FEDEX tried to charge the shipper about $60 to send me my pistol... what a rip! Luckily, they delivered a restricted item (per FEDEX) ate and to the WRONG ADDRESS w/o signature as REQUIRED BY FEDEX, and I knew how to handle it and got the guy a full refund and told him to keep the portion I paid for...
I recently had to ship a pistol to another state. The company said to use UPS or FEDEX, and that there's no laws preventing me from sending it cheaply... So I broke it down and boxed it up in a small square box, put a label on it, and went to the local UPS "store front." Guy asked what it was, I was vague-- said it was parts, which it was, and I insured them.... $8 insured, standard ground.
PS: you can always take it to a locla FFL and see if they will ship it for you. It can be cheaper that way, even savings in gas...