A Good Gun Case For Traveling Wanted

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

Hi all! I'm off to Africa next year (August 2017) for the first time and I'm trying to get my gear together. Part of that means that I need something to get the rifle over to Africa and that's where you fine folks can (possibly, hopefully) come in! I'm looking for a decent condition used gun case to take with me. I've looked at Tuffpak, Pelican and a few others that have previously been mentioned on this forum and while I agree 100% that they look phenomenal they are also outside of my rather lean budget. So, the meat of the matter, if anyone has one of the above cases in fair condition, or another good one that they would like to unload please let me know! I'm pretty open at this point and not in any sort of rush but if your looking for an excuse to get rid of a case that has served admirably but has one too many cosmetic dents, dings, scrapes or other imperfections I'd really appreciate the chance to give the old warrior a good home! Thanks for reading and Happy Hunting!

 

[Divernhunter]

The HD Alum ones from Cabelas work fine.

 

[Rob404]

I'm a fan of SKB, I picked up mine on E-Bay as open stock at a great price,

 

[sheephunterab]

Worse thing you can do is cheap out on a case. Tuffpack has the added advantage of allowing you room for other items in the case and in many places having a soft case once you get there is a must. Watch weight on case too so you don't exceed 50 pounds.

 

[greyfox]

Watch craigslist and ebay. Occasionally you can find one ther for a good price. Also, Cabelas and Gander Mountain, if you have a rewards card or apply for one of their credit cards, you'll get a bunch of bonus points and discounts, buy the case, pay off the card and cancel it.

 

[johnnyblues]

Without a doubt do not scrimp on a good quality gun case. Last thing you want after traveling thousands of miles is to have problems with your gun. I've owned a double rifle case made by pelican for many years and it has a lot of miles on it and I m sure it's been tossed by more than one anti hunting ,gun hateing baggage handler. Never once has the zero been knocked off or gun damaged in any way. Trust me on this one.

 

[Eddie P]

I got a 2nd hand Peli case off of Ebay. To save his hassle I told the guy just to cable tie it and put my address on the outside.

After a trip to Greenland and back it still looks almost new.

So since I bought it, it has survived the UK postal service with no protection, 8 flights, and being dragged along gravel roads for a few miles.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

The only downside is the weight of them. I have no concerns that if the case arrives, it and the contents will be intact.

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

Thank you all for the tips, rest assured I am very much watching Ebay and Craigslist like a hawk! I agree, I've looked at the forums and I know not to cheap out on the case, that's why I was asking if anyone had one that just had too many dents and dings for their taste but was still serviceable . Also, like I said, I have until next year to wrangle this thing in, I just thought that I'd start early and see if anything turned up. Again, thank you for looking, and also thank you for the suggestions!

 

[BRICKBURN]

If you lived closer I'd lend you mine.

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

If you lived closer I'd lend you mine.

Thanks for the thought! A question I had, I took another look at tuff and pelican, I saw that pelican has foam but the tuff case is more of a cylinder container with no foam. How does your rifle not lose zero in a case like a tuff since there is no foam to hold it in place? Just curious

 

[CAustin]

The HD Alum ones from Cabelas work fine.

Have one of these myself and it works great. Holds two guns and a few other things with no problem.
Watch the return sections at the big box sporting centers and you may find one! I see them now and again in the Bargain Cave at Cabela's.
You have a year so watching and shopping will win the day.

 

[Mekaniks]

Thanks for the thought! A question I had, I took another look at tuff and pelican, I saw that pelican has foam but the tuff case is more of a cylinder container with no foam. How does your rifle not lose zero in a case like a tuff since there is no foam to hold it in place? Just curious

Put your rifle in a soft case inside the tuff pak with the back end up so that you can get the gun out easily without taking the entire soft case out for rifle inspection. Then pack other stuff (coat, clothes, raingear, ect) around it to keep the rifle from banging around. Just stay under 50lbs and its all good.

 

[Royal27]

Thanks for the thought! A question I had, I took another look at tuff and pelican, I saw that pelican has foam but the tuff case is more of a cylinder container with no foam. How does your rifle not lose zero in a case like a tuff since there is no foam to hold it in place? Just curious

The rifles stay in their soft case and the you pack clothes and other items around it. Fleeces and your jacket are great.

They both work well, but the tuffpak allows you to back much more in addition to your rifles. It is a personal preference but I find the tuffpak impossible to beat.

 

[wesheltonj]

Watch Cabelas, when I purchased mine (Pelican), it was on sale, for $50 off, plus I had a card for $35 off any one item.

The only problem with a used one is the foam my not be cut to your rifle, and you end up having to buy new foam and with shipping you end up paying more for a used one then a new one.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The rifles stay in their soft case and the you pack clothes and other items around it. Fleeces and your jacket are great.
............

Bingo.

 

[Divernhunter]

On the Cabelas Alum case. They are made by CCI and they often have discounted ones. Nothing wrong with them. I bout one and it turned out to be a NIB undamaged Cabelas case that was last years model. The one I got was with 90* corners and the new model had 45* corners. Before I got that one for my daughter I orders a CCI case direct and paid more. I should have looked at the discounted ones the 1st time.

Also the ones we got had 2 pieces of foam in the top and 2 in the bottom. I took one out of each side and packed clothes there and then there was still foam for the rifles/sticks. This is not the type of foam you cut to fit. I do not like that in any gun case I own. Then we got back home I put the foam pieces back in for when hunt without air travel.

 

[markferrigno]

I used this case to bring two scoped rifles on two trips to Namibia. No problems, no damage, stayed zeroed. Wheels are nice. It comes with the "puck" foam which is not as easy as it sounds. I cut it, you tube has some helpful videos. For my 2nd trip I had a different rifle so I just bought and extra pice of foam and cut it out.....

http://www.amazon.com/Plano-Double-Scoped-Rifle-Wheels/dp/B0029KDHQI/ref=pd_sim_200_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41oEIZkbqNL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0R70F0RGX60Y8QEGBZBH

 

[johnnyblues]

Always wondered about the tuff pack. Concept is good just don't know if you can fit clothing and essential goods in it. Seems to me you would still need to pack a duffle bag and send it along.

 

[Therack]

Today is the last day for Cabelas 10% off sale with free shipping. Most Pelican cases are on sale and take an additional 10% off.

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

Thank you for all the help and advice all! Quick question about weight, I've read you want to keep it under 50 lbs, is that easier with a Tuff, a Pelican or a Plano? I like the Pelican look but it also seems like it would weigh a lot, same with Plano. Is Tuff the same as well? Thank you again for all your help!