CLOSED Miroku 1861

[springfield art]

Shipping is out of control. A musket I shipped last year for 65 now costs 100

wow! didn't realize it was so THAT expensive now!

 

[springfield art]

I always saved the boxes repro muskets came in, in case of storage or shipping needs in the future. They're in my garage attic! Of course nowadays a wooden crate is probably safer, maybe the cardboard box WITHIN a wood crate!

 

[longtoothpard]

Miruko 61 finally arrived. Very pleased. Will take some work to remove a lot of pitting but it is great piece. Has the look and feel of an original. Appears to have been an early defarb job. Japan and Navy Arms were removed and the barrel bands were stamped with the letter U. Overall not a bad musket. Bore is relatively good shape. Stock cleaned up nicely and appears to have an oil finish. Well worth the wait. Will post pics when it is done.

 

[longtoothpard]

I always saved the boxes repro muskets came in, in case of storage or shipping needs in the future. They're in my garage attic! Of course nowadays a wooden crate is probably safer, maybe the cardboard box WITHIN a wood crate!

Bought a Miroku Charleville from David Noye at the Tulsa Gun Show 2 years ago. Didn't have the cash at the show but sent it in later. David built a wooden crate for it. Surprisingly it was only less than $10 more than shipping cardboad and a whole lot more secure. I kept it for transporting.

 

[longtoothpard]

First step in the restoration project. I have more work to do on the lockplate but the pitting is worked out. After on the left, before on the right.

 

[flintlock lover.]

I bought a Queen Ann pistol from a gent off this forum a couple of months ago.
USPS informed me that the pistol was delivered to my local USPS office for delivery to my address. It wasn't delivered for two days so I went to my local USPS office and inquired about it.
They informed me that they probably had returned the box to "dead package" holding in Macon Ga because it had no delivery address label and that it was now "unrecoverable" even though both they and I could track it's location.
They claimed that even they had no method in place to pick out my package to correct the problem and no method in place to contact anyone at the holding center to locate the package and put an address on it even though the tracking number was still in place on the box.
Long story made short: I got into my car and drove to every location in the state the package was recorded to have past through.
I talked to every supervisor I could at all of those locations. None would tell me where the "dead package" holding was all claimed it was a secret location in order to prevent the bldg from being broken in to.
Sounds like a spy novel.
While I was trying to locate this secret bldg by watching the Macon office figuring that it would be fairly close and picking Macon because that was the last location that the package was tracked to, the pistol was delivered to my home in an open box that it was too long to fit into, that had the tracking number affixed with glue
I don't believe that this was a case where all the people in the long chain of USPS employees I talked to were trying to steal one muzzleloader. I am of the mind that one individual tried to steal an item and both the seller's and my sellers persistence to find that item might have lead to a discovery that the people I talked to didn't want to happen.
Of course, we live in a time of expecting conspiracy around every corner and by any agents with any connection to the government. But then if it didn't come out that so many crazy conspiracies actually DID happen we might not constantly expect them.
Just my opinion.

 

[springfield art]

I bought a Queen Ann pistol from a gent off this forum a couple of months ago.
USPS informed me that the pistol was delivered to my local USPS office for delivery to my address. It wasn't delivered for two days so I went to my local USPS office and inquired about it.
They informed me that they probably had returned the box to "dead package" holding in Macon Ga because it had no delivery address label and that it was now "unrecoverable" even though both they and I could track it's location.
They claimed that even they had no method in place to pick out my package to correct the problem and no method in place to contact anyone at the holding center to locate the package and put an address on it even though the tracking number was still in place on the box.
Long story made short: I got into my car and drove to every location in the state the package was recorded to have past through.
I talked to every supervisor I could at all of those locations. None would tell me where the "dead package" holding was all claimed it was a secret location in order to prevent the bldg from being broken in to.
Sounds like a spy novel.
While I was trying to locate this secret bldg by watching the Macon office figuring that it would be fairly close and picking Macon because that was the last location that the package was tracked to, the pistol was delivered to my home in an open box that it was too long to fit into, that had the tracking number affixed with glue
I don't believe that this was a case where all the people in the long chain of USPS employees I talked to were trying to steal one muzzleloader. I am of the mind that one individual tried to steal an item and both the seller's and my sellers persistence to find that item might have lead to a discovery that the people I talked to didn't want to happen.
Of course, we live in a time of expecting conspiracy around every corner and by any agents with any connection to the government. But then if it didn't come out that so many crazy conspiracies actually DID happen we might not constantly expect them.
Just my opinion.

Very Kafka-esqe! What a nightmare!

 

[flintlock lover.]

Very Kafka-esqe! What a nightmare!

It was!
But I have the gun, it was unpacked, played around with and abused during it's time with USPS .
Smacked around like it had been beaten on the edge of table before delivery. Several new handling marks that were not present in the pictures I got from the seller. The box it was setting in when I received it was a couple of inches too short for the gun to even fit into and have closed the box.
I left out a few things that different USPS employees (supervisors) accused me of possibly being guilty of ( you must have drugs or something illegal in the box or you wouldn't be so upset that it's undeliverable) like I should just let it go and forget about it. They really acted like they believed that I'd take their word that nothing could be done and just walk away thinking it was my loss.
They, much like a previous postman we had figured that losing it, breaking it or stealing it wasn't a problem unless it was heavily insured.
Again this is just my thoughts.
But I find it interesting that it was "unrecoverable" and "undeliverable" yet when they realized I wasn't going to just walk away it suddenly became deliverable and pretty easy to locate.