I've been having similar problems with FedEx in terms of non-hazardous and non-gun products I buy on Ebay and Amazon. In particular, they provide an estimated delivery date, but on the delivery date, there's no update. Then the packages are in a diffeent part of the country with no updated estimated delivery date.
Heck, even USPS is more reliable than FedEx lately, and that says a lot.
Did S&W give you an option to use UPS, DHL, or another carrier, or were you stuck with Fed Ex (Fed Up, as it were)?