Traveling TSA soon. A case that would allow me to split upper and lower would be nice.  I would prefer not to spend the money for Pelican quality for this single trip.
Suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Rick

Pelican is your best option,.........sell it after the trip.

Check out the Cabelas branded hard cases.
Just bought a single rifle case for my youngests birthday, very nice for the price.
Not quit Pelican, but real close for less than half the cost.

ETA: Link

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1318395&type=product&MDK=dynbanP_SL&MDC=cat104730480&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104792580%3Bcat104730480

I love pelican products, but they charge a premium.  While I use them at work quite a bit, I can't justify the cost for personal use.

recently I flew with a couple rifles in a Plano Gun Guard case.  It came with pluck foam, so I just removed all but the outer ring and had the rifles each in a rifle bag.  This is the one"
http://www.planomolding.com/product.php?PID=1122
You can see this one has wheels.

Here's a link to the 42" version for AR style rifles:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-Gun-Guard-All-Weather-42-Tactical-Case-Black/20893846

they also have a 36" version
http://www.amazon.com/Plano-108361-Guard-Tactical-Case/dp/B0029KKWT8

I really like the one I have.  It has a rubber seal around the lid.  It seems as solid as the Pelicans in the same class.  But they are about half the price.  It's solid.  I think one of the wheels squeeked a bit, but I figure if it continues I can put some graphite or teflon lube in it or something.

I do NOT recommend the standard Plano hard cases, they are flimsy.

concerning TSA.  I read somewhere that gun cases are supposed to have TSA approved locks.  But I have traveled with cases with standard padlocks as well as this case which has locks incorporated into the latches.  After opening them at the counted I never had anyone come and say you cant do this because of wrong locks.  

Good luck,

Matel

 

























 
 

 

Plano All Weather Tactical.

Link to Amazon

ETA : Beat.

If you have to go thru Denver, nothing is TSA friendly.

The Plano AW cases. Just don't buy them at Bass Pro! Wally World and BassPro carry the same Lg pistol case. WW is $50 and BP is $150.

If you go the Plano route (which I think should work for you), be sure to read the description to make sure you're getting a model that will work for you.  They have several, and the stated dimension (like AW 42" Case) corresponds to neither the inside nor outside length of the case.  The nicer Plano cases that people have been linking have pluck foam interiors, pressure-relief valves, o-ring seals, and built-in locks in addition to the facility for padlocks.

I have three of the Plano Gun Guard AW rifle cases. Good bang for the buck. As mentioned, just make sure of dimensions you need. My bolt gun just barely fits in the 52" while the M&P fits nicely in the 42".

There are "Tactical" labeled versions and "normal" versions. The only exterior difference was the handle trim color. Some are pick-n-pluck foam, others you are cutting.

Bass Pro has them at a premium, Academy is fair(on sale pretty regular)(picked both of my 52" for under $100), Gander has them under the "Bone Collector" label(More expensive than Academy and green). WM usually has the 36 and 42 inch(especially starting the time of year)

I just picked up a Pelican 1720 case in desert tan 3 days ago from Fin for under $200

The Browning Travel Vaults are made by Pelican BUT are a lot better priced

I'm a big fan of Starlight cases.
I have one for a .50 BMG rifle and several ex-military night vision goggle cases bought off of ebay for peanuts.
ANPVS-7B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzEbdon58PI

Just as good as my Pelicans if not better and always cheaper.

Thank you good Arfcommers!

I went with the Plano 36 tactical and it came today and is GTG.  I will use a couple of TSA friendly locks.

Best,

Rick

"TSA locks" are NOT supposed to be allowed on firearms cases.

The TSA page linked above used to say this very clearly. The lying liars changed the words so you may think that TSA locks are OK, but they are not. Note the first paragraph says "The container must be completely secured from being accessed."

A simpler example is Southwest Airlines: "Only the Customer checking the luggage should retain the key or combination to the lock. No exceptions will be made."

I had to fly with two AR rifles and three handguns.

I had a stout Pelican case. About 11 x 24 x 16 inch I'd guesstimate. Had to separate the halves obviously, and use every other bit of space for the handguns and all firearm related gear. It all fit very nicely, and weighed like 47 lb.

Biggest thing isn't the TSA. Not sure they really care what you case is like all that much, as long as you can't access the contents. Biggest thing, what the airline you choose will charge you for checking bags.

Weight limit and case dimmensions are key. You CAN use TSA-approved locks if you want (which didn't matter when I flew last Feb or again in Apr). Difference might be whether they charge you $0 - 25, or $100+ to check the case.

Or just keep it

Remember that your rifle is worth the cost of nice case to hold it in. You don't want your gun to "accidentally" fall out of a cheap case while they are loading it...happened to me

^^ How big of a fiasco was that? I've always wondered..

Dogpiling here but DO NOT DO THIS.



Your locks should NOT be TSA locks.





 

Forget it. They do not want to hear.

I would not use anything but a Pelican.

Long story short, it was a work gun and they gave me a cheapo case with it.  When I got it back at the airport the cheap case was split in half and you could see the rifle. It had some extra dings on it that I didn't even pay for. At least the locks were still on the ends...got some weird looks too from others.

OP get a good case for that thing.

Topic Moved

Lots of times wally world has it under $60

Yeah, ok.

Thanks for the tips about the TSA locks.  i was under the impression they had to be TSA compliant.
Thanks

There are several brands of cases other than Pelican that are high quality. Explorer, SKB, others that are lesser known.
bottom line is quality cost money, and the big machines that make these cases cost big money.
I find it amusing, being a case/foam designer, that people will spend $4k on a rifle/accessories then complain about the $150 case that they put it in.
The case is also only part of the protection system, the foam is what keeps the rifles from shock damage (being dropped) and the cheap foam in some of the cases in not very protective.

I buy cases then have a awesome crosslinked polyolefin foam custom cut for the gun so it can't move and is supported at certain contact points such as the buttstock, grip and forearm and doesn't contact optics.

Kinda like this.
http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah199/guppyfc1/GunForumPics/DSC01400_zps7aef83db.jpg

+1 on tackleberry's advice

I use Pelican cases and TWO non-TSA locks.  

The problem traveling with firearms is that each airline, ticketing agent, airport and TSA fuckwad have different interpretations of the "rules".  Printing the rules from the airlines website and the TSA rules and taping them to your case is a great idea.

I've had ticketing agents ask me to remove the weapon from it's case to demonstrate that it's clear.  The genius behind pulling out an evil-black rifle in front of hundreds of sheeple escapes me.  I didn't waive the gun around.  I left it in the case, broke it loose from the foam and pulled back the bolt and stuck my finger in the chamber.  (as if the ticketing agent has any clue what they're looking for)  
At other airports, the ticketing agents have been cool and asked if my weapon complied with the rules.  An agent once told me - I don't know what I'm looking for.  I'll let TSA X-ray it and they'll let you know if they have any problems.

I have a special place in my dark little heart for the fucktards that work for the TSA.
They just LOVE to get inside your shit!    

After checking your bag stick around the ticketing area until you get an all clear from TSA.  At some airports you're handed the rifle case back and you have to bring it to a TSA screening area (these are the easiest to deal with).  

Some TSA agents will ask you for the keys.  REFUSE.  Ask to speak to a supervisor, point to their regulations and say that you are the only one that should be in control of the keys.  Offer to open it for them in a private screening, but DO NOT give them your keys.  

Some agents X-ray the case and say have a nice day, the mouth-breathers want to finger-bang your hardware out of sheer boredom.

Getting your rifle case back when you arrive at your destination varies from airport-to-airport and airline-to-airline:
I've had some airlines leave a rifle case on the over-sized baggage area.
I've had my case tossed on the luggage rotisserie as if it were a roll-a-board.
I've had my case brought to baggage office of the airline.
I've had it brought out to the baggage carousel and had my ID and baggage claim ticket verified by a supervisor (I wish they all did that!)  

Know your rights, print out the airline and TSA guidelines and expect no-one to follow their written policies.

You should have as many locks as your case has lock points. The last several years every TSA agent I've had check the cases has looked for that. If your case has 5 lock points (not uncommon on long rifle cases) then you had better be prepared.

And the agent had better not be able to pop the latches open and stick their hand in, or get anything to shake out of the case. Yes, one of them tried tried that on a older small case with only one lock point. He could get the second latch open enough to see the edge of the foam, but nothing moved inside so he (reluctantly) let it fly. So lock hasps as short as possible doesn't hurt.

This is 100% spot-on correct and exactly my experiences when flying (commercial) with firearms.

Again, get a quality case, NON-TSA locks, and keep copies of the regs (TSA and airline you are flying with).

The part about how your firearm will be 'disgorged' from the baggage beast will vary from airport to airport (even with the same carrier).