Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters looking for Gun case for air travel...

What gun case to you guys suggest for airtravel? I plan on using the case about once or twice a year traveling from Georgia to Washington, maybe more in the future. Id like to have a case that could be used for 2 rifles and on seperate occasions, a shotgun as well... Since Ive spent a ton of money on hunting gear in the last couple weeks, price will play a roll as well (my wife might just kick my @ss if she finds sbout this).. Im thinking about the Cabelas bullet proof case for about $169, but Ive never used one before.. Any info would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks..

Jet

JJ,

I like the TufPak as you can pack gear and guns in the case, and it doesn't look like a "gun case".

http://www.tuffpak.com/retail/default.asp

Also the owners are locals here, and they are really nice folks.

jim

Wife just bought me a double SKB case, and as far as I can tell I am very happy with it.

I have a daytrek hard golf club case, seeing the tuffpack in RSA my golf club case seemed easier to use.

Back in '03 I had to get a better hardcase 'cause it was the first time I ever had fly someplace with a rifle. Wound up with a Browning Travel Vault, Model 5115. Found out later it was made by Pelican for Browning. Real heavy duty unit. Easily holds 2 long guns. Been on several plane trips including some where it had to get transferred from one plane to another. As my buddy & I looked on in horror from the terminal as we saw the way our cases got handled. But it has been real good to me with rifles that never got damaged or lost zero. Back in '03 it cost me two-hundred something at a Gander Mountain store. A bit over the price range you mentioned but when anyone asks me about this subject that's the case I recommend.

Check out Ziegel Engineering for cases - awesome workmanship and quality cases. http://www.ziegeleng.com/

+1 on the double SKB case, I've had one for years and never thought about getting another. Very well-built.

Golf club hard case hands down, anything else is inviting trouble.

I've had good service from my Starlight case. Might be worth looking at.

http://www.starlightcases.com/home.html

rost has it...... may as well put a frickin' bullseye on your bag..

not sure what you end up with for a case but the golf bag over it would be a wise choice....

woofer

OK, I've got to ask, how many have had guns stolen or messed with by the airlines?

If I was going to buy a hard case it would be a pellican hands down in a instant. I have the one that my barret came in and it is SOLID. You can buy multiple sets of foam for the inside so it cam be a custome case for different configurations one or two rifles.

My Kalispel 2-rifle case (model GC521404) has made three trips to South Africa and I've never had a problem with my rifles being damaged. The case has held up very well; just some scratches in the metal. But, I have never used any other brand of case so I can't really say how it compares to other cases.

http://www.kalispelcaseline.com/Pg/HuntingCase.asp

My two cents....
-Bob F.

What are you folks doing about locking the case these days?
I encounter mass confusion on the part of TSA personnel.
Some want it locked, others will cut the locks off.
I thought about going with combination locks, but to whom do I share the combination, so that TSA will know whom to call if they want to peek at my rifles?

Oh, for the good old days, when I could carry my rifle on board and stand it up in the overcoat closet.

Lee24-
Go to Wally World or somewhere similar that sells padlocks, and pick up some keyed locks that are marked with TSA approval. The TSA inspectors will have a set of keys, and can open them without damaging your case or the locks.

Since you're handing your case off to a whole series of groups of persons who play with luggage behind closed doors, the decrease in security caused by using these locks is slight.

--Bob

Okay - they have new locks out there.
I'll put my old luggage locks to some other use.

What about some of the cases like SKB and Browning which have latches with locks built in ( like 4 on the long rifle cases)? Do the new cases have locks with codes for TSA?

I have had the full sized one for years and it's great. Not even Cameroon could damage it, and they had two chances. Just received a case for two breakdown rifles today. It is improved over the old model. Looks like the Savage 99 TD will be traveling more in the future.

Another vote for Kalispel...jorge

Another vote for the pelican. If your primary goal is protection of your firearm(not concealment or price)this unit is awesome. Cabela's sells them.

Cabelas aluminum 2 rifle case with the thick aluminum and the angled welded corners is the one I use now. Has wheels and is extremely well made. No sharp corners and the welds are all very good. Has been to Africa several times. Also have a Browning travel vault but it's one of the older ones with no wheels. I don't think you can go wrong with the Cabelas for the price. I think it is as well made as a Kallispel in all respects. Have two Pelican's for camera equipment and they are excellant, also have an SKB that has two sides with a divider between but really don't like it very much .