Gun Cases?

[JimP]

I was at a raffle the other night and won a 2 rifle case that is sold by Harbor Freight and it is being shipped to my home in Colorado since I am in Utah after my hunting partner of 60 years passed away.

From the reviews it sounds like a good solid case that I plan on trying out next June on my African hunt. They claim that It is as solid as a Pelican case

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Sorry to hear about your hunting partner.

 

[taskswap]

Condolences, Jim.

I have the Harbor Freight case, the Apache 9800. It's been OK... The picture is very misleading. They show a rifle, shotgun, and two pistols in it but I BARELY fit a rifle and a shotgun in mine with nothing else. It's definitely a tank, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't drive on it with no damage, and I like that it has a good O-ring seal all around with a vent/vacuum release. My only complaint is that its pick-and-place foam isn't glued to the foam underneath it. If you have areas where there are narrow spaces between items, the foam has no support so it tends to get lost. For the price... it's "ok". I only use it when I really need it.

 

[JimP]

I stopped at a HF today on my way home to Colorado to check it out.

It does look quite sturdy and the latches seem quite solid. There is 2 locations for padlocks so I have that covered.

On the foam, it is suggested on the African hunting forum that you remove at least half of it and place clothing in it's place. This cuts down on the weight of your checked suitcase and open up room for other things. I myself don't like the cut out foam pieces so I just may remove it and put some egg crate foam into it and then go from there.

I know on my case that I purchased from Cabela's years ago that they claim that you can place 2 rifles into it. I found that it would be a tight fit. I removed the solid foam in it and replaced it with the egg crate foam just to make it easier to close it. With the solid foam you almost needed to drive a truck onto it to close it with a rifle inside. But I think that if you placed your rifles, shotguns, and pistols into it properly you may be able to do it. It might be a tight fit but it may work. This case from Cabela's is a aluminum case with no wheels so you have to pack it when you decided to move it.

I also plan on removing all the stickers that they have on the HF case.

This was one of the strangest raffles that I have gone to. There was no merchandise on display and all of it had to be shipped by on line catalog or mail order catalogs. But it was fun and I got to see a lot of old friends that I hadn't seen in years.

 

[Sawfish]

Years ago when my air travel for hunting increased, I ordered an Americase Safari Case. It holds three guns plus accessories, and is constructed from extruded aluminum with welded and reinforced corners. Later on when the airlines decreased the baggage weights, I could still take two guns and accessories without incurring excess baggage fees. The old case served me well on my hunting travels. Four years ago, when I retrieved the case from baggage, the end of the case and its piano hinges were badly damaged, I took it Baggage Claim, and asked the gentleman in charge if he knew any reasonable explanation for the damage other than the case being pushed out of the cargo hold? He told me that he did not, and proceeded to fill out the insurance claim, which was resolved to my complete satisfaction. The guns and accessories were undamaged thanks to the heavily constructed case. The point of all this is to reinforce the need for investing in a case that will protect the gun(s) that you intend to transport. There are no more cheap guns. A quality sporter with good glass can easily top $1,000 not to mention the cost of a ruined hunting trip. Something to consider when perusing the bargain basement cases at your local discount store.

 

[LeeSikvel]

I went with a cheap double case for travel but use a solid safe at home. For long-term storage and peace of mind, I trust www.libertysafe.com — their stuff just works and keeps everything secure. I’ve got a few rifles and handguns locked up in one, no issues over several years. Way better than juggling cases in the house all the time.

 

[tim]

Has anyone tried the trick of removing the top foam and packing clothes in the space the foam took up?
curious if there would be enough protection.

thanks
tim

 

[JimP]

On a African hunting forum that I am on packing clothing to cushion the rifles and optics was fairly common. That was until some countries that hunters were flying into decided to put a halt to it. Some still do it and get away with it while others end up being singled out for extra inspections and other things.

The consensuses has come down to just pack firearms and firearm accessories in your rifle case and clothing in your suit case when flying.

For me I want as much solid protection around my firearm and optics as I can get for when the baggage monkeys get a hold of my rifle case. On my last trip to Africa I watched my rifle case get dropped at least 5 times as others were handling it. The rifle and optics came through it just fine, I don't know if clothing would of protected it as well.

 

[TruckerJay]

For me I want as much solid protection around my firearm and optics as I can get for when the baggage monkeys get a hold of my rifle case. On my last trip to Africa I watched my rifle case get dropped at least 5 times as others were handling it. The rifle and optics came through it just fine, I don't know if clothing would of protected it as well.

Agree, mainly about optics tbh. You would never want your 2k scope to get damaged during the flight