Fitting a Pelican Gun Case
A good sturdy travel case for your firearms is an often overlooked but extremely valuable accessory, whether you travel to and from training, the range, or hunting, or take your firearms when traveling by air. Rob Pincus takes an in-depth look at a Pelican gun case, which is sturdy, rugged and seals up tightly. The foam in a Pelican gun case can be customized to fit your gear. Rob shows how he organizes his firearms and gear inside the case.
When I set up a case which will be used for weapons with optics, I always position the cuts so that the optics are toward the latch side of the case. This allows more padding below the weapon (and the optic) on the hinge side where the greatest potential impact will be from less than caring baggage handlers dropping the case onto carts, floors, and other unforgiving surfaces.
I agree with your presentation … with one exception. Cutting it with a knife, even your sharpest knife, is NOT the best way to cut these out. Try an electric carving knife – most people have them and it cuts through the foam like butter with straighter lines, etc.
Instead of a jack knife use a kitchen electric knife. It will make your cuts in the foam smooth and it will look professionally cut. Just don’t tell your wife you used her turkey carving electric knife to do the work!
I’ve got 2 Pelican rifle cases and 3 pistol cases. I have 4 different inserts for the rifle and 4 inserts for the pistol cases. I use one of the pistol cases for my camera gear. As has been said, these cases are excellent and I haven’t had ANY damage to my gear during transport or shipping.
One note on cutting, if you are anal about sizing the cutout, reverse the insert, layout your gear in the reverse of what you want. Make your marks on the insert and cutout with an electric knife. When you turn the insert over, all your “marks” will be inside and not showing.
I have Pelican cases for camping. They do hold up pretty well, they are good quality. Never thought they made cases so huge. Like the fact that you can cut the foam to hold what you want and perhaps have different middle foams cut out for different things using the same case.