All posts tagged Rifle Cases

Take your gear camping and get back to me

I always enjoy watching the weekend warrior guys show up with their $4000 worth of M4 and accessories that are the first ones to panic and want to leave the range if it starts to drizzle.   The idea that your $4000 rifle will some how get ruined in the rain and the majority of firearms like it are expected to be combat reliable.   Well… what is combat reliability?  Combat reliability is a gun that will take a level of abuse in bad weather and dirty conditions without malfunctioning.  If you have a military issued rifle, the gun better darn well be combat reliable and a little bit of rain shouldn’t concern you.

Combat optics are are also given this description because they better take the abuse and still hold zero.  The gun should work if it gets dropped and the glass better not break.   I’ve retired a few rifle scopes because they would fog up and I learned the lesson of wiping all of my hunting rifles down with a light amount of CLP whenever I brought them back from a trip. Take your gun cases and your firearms out on a day when the weather isn’t that great and have some confidence.   A good nylon rifle case should protect your firearms from moisture and dirt and there’s nothing to cry about if you know your gear.

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The SKS rifle, more accurate than the AK?

I’ve heard all of those stories about how inaccurate the AK is, but I’ve seen my fair share of 2 MOA guns that could hit out to 400yds very effectively if the shooter knew what they were doing.  Yesterday i witnessed 2 young adults nail targets out to 30oyds with an SKS rifle that was zeroed in at 200yds.   I would say that if they had optics that gave them a bullet compensator then they probable could have been effective out another 150yds.   The real problem with the SKS rifle is that it doesn’t really hold it’s zero once the mount is removed.   I would never recommend skipping cleaning the rifle because it does have a flaw in the design and there are some safety issues.

The SKS is a fine blasting and plinking rifle and although the range is limited by the 7.62×39 ballistics, it can be a step up into the semi-auto world for a novice shooter.   I’ve heard that the SKS was used as a sniper rifle in the Vietnam war, and although it’s not a great gun for that, with good ammunition, 2 MOA means  being capable of getting a head shot at 400yds if the shooter knows what they were doing.  We hauled a few of these around in soft gun cases, and they fit into a gun sock that I have left over from a Remington 870.   The SKS has a fixed magazine and with stripper clips, it feeds and reloads quickly.

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Transporting the 1927 Thompson

I recently attended a World War II gun club event and had a lot of fun being there.    I have always know what I liked from the WWII era, but I never really jumped on the collectors bandwagon because most of the guns are in my humble opinion, collectors items.    Many of the bolt action rifles that were used during the war are chambered in .303, 8mm and 30/06 and still have a place in the hunting community, but for home defense or modern combat, those calibers are not very common and there aren’t very many gun chambered in them anymore.   Finding ammunition is very hard and with todays inflated prices, it’s very much a collector thing.

The M1 Garand is a great and powerful for it’s time, but the function of it is very dated.   Having 8rds of 30/06 in a semi auto that is capable of hitting targets out to 600yds easily is far more than what the average deer hunter is going to need.   The M1 Carbine would probable be my favorite if the caliber wasn’t so hard to get and there were more bullet designs that could be applied for defensive purposes.   The M1 Carbine is more powerful than .357 magnum, but the gun is designed for FMJ and would urge against them for home defense.   My favorite is still the Thompson 1927 which can be toted around in gun cases that look like a violin case and will get a lot of laughs when you show up at the range.   The 45acp gun is very reliable and will shoot many defensive rounds.   The 45acp you get out of this gun is a powerful close range weapon.

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Slings on shotguns and home defense

While I must admit that I have never taken a shotgun training class, and I have not yet gotten around to watching the Magpul Art of the tactical shotgun DVD,  I have seen enough things happen on firing lines to know that the more stuff you put on a firearm, the more you are complicating things.   The more you complicate things the more you have to worry about things falling off or getting snagged.  Slings are extremely useful tools and it will get real uncomfortable carrying a firearm with out one.   I recently picked up a shotgun scabbard because I personally do not like having slings on a pump shotgun.   The fact that you have to manually cycle the gun and your sling will be moving around while you do this, I’ve  seen too many times where people’s hands get snagged up.

I must remind you that this is a personal preference, not everyone has these types of problems.   There are ways of training to get around some of the issues, but they can all  be eliminated by not having one on.   My shotgun scabbard is basically one of my rifle cases because it is attached to one of my primary shooting backpacks, I can just toss a lever action rifle or small bolt action into the same case and carry it on a hunting trip.   Some of my friends have the Galco battle sling on their shotgun and it is  a very thick sling.   Some people may prefer this because it is easy to grasp and feel.

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Gun storage, gun safes and gun cases

I mentioned a few days ago that the ideal way of locking up all of your firearms and ammunition is to create a fireproof room in your home that you can just walk into.   I know several gun collectors that have done this and if they would have gone out and purchase gun safes they probable would have had to remove a few walls in there house just to get the safes in, not to mention how much destruction they might have caused trying to move one around the house.   I believe my one friend had 3 gun safes that would today, cost close to $10,000, but I don’t think he would have done that again.   Security systems are much better designed and you can keep various sections of your home under active lock downs while it’s free to roam in other areas.

One thing that hasn’t changed very much is the reality that guns usually get damaged during transport and many people don’t  have the right gun cases matching up to the rifles.  I had issues with several of my Uncle Mike’s assault rifle cases not working very well with some of my M4 Carbines when they had anything more than a rifle scope on them.   The Uncle Mike’s gun cases are very good, but if you have lasers or flashlights on them, you may need another fatter type of gun case.  There have been times where I have taken 7-10 rifles to a gun club and that was an enlightening time for me.   After I put my most expensive rifles in the better gun cases like the SKB gun cases, I ended up just having gun socks for shotguns and 22 rifles.  I think gun socks are good for the money, but the Allen Endura gun cases offer a little more protection.

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Even your shotgun should go in a case

I don’t know what it is with hunters, but when I comes to gun cases, I see more neglict with lever actions and shotguns than other rifles.   I guess some people think that if it has glass on it, you need a gun case, but if it all wood, you don’t need one.   I don’t know how many times I’ve been on hunting trips and see my buddies unload there guns and gear and the  shotguns aren’t in any kind of case.  When they pack, they just load up the bags and gear and then toss the guns in right on top.   Well, one of my second most common reasons for having a gun sock or gun cases, soft or hard shell, is not just to protect the gun from getting banged around, it’s also to keep glancing eyes from noticing what you are transporting.  I have 3 friends that have lost firearms in cars, along with laptops, because they had them in visible sight.

When you are travelling, there may be occassions where you may want to stop and get something to eat or have to run and take a leak.   Smash and grabs are the most common ways that I have seen firearms stolen from vehicles and none of them were in gun cases,  if the criminal didn’t see what was in the car, they wouldn’t know what it was or get the temptation.    There are a few criminals in New York that are walking around or sold a few of my friends Glocks and Browning shotguns.   If you are a gun owner, you may want to consider tinting the windows on your vehicles.   There are also areas in the Country where a bad cop may become problematic if it’s obvious that you are transporting firearms.

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Tools and accessories and practicality

Once we out grow the arguments about which gun is better than the other and which caliber has more stopping power, the next bit of squabbling is usually about accesories and gizmos.   There are absolutely higher quality tactical scopes and combat reliable flashlights like Surefire and Streamlight, but there are still credible debates about how much of a white light you should have on a firearm.    If it’s too powerful, you’re more than likely going to be draining batteries for more than what you need and a light can easily get in the way and begin to snag on things especially if it’s too big.

Tactical gear like rifle stocks like VLTOR and Magpul have a very good reputation from users and those that sell them.   We have very few complaints about durability and even though the average weekend warrior can put one of these on their Bushmaster or DPMS AR15, these tactical rifle stocks will last the life of the firearm.  When you are trying to decide on what to put on your AR15, think about everything you expect to use the firearm for and leave yourself some room for future modifications without having to overhaul the stock. If you think  you’re going to be putting a laser or flashlight on the gun, get the appropriate rail configuration.  If you are looking for long range shooting, a red dot or Eotech may not be something to put on your gun, just leave it setup for iron sights until you find the right tactical rifle scope that your money can buy.

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Marlin 925 range report

rifle casesWhen getting asked the question how many guns we own, the question should be asked “what do I not own?”   After several  years of dealing with the high speed, low drag weapon systems, and after watching the 2008 election results, there was huge jumps in ammo prices.    I thought to myself when 5.56 ammo was hitting close to the $700 per 1000rds range, that maybe ammo was going to be worth more than gold soon.   After putting a little thought into why the ammo prices were going up, I pretty much guessed that they won’t stay up that long in a bad economy, because nobody in their right mind would spend money on something that was 200-300% over  inflated.   I decided that if It was reloaded ammo, I wasn’t going to touch any factory ammo, and it was now time for a 22lr bolt action rifle.
I picked up a Marlin 925 bolt action rifle with iron sights and I was planning on not ever putting a scope on this.   As a firearms instructor, this was a basic platform for teaching basic shooting skills.   There is nothing wrong with teaching to shoot firearms to new shooters with a scope, but in my opinion iron sights are a better starting point.    This Marlin 925 was extremely accurate, but I  noticed that my groups were always left of center.   I looked at the rear sight adjustment and noticed I really couldn’t accomadate for the windage.   I was a little depressed and packed up my Marlin in a one of the rifle cases I had with me.  As a kid, I always compensated for a guns accuracy flaw by aiming at a different point, but as somoene who’s been able to hit the X at 600yds with other firearms, this off center accuracy really bothered me.   I’m looking to put another adjusteable rear sight on this or possible put a scope on this and pick up another bolt action that has better sights.

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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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Gun cases for pistols

gun casesMost of us alreayd know that when we buy a new gun we usually get some sort of factory gun case.   These gun cases are nice for transporting the gun it is intended for and possible can hold a few magazines.   I’ve got a pile of them in my storage room, but I never use them for range trips.    I own a few range bags since I tend to actually use them for more than just packing up guns.   After having several experiences with forgeting to bring ammo, magazines, targets or staplers, I’ve learned to pack up my stuff and leave it in a bag that always comes to the range with me.

Pistol gun cases that come from the factory don’t have room for targets or ammo, and something like the Uncle Mike’s deluxe range bag can be had for under $50.   A few of my range bags can hold approximately 4 handguns and the middle compartments hold ammo, stamplers or targets.   I always put the guns away when I’m done with them, but many times I keep the ammo there.  I realize that if you have optics on any of your handguns you may not want to put so much heavy stuff in one bag, because even though there is padding between the guns, it still is considered a soft case transport.

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