With the purchase of a RRA varmint rifle I made a few years ago, I received the rifle in this blue gun case. the case it nice, how it becomes completely unusable once a optic or rifle scope is installed on the rifle. So now this gun case has been sitting empty next to my gun safe for years. I've been thinking lately of make it usable. Either to put my RRA back into it, with optics still attached to it, or maybe just to store a smaller rifle in that use a case. Either way I don't see a reason having it just sit there doing nothing.

Has anything else done anything like this? I was thinking about using my heat gun to carefully heat and soften the inner molded area and reforming with weighted blocks of wood to a cavity that I could then line with foam. I'm not not sure if my heat gun could get up enough of the surface at once, as well as if it will ruin the structural integrity/rigidity of the case.    

http://www.armslist.com/posts/495052/tulsa-oklahoma-tactical-gear-for-sale--rock-river-arms-safe-rifle-case--price-reduced

Re-molding it will be problematic.

Plan out the pattern.  Transfer the pattern to the case (pencil or Sharpie).

Use a router to remove the plastic where you do not want it to be.

Infill with grey foam (or other) to protect the surfaces of the firearm and to prevent it from rattling around.

Latex foam is available in spray cans if that helps.  Latex foam remains pliable.

Polyurethane foam is also available (rigid, yellow foam) in spray cans.  It comes in high expansion and low expansion types.  Once cured, it is easily sculpted to final shape.

Arts&Crafts stores sell felt sheets that can be glued onto the mounting surfaces to provide a firm hold that won't scratch.  I use this to hold my antique scope (blued steel).

Quick Detach Mount?

Take optic off when storing rifle in the hard case.

Burris PEPR or LaRue or ACM or ???

Trollslayer:

I was thinking about that over the weekend. Making up a paper template i could locate on both sides both the cut out's would match. I just worry about how much the case will twist if I cut too much out.

Bigger_hammer:

I was doing this for a bit. Just got annoying every time I went to the range.

You should not cut out any of the structure of the box, just cut into the plat pattern outline/profile.

The large dimples are the structural points holding the inner (vacuum molded) plate to the outer shell.  There may be others I did not see in my cursory viewing of that fuzzy picture.  No matter, find them and do not cut those.