ATA approved gun cases

[jeffpg]

I'll be using my new TuffPak for the first time in exactly 3 weeks.

 

[johnnyblues]

Pelican no doubt about it. Best case on the market. I ve logged a lot of miles with mine. Virtually indestructible.

 

[Nyati]

^^^

I'm convinced that the good thieves know exactly what a pelican/tuffpak holds, at least at the airport.

Maybe it helps with the general public though. I know I've been asked about my golf vacation before.

While checking in my Pelican case at Joburg, a fellow passenger asked me if I was a musician !

 

[jeffpg]

Pelican no doubt about it. Best case on the market. I ve logged a lot of miles with mine. Virtually indestructible.

Yeah Johnny, I have no doubt about that. After considering it for years, I just had to try the TuffPak out though.

 

[johnnyblues]

I know they are good. But is there enough space to pack everything?

 

[jeffpg]

It just depends on the hunt and what's needed I think Johnny.

Like I said, this will be my first trip with it but I did do a trial packing run with it at home recently. (Watched the video too!) It holds a good amount of gear.

The thing is, you still have to have a separate checked item for your ammo. For my upcoming trip I am only after a single animal & I'll just take 40 rounds of ammo in a small lockable plastic container. I will place this in a small/medium sized bag with some miscellaneous clothing items or boots, etc. as a second checked bag.

Since you legally have to travel with the ammo and the firearm in seperate checked bags, you have to have a second checked bag whether you use a dedicated rifle case or a TuffPak. The TuffPak will simply allow your second bag to be smaller. That's my take anyway.
I realize that some guys will successfully travel with their gun & ammo together, and that some airlines policies allow this, but it ain't the law. This is my understanding anyway.

 

[johnnyblues]

I ve seen the video. To me anyway it seems just a bit difficult to show TSA the guns upon check in. You have to take everything out...I guess it's no big deal though. Just my opinion.

 

[Hank2211]

I know they are good. But is there enough space to pack everything?

As I've noted, I've used a two rifle Pelican and the Tuffpak. Pelican is a great case, no doubt about it, but you can't fit much more in there than the rifles and maybe a knife.

On the other hand, the Tuffpak can fit so much that you tend to stop only when you run up against the weight limits of the airline. Clothes, boots, a roll of toilet paper, bios, it all goes in there. In fact, if you have only rifles, you would likely need some foam to keep them from kicking around.

Without the stuff sack (extra $$ but well spent) you would find it very difficult to handle all of this, because every time you took the rifles out to show some official, you'd have to repack the entire case.

 

[Wheels]

I ve seen the video. To me anyway it seems just a bit difficult to show TSA the guns upon check in. You have to take everything out...I guess it's no big deal though. Just my opinion.

I have never had to take everything out of a Tuffpak for inspection. I don't use the liner case either.


1. Tuffpak is set on end. Top is unlocked and lifted off.

2. Remove jacket or coat I have at top of Tuffpak for padding.

3. Unzip soft gun case. Remove rifle and show serial number. Replace the same way.

4. Repeat if carrying a second firearm.

5. Place jacket or coat at top of Tuffpak.

6. Replace the lid of the Tuffpak and lock.

7. Everything is complete. Nothing other than the jacket and the rifles are removed from the case. Since I take softsided guncases on the trips anyway, they fit easily in the Tuffpak and help protect the firearms. I have no reason to have to make room for them in my other suitcase/duffle.

Tuffpaks aren't that difficult to use. The idea of using a Tuffpak isn't to try and take everything in one case. It just allows you to take a smaller second suitcase or more total stuff on your trip.

Again, there are a number of great cases on the market. Use what you are comfortable with and what fits your budget.

All the best.

 

[Royal27]

I know they are good. But is there enough space to pack everything?

Could you do a tuffpak and a carry on? Yes. Would I personally? No.

It does get you extra space and more importantly extra weight. If your pelican (which is a great case) weighs 35 lbs loaded that's it. You're done. I can fill my tuffpak to the limit and leave extra room for trinkets on the way back or to take to a friend in Africa. I carried a rifle stock last trip as an example. And on the bakkie I liked having my soft case to put the rifle in.

I honestly think a tuffpak and a pelican are about equal for protection. The difference is the packing and weight distribution. Oh, and the foam inserts in the Pelican. For an exact fit you need different ones for each rifle or combinations of guns. Not needed with the tuffpak.

 

[MS Hitman]

I like the tuffpak.

They ain't cheap, but the fact you can pack other stuff was worth it to me.

Which lock setup is on your tuffpak? The cylinder lock, or the padlock?

 

[Royal27]

Which lock setup is on your tuffpak? The cylinder lock, or the padlock?

I did the padlock, mainly because I didn't want to risk losing a key. I also bought the tsa lock when I got it. Then, I learned that you actually arent supposed to use a tsa lock on a gun case. So I bought another lock just like the one i had, but no tsa.

The size lock it uses has a bigger barrel than a luggage lock, but it could certainly be cut with bolt cutters, or probably beaten off quickly with a hammer. My bet is that from a security standpoint that the cylinder lock is better.

 

[Wheels]

Which lock setup is on your tuffpak? The cylinder lock, or the padlock?

If the cylinder lock looks like the locks they have on vending machines then that is how mine is setup.

As Royal said, don't use the TSA locks. No one is supposed to have access to the case but you.

Hope that helps.

 

[MS Hitman]

If the cylinder lock looks like the locks they have on vending machines then that is how mine is setup.

As Royal said, don't use the TSA locks. No one is supposed to have access to the case but you.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the response. I have read that no one but the owner should have access to the case. I have also read that some TSA agents have drilled out the cylinder locks on tuffpaks.

 

[Diamondhitch]

As the guys have noted the only person worried about damage to your firearm will be YOU.

Size restrictions of the carrier are about the only thing to worry about and the vast majority of gun cases will meet the requirement.

Carries two rifles and I have never had an issue with damage or carriage on any carrier on any continent.

http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_storm/Case/iM3300/

View attachment 38000

Pelican storm case all the way. Mine holds 2 big long barrelled rifles easily along with slings, bipods clips and ammo if need be. I love the hardware on the storm cases far better than what is on the traditional Pelican cases.

 

[BRICKBURN]

While checking in my Pelican case at Joburg, a fellow passenger asked me if I was a musician !

Just tell them you're a percussionist.

 

[Diamondhitch]

I realize that some guys will successfully travel with their gun & ammo together, and that some airlines policies allow this, but it ain't the law. This is my understanding anyway.

I believe this is the other way around. TSA allows storage of ammunition in the case with the guns but many airlines do not. I was forced to travel with ammo in my gun case back from Kyrgyzstan (when they caused me grief in hopes of a bribe) apparently on your way out of the country if you have your ammo in separate bags they make a big deal and make you switch it and if it is in the case they do the same with the palm firmly outstretched. I travelled home with ammo in the gun case, disclosing this along the way and the circumstances behind it and no one cared whatsoever.

 

[jeffpg]

I believe this is the other way around. TSA allows storage of ammunition in the case with the guns but many airlines do not. I was forced to travel with ammo in my gun case back from Kyrgyzstan (when they caused me grief in hopes of a bribe) apparently on your way out of the country if you have your ammo in separate bags they make a big deal and make you switch it and if it is in the case they do the same with the palm firmly outstretched. I travelled home with ammo in the gun case, disclosing this along the way and the circumstances behind it and no one cared whatsoever.

Yeah, it's confusing at best! It seems like it depends on who you ask. I just viewed the TSA website and found this:

• Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm.

• Small arms ammunition, including ammunition not exceeding .75 caliber for a rifle or pistol and shotgun shells of any gauge, may be carried in the same hard-sided case as the firearm, as long as it follows the packing guidelines described above.

So, who knows what to do? Having already witnessed the confusion, and getting different opinions from different travelers as well as travel agents, I prepare for whatever... I have a small lockable ammo box that can go into my TuffPak or into my second checked bag. Whatever...

 

[Hank2211]

I believe this is the other way around. TSA allows storage of ammunition in the case with the guns but many airlines do not. I was forced to travel with ammo in my gun case back from Kyrgyzstan (when they caused me grief in hopes of a bribe) apparently on your way out of the country if you have your ammo in separate bags they make a big deal and make you switch it and if it is in the case they do the same with the palm firmly outstretched. I travelled home with ammo in the gun case, disclosing this along the way and the circumstances behind it and no one cared whatsoever.

The reality is that when you are leaving whatever foreign country you have hunted in, the rules will generally be just a bit odd, or, more likely, they will be applied in a manner that is unexpected, if only to try to generate a bribe. And there is rarely someone "higher up" to whom you could appeal.

This is one reason I never seem to have any ammo left when I'm finished my hunt. The other is that my PH is always more than happy to have some Barnes bullets.

 

[Royal27]

Firearm magazines and ammunition clips, whether loaded or empty, must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm.

challenge is that it is different airline to airline and country to country. When travelling in the states I always put ammo in the tuffpak, but that doesn't work internationally. Even with Delta they asked me I'd my ammo was separate when heading to SA (it was) in the states no problem being in the same case.