Open Letter to the Gun Industry

Please for the love of all that is holy… Stop using cheap Styrofoam in your packaging.  Use better quality stuff.  Remington uses some, but it’s denser and generally problem free.

Here’s a Winchester.

This was a Shotgun and the area where the barrel’s gas ring was chewed the foam up during shipping.  This caused little foam bits to be all over the gun.  Not too bad but I hate cleaning brand new guns after just opening up a box.  Even when a little bit comes apart… it quickly becomes a mess.

Here’s a Stoeger.

This was just ridiculous.  That stuff was freaking everywhere and it had collected some static so it stuck to everything and fought being wiped off.  It took some time to get it cleaned out.  But for weeks after we would still pull foam bits out from inside parts.  External, Internal… just a train wreck.

Not gives a customer confidence in a product they have just purchased, when we open the box up and it looks like that.    There has got to be a better way.  Eh?

10 thoughts on “Open Letter to the Gun Industry”

  1. Vacuuming may work to remove the foam bits. Another option may be an ionizer. I am not sure if they make a system big enough to handle a shotgun, but we use ionizers (either using a radiation source, alpha emitter, or an electrical system for removing static from air filters prior to gravimetric analysis). All it does is flood the filter with ions which eliminate the electrons (static).

    Of course, the other option is to pack the firearm in an isocyanate foam packaging which will form to fit the firearm better and prevent this problem to begin with. Or, seal the firearm in plastic inside of the foam.

  2. I wonder how much of that is the manufacturers’ fault and how much the carrier’s fault. I’ve seen packages that have obviously been driven over (tire tracks) and computers that underwent enough G forces that and internal drive cage was warped over 45 degrees. And, after knowing loaders and drivers who work for these companies, any damage doesn’t surprise me. I’ve heard them brag about intentionally damaging packages marked fragile. Perhaps, you should have a talk with the Gun Dudes about this?

  3. Can I add FNH to your list? Saved up/horse traded for an FS2000, bits of it were in every possible crack and crevice. Took 3 cleanings to finally get it all.

    Side note, Slipstream does not melt Styrofoam. I had been kind of hoping it did…

  4. I had a Winchester that had this problem and an FN. I also bought a Sako a few years ago that was also packed in the same crap. I know this isn’t a fancy custom gun, but you would think for the price, they could come up with something better.

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