All posts tagged Allen gun cases

Soft gun cases are the way to go

I still think having a couple SKB gun cases that were configured for your favorite Carbine and handgun is cool, but I don’t have the money to spend to do that for all of the firearms I own.  The other issue is storing all of the bulk in your home.  For that $3000 rifle with the $1600 optic on it, then go ahead and get  a hard case, but I think after lifting your guns in and out of a vehicle, you’ll be more than happy with using a soft gun case.   Being able to fold up 5 or 6 assault rifle type cases and put it in a closet sure beats having to figure out how the heck to fit 1 hard case in any of my closets.   A soft gun case should be labeled in my opinion so you know which magazines or gear to store in it.   Staying organized and not getting confused and showing up at a range with the wrong magazines is something that is avoidable.

I admit I have gained  much of my experience through making mistakes, but showing up with an AK rifle after an hour of driving and pulling Mini 14 magazines out of one of the gun cases, was a learning experience.  Uncle Mikes assault rifle cases are what I mostly have and for the money I spent and how little wear the cases show, I really could not have justified spending money on anything more expensive.   I have looked into getting a Tac Force transport gun case for long road trips just because I think they stack a little more consistantly, this can be an issue if you are loading up more in a vehicle than just a daily range trip.

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Tactical gear and clothing

There are a lot of words that get thrown around in the firearm industry that are fairly broad.    Tactical clothing these days may sound like BDUs to one person and 5.11 tactical clothing to another.    Tactical gear can mean anything from a folding stock to a knife, or a $1500 rifle scope.    The word “tactical” doesn’t really tell you what something is going to be used for in the field.    I have some pretty dressed down AR15 rifles that to some people, just look like violent weapons and scare them, while most of us that are familiar with the accessorized M4 Carbine, will find a A2 style AR15 to be  pretty bland.

The so called tactical clothing and concealed carry markets seem to be new markets and these terms get thrown around a lot but don’t really tell us much.  To the trained individual, they can spot a knife in the pocket and 5.11 style pants from a mile away and loads of pockets full of tactical gear and usually that’s a dead giveaway that someone is carrying a firearm.   Think about what purpose your clothing is to serve and adapt to it.   There are more than a few good clothing companies that are making concealed carry friendly apparel.

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Transportation and travel with guns

rifle casesSKB and Pelican make gun storage units that will protect your guns if they get knocked around.  The foam pads can always be customized for specific guns and gear and I highly recommend doing so.   I strongly believe in buying gun cases that are for specific firearms and especially so for rifles.   You will be able to fit varying sizes of handguns in the pistol cases depeding on which way you place them, but rifles will get tricky and since most of them will have optics, you gotta be careful how much you pack them.  There are even some rifle cases that can hold your magazines, pistol, and pistol magazines.

There are always pros and cons of certain types of gear for your rifle and there are always trade offs.  A gun sock is good for protecting your guns from some levels of friction, they don’t take up much room in storage and they also don’t add weight to your gun in transport.   Any padded gun case will give you easy  use and easy storage, but when you start transporting firearms that are $1500-$5000 you’re going to want to think about hard rifle cases.   Granted, a sniper drag bag that is properly designed will give you plenty of protection and easy to drag around, but I’m talking about range days or inter State transportation.

 

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The poor mans bi-pod

rifle casesI remember the days when I was learning how to shoot and always tried to put each round in the same hole at 100yds regardless of which type of rifle I was shooting.   My novice approach to shooting exposed my nieve goals of trying to make an SKS rifle a tack driver.   Instead of compensating my aiming for eveyr hit, I should have just aimed the center X and tried to get withing 4 inches and then call it a  day.   Each rifle is capable of shooting a certain group, but sometimes we do exceed a rifles potential and it’s time to move on to something better.

I’ve seen guys throw bipods on rifles and shoot no better than I did when I just shoved my folded rifle cases up and used them for stability.   One of those inexpensive Uncle Mikes case will give you several inches of rise and if you get in a good firing position, keep your barrel off the fabric, you should be able to get as stable as a bi-pod.   Bi-pods will help reduce your wobble, but they still don’t mean rock steady balance if your firing position isn’t good.

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Training and preparedness

Tactical gun casesTactical gun cases are rarely used to their fullest.  After witnessing a lot of shooting events, I’d have to say that disorganization seems to be pretty common amongst most gun owners.  I’ve seen guys show up  with wrong magazines, no backup batteries, no screw drivers, no tools for fixing scopes and countless other goofy stuff.   There have been a few times where I was impressed at how well guys or gals organized there gear in one range bag.

The truth of the matter is only you know what your firearm needs to keep it up and running and what to repair it with, I’m not talking about stockpiling tons of ammo and tools boxes in  your rifle case, but you really should check out some of the tactical rifle cases that are out there.   Uncle Mikes, Bulldog and tacforce all make tactical cases, but their other other usefull pockets other than the standard 30rd magazine pockets.   If you’re going to pick up a gun case, you really should think about marking it with something so you know which gun is in there.   Keep a small multi purpose screw driver in there, allen keys, maybe something to carry batteries for your flashlight or Eotech optics, and you may seriously think about keeping your sight in tools there.  There are various types of tactical rifles cases, some are much close to sniper drag bags than something you can carry like a briefcase, but it may save you some headaches if you are always prepared.

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The Reason for a gun case

Allen Gun CasesThere are som many variations of gun cases.   Some gun case can be loaded up with firearms and gear and practical have a nuke detonated on them and they’ll survive, but not everyone is concerened with that.   Some of us may want to keep our Mini 14 and Mini 30 magazines matched up to the appropriate rifle case and buy and assault rifle type case and then mark the bag and put the correct magazines with each so we don’t have to spend an entire evening preparing for the following days shooting range.    I’ve also learned to organize all of my firearm accessories and magazines so I don’t have one of those days where I show up at the range and find out I had the wrong magazines or no mags with me.
If this sounds like something you might want to avoid, as you collect firearms, try and atleast find a rifle case that is appropriate for your rifle or pistols.   Whether you are transporting a Remington 700 on a hunting trip or a Smith & Wesson model 19 to a trainings course, you may want to consider something as inexpensive as a gun case from Allen Gun cases.   The Endura pistol and rifle cases just zip up your gun and help prevent it from being scratched up.   Remember to look for the correct size case, and you may want to mark it so you know which gun it is meant for.   Spending $10-$25 on a gun case may save you some headaches and prevent disorganization of damage in transport.

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Protect and organize your guns

Gun CasesAssault rifle case cases can also hold ammo and store sight in tools, too.    Uncle Mike’s also has an inexpensive line of rifle cases that can hold anything from a collapsed M4 Carbine to a full size A2.   The soft cases are soft, but can still be folded in half to be used as a rest if you’re will to be creative on the firing line.

Sometimes people think a gun case is for transporting your firearm from your home to the range.   Many tactical gun cases can actually help keep your gun and gear all in one case.     There are several gun cases that can hold 3 or more rifle magazines and its a great way to keep your magazines organized.   I personally like to store my 5.45×39 magazines in a Bulldog Hybrid assualt case and mark the bag, that way I can just grab the rifle from storage and throw it in the bag knowing my mags are already there.

 

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