Rifle Cases & Custom Cut Foam

[PARA45]

If I were doing it with one stock, two barrels, two scopes and without the sticks…Pelican 1700 would be my choice. That was the original design of the Pelican/Blaser traveler case. At one time, I had three of them, LOL.

Yes, this is exactly my plan. Cool, thank you!

 

[BeeMaa]

Yes, this is exactly my plan. Cool, thank you!

Sometimes you can find those Pelican/Blaser cases for sale, but they are out of production. If they do come up for sale they are around $600 because they say “Blaser”.

Best bet would be the GunFoam route. They will include a case with the foam if you want. I believe the whole thing is about $450 for the case/custom foam combo.

 

[PARA45]

Unless it's a good deal with a Blaser case, I'll get one. My plan is to go with the GF one.

 

[ryno111]

New foam showed up. One complete rifle with sticks. If the sticks were shorter, I could have fit them in a Pelican 1700 (or equivalently sized) case. This is for the GF-4514 which is about the same size as the Pelican 1720.
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This is excellent. If I were trying to do this plus an extra barrel, do you think the sticks could be arranged to fit on the bottom of the foam (between the foam and the bottom of the case)? Or is the foam too thin for that?

 

[BeeMaa]

This is excellent. If I were trying to do this plus an extra barrel, do you think the sticks could be arranged to fit on the bottom of the foam (between the foam and the bottom of the case)? Or is the foam too thin for that?

I know others have stacked layers of foam, but they were in cases (resembling normal luggage like a Pelican 1560) that were much thicker. However, because the barrels and sticks don't require a deep pockets, I don't see why not. Best thing to do is call GunFoam directly and speak with their engineers. I've found them to be extremely helpful on a number of occasions. Before doing so, I would make sure you have all of the items (rifles, scopes, barrels, sticks...etc) you want in the case loaded into your account so they can reference it. You should also know what case you would like to use beforehand. In other words, be prepared.

GunFoam doesn't offer luggage style cases on their website that would afford the ability to have double layers of foam. Examples would be the Pelican Protector 1670 or Pelican Air 1615. You can contact them and see if they are willing to do something like this. Both of these cases are less than 62" linear.

Airlines can be tricky. As a rule, checked luggage has a 62" linear limit. Meaning length + width + depth must be < 62". However this rule is not supposed to apply to "sporting equipment" like golf clubs and firearms. This is why the Pelican 1750 double rifle case, downhill skis/snowboards rarely catch the eye of a ticket agent. But something that "looks" like luggage but contains a firearm could draw unwanted attention and a possible freight charge...even though it's sports equipment. Ticket agents can be a PITA.

I know that @Ed Lally has double layer foam for a Pelican Air 1615 for firearms. I'm not a big fan of the Pelican Air, but it is a lightweight solution that affords a little more space than the Protector. Albeit at the expense of a slightly less durable case. I'd be interested to know what GF says if you talk to them.

 

[xbr897]

How are you taking your pictures. I tried using their app to design a case and I couldn’t get pictures without shadows that would process correctly.

I put a large piece of cardboard on the ground and then stood on a small step ladder to have enough height over my longer items. I took my pics in my garage which has multiple bright LED light fixtures, which were to my sides, so there wasn't my shadow in the pics. Took me a while to figure out right setup for pics but once I had that all the pics were quick.

 

[kornislorand]

Some hard cases maded by me. I have a very slim hard case, to minimize the sizes for a full leght rifle, and a little hard case for example Blaser rifle with more scopes, barels, and others accesories.

 

[CBeck]

Some hard cases maded by me. I have a very slim hard case, to minimize the sizes for a full leght rifle, and a little hard case for example Blaser rifle with more scopes, barels, and others accesories.


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Made by you?….Very nice….how are you cutting the foam so precise? Or were they done by gunfoam?

 

[CBeck]

I love the custom foam but these make sense to me and would allow packing a soft case as @Philip Glass mentioned plus additional room for accessories?

I’ve got an aluminum cabelas bulletproof case I’ve used for years I’m wanting to customize. Trying to decide on this style or the custom foam route….opinions?

 

[BeeMaa]

I love the custom foam but these make sense to me and would allow packing a soft case as @Philip Glass mentioned plus additional room for accessories?

I’ve got an aluminum cabelas bulletproof case I’ve used for years I’m wanting to customize. Trying to decide on this style or the custom foam route….opinions?

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My issue with those cases is they are extremely long and don’t have wheels. I prefer something a bit shorter and less cumbersome when getting around an airport. I’ve travelled with a Pelican 1750 and two rifles…I might as well had a boat anchor tied around my neck as we walked through the terminal.

Having a rifle that’s capable of being taken down to make it more compact for travel…then not taking advantage of that, doesn’t make sense to me. Even a traditional rifle can have the barreled action removed from the stock to reduce the length and reassembled with a stubby torque wrench.

The second case you show has the butt and barrel of the rifle extremely close to the edges of the case. One little drop by a baggage handler (or any one) and it could ruin your barrel crown or crack the stock. Not much margin for error.

Plus these style of cases are not very robust. Made more for car travel where YOU are the only one moving it around. Lastly is the hinge, clasps and locks are much like the rest of the case, not up to the task of taking on a baggage handler. I’d want more protection for airline travel.

If you don’t want to breakdown your rifles for travel, a full length Pelican 1750 (or similar) or aluminum case (like the Cabela’s) with custom foam is a much safer alternative.

 

[kornislorand]

Made by you?….Very nice….how are you cutting the foam so precise? Or were they done by gunfoam?

Every hunter tells me what equipment he has and then I design the exact shape of the frame for every rifle, optics and accesories. I work with several programs until I finally cut out the foam with a CNC machine. The key is that the rifle and shotgun fit very precisely, so they can't damage each other even in the event of a major collision.

 

[BeeMaa]

I was all set for Africa. Two rifles in one case from GunFoam (4514) with a custom foam insert. Then my wife came to me and said she didn't want to take her rifle to Africa. She also said that she's not likely to travel and hunt in the future. I was not disappointed with her, but I was now faced with the option of having to carry a larger case than I wanted on our trip.

With less than two weeks before wheels up, I contacted @Tra3 to see if he would sell me back a Pelican 1700 and ship it in time for our departure. Thankfully he's a kind soul who had it in the post in short order.

I made some modifications to one custom foam cutout to make things fit in the 1700, and I'll go with it for now. It's far from perfect, but I'll have a custom foam made for it later. The only thing that's not in there is my rifle scope that will have to go in my carry-on. For now, I'm happy to have a smaller and lighter case to carry my rifle.

This does mean that I'll be selling the GF-4514 case with one of the foam inserts when we get back from our trip.

 

[HankBuck]

I was all set for Africa. Two rifles in one case from GunFoam (4514) with a custom foam insert. Then my wife came to me and said she didn't want to take her rifle to Africa. She also said that she's not likely to travel and hunt in the future. I was not disappointed with her, but I was now faced with the option of having to carry a larger case than I wanted on our trip.

With less than two weeks before wheels up, I contacted @Tra3 to see if he would sell me back a Pelican 1700 and ship it in time for our departure. Thankfully he's a kind soul who had it in the post in short order.

I made some modifications to one custom foam cutout to make things fit in the 1700, and I'll go with it for now. It's far from perfect, but I'll have a custom foam made for it later. The only thing that's not in there is my rifle scope that will have to go in my carry-on. For now, I'm happy to have a smaller and lighter case to carry my rifle.

This does mean that I'll be selling the GF-4514 case with one of the foam inserts when we get back from our trip.
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@BeeMaa - have a good trip & good Hunt