UPS "modified" Browning B92

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Sat May 23, 2009 7:56 am

What do you think of my "Wanted, Dead or Alive" modified Browning B92 357mag????

This was done at "no charge, no pay the insured amount" by the UPS. I've been fighting them since the last of April and just filed a complaint with my state Attorney General. If needed the next step will be going to court.

Let me end by saying NEVER,NEVER,NEVER ship anything UPS.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:08 am

OMG

How can they refuse to make that right.
The amount of force to snap that hardwood stock???
Was there any other damage/action binding/lever bent or anything?
They need to replace it for you with a NEW GUN????????????
UNREAL!!!

crs · Post by **crs** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:20 am

mmm, I do not want to be the first to accuse UPS of being "anti-gun", but this does seem to be a very common occurance.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:30 am

I'm real sorry to see that. They want you to give up, but don't.

It just proves their motto:

Usually Pieces Scattered

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:31 am

crs wrote:mmm, I do not want to be the first to accuse UPS of being "anti-gun", but this does seem to be a very common occurance.

Then how do you explain the guns on gun shop shelves in pristine condition that were sent via UPS with absolutely no damage.

Stuff happens. It's unfortunate.

Now, the claim for damages is another story. UPS should pay up. A lawyer will probably be the route to satisfaction here.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:34 am

The dealer and buyer I shipped the gun to said they didn't think there was any other damage (to the tang or lever). It's staying with the receiving dealer till this is settled.

Browse thru the link below for more info on UPS

http://www.unitedpackagesmashers.com/in ... nc-office/

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:55 am

Sorry for your loss.
Maybe it's going to turn out to be a good thing. The grain in that stock should be running the other way. I'm totally unimpressed with Browning stocks. I have several and the non-Belgian ones have crappy wood.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:47 am

I agree with Tycer. That wood should never have been used in the first place. The grain flow is all wrong. That stock would have broken in your hands under recoil if on a heavy recoiling caliber rifle.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Sat May 23, 2009 10:21 am

I agree with Tycer and Chuck. That stock would have broken the first time you skidded on frozen muskeg and landed on your butt. Think of it as a failed stress test, or think of it as a mare's leg.

I know their "service" blows. They once delivered a printer to me that had fallen out of the bottom of the box because they allowed it to get wet. "They" are about as fallible as human nature.

DPris · Post by **DPris** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:02 am

Not necesarily defending UPS, but I get a number of guns in each year through them that come through fine. It's roughly 50-50 between UPS & Fedex.
In 19 years of running guns in both directions through both companies, I've had one gun stolen enroute from S&W and one gun damaged.
I can't recall which shipper it came through, but last year a Marlin .44 Mag levergun came in that had the stock busted in the same spot.
The mystery there was that the box was totally undamaged & still sealed from the factory. It appeared that the gun was shipped that way from Marlin itself.

Was your box damaged?

In my case, I just had Marlin send me a new stock. Not so easy in your case.

Denis

brucew44guns · Post by **brucew44guns** » Sat May 23, 2009 10:15 pm

I'm a little down on UPS myself. Shipped a chainsaw recently. When the gal over there knew it was a saw with gas engine, she acted like I was shipping an explosive bomb. I assured her the gas was drained completely' lots of padding inside to hold any drips that could by chance secrete. NO WAY!! So I went to Fed EX, and off the saw went.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Sat May 23, 2009 10:18 pm

There needs to be a warning on this post that the picture may bring tears to one's eyes!

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Sun May 24, 2009 10:56 am

I had the same thing happen last year with a near perfect Model 88 Winchester. Packaged well enough that it had to
have been really smashed against something had to split the stock and damage the scope.

I finallly gave up with fighting with those ----'s that I parted it out. Bushnell was kind enough to
repair the scope for free after I told them what happened.

I take the stocks off everything before I send it anymore.

jb

Cosmoline · Post by **Cosmoline** » Sun May 24, 2009 11:53 am

I've seen this sort of thing before. Personally I've had much better luck with USPS.

Brian in FL · Post by **Brian in FL** » Sun May 24, 2009 2:01 pm

I recently purchased a rifle from a gent on another web site. When he asked how I wanted it shipped, UPS or USPS, I thought of all the horror stories involving UPS and firearms and told him to ship it via USPS. It arrived at my FFL in fine shape. There was not a trace of damage on the box. Given a choice, I'll always pick USPS. By the way, I was a letter carrier years ago and I know how carefully the USPS handles packages from experience.

edwardyoung · Post by **edwardyoung** » Sun May 24, 2009 4:42 pm

UPS shill? Now I've heard everything

DPris wrote:Not necesarily defending UPS, but I get a number of guns in each year through them that come through fine. It's roughly 50-50 between UPS & Fedex.
In 19 years of running guns in both directions through both companies, I've had one gun stolen enroute from S&W and one gun damaged.
I can't recall which shipper it came through, but last year a Marlin .44 Mag levergun came in that had the stock busted in the same spot.
The mystery there was that the box was totally undamaged & still sealed from the factory. It appeared that the gun was shipped that way from Marlin itself.

Was your box damaged?

In my case, I just had Marlin send me a new stock. Not so easy in your case.

Denis

meanc · Post by **meanc** » Sun May 24, 2009 7:02 pm

I've been shipping long guns via US Postal for the past 20yrs.
Never a lost/stolen/damaged/undelivered package.

I've shipped handguns via UPS for the same amount of time.
Never a lost/stolen/damaged/undelivered package.

Lucky so far.

But I'd definitely see if you could at least get an attorney to just make a friendly phone call introducing himself then describe the situation and make them aware of your intentions.

DPris · Post by **DPris** » Sun May 24, 2009 8:23 pm

Edwardy,
You sunumagun!
Can't get ANYTHING past you!

Denis

edwardyoung · Post by **edwardyoung** » Sun May 24, 2009 9:21 pm

DPris wrote:Edwardy,
You sunumagun!
Can't get ANYTHING past you!
Denis

Hey Denis,

Let me know right before you get truly annoyed.

DPris · Post by **DPris** » Sun May 24, 2009 11:00 pm

You'll be the first!

Denis

TNBigBore · Post by **TNBigBore** » Tue May 26, 2009 9:43 am

The rifle pictured was to be my rifle

. I saw the box and packing and stormspotter did a nice job. The box did not appear to be damaged either. Their denial of his claim in despicable. This is the third rifle in four years that UPS has trashed. This is out of about a dozen rifles I have received from UPS in that timeframe. I have never had a problem with the USPS. Needless to say, I am done with UPS. I will not use them for anything ever again and will tell everyone who will listen not to use UPS.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Tue May 26, 2009 10:37 am

Looks like you have a "Mare's Leg" now...

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue May 26, 2009 10:53 am

I'd order a new stock and forearm and eat it... that stock was waiting to break ... the grain was wrong thorugh the wrist as others have noted.

The Fed EX guy stole a box of empty 20 gauge AA hulls from me once... and the footprints in the fresh snow was more than enough evidence for me. The first 10 minutes on the phone told me resistance was futile....

"Ya pays your money and takes yer chances"

Knock on wood..never lost or broke a whole gun (yet)
~J

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:33 pm

Several people have commented that stock was ready to break, wrong grain direction, etc.

That is irrelevant. The gun was intact in good condition when it was packed and shipped, and broken upon arrival. It's UPS's fault ... period.

Joe

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Tue May 26, 2009 6:51 pm

I don't know the force needed to break it, but I'm sure that it would not have broken if handled in a "normal" way. I feel it got caught in a log jam on a belt or was sticking out of a container and got broken during shipping.

Still waiting to hear from the complaint I filed with my state's Attorney General.

Hillbilly · Post by **Hillbilly** » Wed May 27, 2009 5:24 pm

I guess that just the way I am in my crotchety old age... I cant justify what a shipping company does when they break something... never will... that damage violates the "compact"...I gave it to you whole and expect it to arrive whole.

The 25 phone calls ... hours of time and agravation to straigten something like this out agitate the heck out of me...I am turning into a "one strike-your out" kind of person with service business... heck, I fired 2 doctors this year alone for bad customer service.

Thats what I meant about "eating it"... sometimes the pleasure aint worth the pain.

SmokeEater2 · Post by **SmokeEater2** » Thu May 28, 2009 7:02 pm

well,It's not just UPS. My 1895ss arrived today via USPS priority mail and the butt stock is broken right by the lever on the left side. I took out the stock screw when I got home and the stock is separated in 2 pieces.

I guess I will call the Marlin parts dept. in the AM and get a new one. Anyone know what they go for?

DPris · Post by **DPris** » Thu May 28, 2009 8:58 pm

I had Marlin send a new one no charge.
What shape was the box?
Denis

SmokeEater2 · Post by **SmokeEater2** » Thu May 28, 2009 9:16 pm

DPris wrote:I had Marlin send a new one no charge.
What shape was the box?
Denis

Sorry, I didn't make it very clear that it was a used rifle (bought on gunbroker) The box had an "accordion" like crease in it like it had most likely been dropped (pretty hard apparently) on the end. The seller had packed it well but he didn't foresee a javelin tossing contest at the post office. I don't blame the seller for this at all since imo he upheld his part of the deal and did all he could have done short of building a wooden (or steel) box to ship it in.

TNBigBore · Post by **TNBigBore** » Fri May 29, 2009 10:00 am

SmokeEater2 wrote:well,It's not just UPS. My 1895ss arrived today via USPS priority mail and the butt stock is broken right by the lever on the left side. I took out the stock screw when I got home and the stock is separated in 2 pieces. I guess I will call the Marlin parts dept. in the AM and get a new one. Anyone know what they go for?

Obviously, the USPS, FedEx etc can damage merchandise as well. However, in four years, three out of about a dozen rifles shipped to me by UPS have been damaged. I have received more than twice that many delivered by the USPS with no damage. I have had only a few shipped by FedEx, but no damage from them either. I personally only use the USPS to ship rifles going from my end, and have never had a damaged rifle arrive on the other end. It could happen this week, but it has not so far. To me, the numbers speak for themselves.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Fri May 29, 2009 4:12 pm

State AG has contacted me for more information and pictures of my Browning.

Hopefull they will stir the pot some.

More later.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:51 pm

Guess what?????? After 2 letters from my state AG, I have heard from UPS. They will pay for a replacement stock, probably from Wenig Gunstocks as they are about 20 miles from me. I will have to take it to Wenig and have them give me a written estimate to submit to UPS. Wenig does great work and it will probably be nicer than the factory one.

It's still in the early process of getting settled but at least the AG got them on the ball.

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:00 pm

I am glad you are getting it resolved, but you should not have had to go through all that to get to this point.

TNBigBore · Post by **TNBigBore** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:20 pm

mescalero1 wrote:I am glad you are getting it resolved, but you should not have had to go through all that to get to this point.

+1

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:26 pm

Gosh, I thought UPS would have to have a NFA "manufacturer's license" to do that - I'm surprised the ATF doesn't arrest UPS and seize everything they have on their property...

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:57 am

Saw a program about UPS's mega hub, if the gun went through that thing, it is not surprising it arrived damaged many conveyers, moving very fast, anything caught up in that would be hammered to death.

bogus bill · Post by **bogus bill** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:34 am

I once bought a browning safari in 308. I belive it was a sako action built in finnland. The 1st time I took it out to sight in, it cracked almost full length! I was sick! It was one of the prettist figuered red and black wood stocks I had ever seen. You could see where a chip of wood was glued in at the factory where the crack started under the action. Yes, I got a new stock from them, but it wasnt near as pretty. Here it is with the new stock. (It happened in the 1970s).

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:51 pm

mescalero1 wrote:Saw a program about UPS's mega hub, if the gun went through that thing, it is not surprising it arrived damaged many conveyers, moving very fast, anything caught up in that would be hammered to death.

I saw the same program on the Discovery a couple months ago.

44magHunter · Post by **44magHunter** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:43 pm

jdad wrote:I'm real sorry to see that. They want you to give up, but don't.

It just proves their motto:

Usually Pieces Scattered

You know that's sad but true.

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:08 pm

Too bad it's been such a pain in the rear, but at least you'll get some satisfaction in the end.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:23 pm

A final note on this subject.

UPS just notified me today that they are going to pay the insured amount of my B92.

They also said to have the rifle returned to me and use the insurance money to have a new stock made for it. Gee, it only took 4 months to get done what I had asked for in the first place.

If anyone has problems with UPS, please contace your state Attorney General and report them.

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:39 pm

Good. It's about time.

DarryH · Post by **DarryH** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:32 pm

I have shipped right around 100 long guns via UPS.
With my packing, I have NEVER had a gun damaged.

I have had one gun arrive with the box in shreds, the hard case cracked with pieces missing, but no damage to the gun.

I have had one gun and box arrive in perfect condition, only to have someone there use a knife or box opener on the packaging.
They damaged a hand-picked stock in two spots, and scratched the bluing in a couple more. The worst part, nobody there fessed up, and the company blamed my packaging. They admitted it was very well wrapped and padded. They offerd to re-blue the gun,
but charge me $80 for it. I told them where to go, got my gun back as it was, and sold it cheap to someone else, who did hear the story before buying it. I won't say who the dealer repair shop is. I do have a suggestion though, don't ever send anything to
"Beeman Airguns" for repair. I found out, just taking the stock off voids the factory warranty.

I have seen a great many guns damaged at the stock wrist.
Long packages go off conveyor belts nose first every time.
A ten foot fall can easily cause this damage unless special care is taken in packing.

Good Shootin!!
DarryH

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:08 am

i don't do business with UPS if it is avoidable.

I just got P.O.'d about their arrogance and the fact that one could enter their offices to ship packages only 2 hours each day (10:30-11:30 am, & 4:00-5:00 pm). I shifted to using FedEx and have never had a problem getting those folks to accept a package, even after "oficial" closing time.

Good Luck getting satisfaction from the Brown Shirts.

TNBigBore · Post by **TNBigBore** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:51 am

I am glad they made it right, but you should not have had to go through all of this to get them to do what was right.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:56 pm

Again, I urge anyone who has had problems with UPS to contact your state Attorney General. They are the ones who got the ball rolling for me. Once i receive my check, I I'm going to call the AG and give them a big WELL DONE and Thank You.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:43 pm

Most big corporations will hang for as long as it takes to get the weak-kneed to cave in. As you did, filing the complaint with the State Attorney General and actually filing a complaint in Court both tend to short-circuit their claims process. Seen from their standpoint, it's very understandable... they get THOUSANDS of claims per day... and while they carry insurance for this, claims, especially ones they pay on, cause said insurance premiums to raise. Thus the stall and delay tactic.

I have two friends that are lawyers... I write one letter explaining the problem... then when either they don't meet the time frame given for them to respond, I write a second; again explaining the problem, and copying "my lawyer" that upon further reflection I've decided to pursue the issue thru my lawyer... and telling them that all further correspondence should be directed to his attention. I've never had to go beyond that second letter.

Ya done good.

stormspotter · Post by **stormspotter** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:32 pm

I have found a factory Browning B92 buttstock at Western Gun Parts, in Canada, and have ordered one. They had a few and will pick out one of the better ones to send me. They have had some for a while, but people have gotten a lot of the better ones and fit them to Winchester Model 92's (so they say). At least it's a factory Browning B92 stock. Don't know anything about them, but their online info sounds and looks good. They are supposed to have a large stock of parts for older guns and I am just passing this on for your info.

You can find them at www.westerngunparts.com if interested.