Thanks again for your efforts and more importantly your time.
No worries. I need two of these myself so it's a "mutual benefit" exercise.
FWIW, I looked at the Kalispel alternative mentioned above in detail and there is no comparison. It's not that the Kalispel is a bad case, but it fails to even approach an Americase in several ways.
1.) Sloppy welds
2.) Designed for magazine rifles only, insufficient barrel channel for doubles/sxs
3.) Open cell foam which is more likely to fail and result in the rifle shifting upon impact than closed cell foam.
4.) A design that cannot safely transport magnum bolt rifles with the bolt installed, yet no cubby compartments to hold removed bolts or other accessories.
6.)No rubber bumpers to keep the case from getting scratched to hell when dragged by human or baggage handler.
7.) Exposed latches rather than recessed, thus any impact to the latch will break it off the case.
8.) No "airspace" above the action so the scopes are being pressed upon by the lid. Someone stands on it or your scope is a wee bit on the big side, you're going to take optic damage. (again, why I adamantly won't own a rifle with fixed scope mounts)
9.) Cheaper piano hinge with no "stop" so they must use a cooler-box style piece of piano wire to hold the lid open. When that breaks, I'm sure the piano hinge will bend or shear off the case.
10.) Rod lock to interecept all four locks. Well and good for security, unless you lose the rod or it is bent/broken by baggage nazis. At that point, you've got 4 lock holes that require four locks and the original rod brought that down to a flimsy single lock that is now non-functional. (E.g. look at how many cases are sold on ebay with broken/missing rods)
11.) All pop-rivets are of a smaller gauge
12.) Recessed lip on the interior lid. That's a sharp edge. If the rifles shuffle, damage may occur on either end. Americase by comparison does not have an exposed metal edge on any part of the interior.
13.) Lesser materials. The Kalispel weighs 24lbs in two-gun configuration whereas the Americase weighs 27 pounds. The variety of superior hardware listed above explains the myriad of reasons it weighs less.
14.) Vestigial carry handle. There is a handle in the middle of the case lid. No way to carry a 50lb filled case that is 52" long from a central, useless hande.
15.) No tie-down d-loops so you can bungy your carry-on bag to the top, nor a luggage shelf, so you can't easily navigate an airport with this case as you're running out of free hands.
Am I ripping on the $550 Kalispel case? No. You don't get much for $550 made in America anymore. But would I trade 1 Americase for 3 Kalispels? Not a chance. Not even in the same stratosphere.
kalispelcaseline.net
