 100% a quality-control issue; I had not altered or disassembled (other than normal field-stripping) the weapon in any way. It took a month to get it back, they provided no explanation of the work done, and although the original problem has been fixed, I'm now having other malfunctions.
A third party screwed up your rifle, not S&W. I'm sure the work they did on your rifle cost them way more than they made on the sale in the first place. It would have been entirely proper for them to charge you, but they fixed it quickly with no arguing and at no cost to you. IMHO, you should be singing the praises of S&W to everybody you see, with no reservations at all.
Happy shooting!

Thats what I am saying though, it was such a surprise they didnt charge me, when they knew it was the fault of another company, that I have a great review from that form I just am a very firm believer of being involved with customer service interaction, and in that department it was totally horrible.

So even though I am stunned at how great the actual service was, I just wish the customer service interaction/updates would have been better, but I cant complain due to how it was free and didnt take long at all so its a mixed review

But I am totally happy, and shot around 400 rounds through it within a day or two of getting it back

Some people just aren't happy unless they have something to complain about.