Foam Case or No Foam Case?

Tactical Gear Tactical Gear
1

Hey guys…

I’ve got a Pelican 1720 Hard Case w/ Foam that I purchased about a year ago. I never got around to cutting it to fit my rifle and loadout, so it’s still sitting on my living room floor, new and unused.

I like being prepared. My original intent was to have the hard case with foam cut to fit my rifle, primary optic, sling, and six 30-round magazines, plus whatever other gear I might need. My rifle wouldn’t be stored in there, but instead have it ready if needed to put my gear into and leave (if ever necessary). It could also double as a shipping crate for airline flights / long car trips, etc.

Just the other day, I was adding up the costs of my equipment. I plan on purchasing a soft case for my rifle as well, for short trips to the range, hunting, etc. I’m also planning on buying a gun safe (I don’t have one yet). With that in mind, I came to the realization that I’ve spent nearly $250 on the Pelican case and materials to get it cut, such as a hot-wire foam-cutter (which, again, I haven’t done yet).

After spending several hours reading, it seems that foam cases should be avoided whenever possible for rust-prevention reasons. I’ve known this for awhile, but after adding up the costs, plus the potential drawbacks, I started thinking.

A good gun safe would be in starting ballpark of $500-$600, plus taxes, fees, etc. - selling the Pelican case would fund 1/2 - 1/3 of the cost. The point is that I’d still have a soft gun case for transportation and bugging-out if needed, and the gun safe to store my weapons on a more permanent basis.

With all of this in mind, is a foam case needed. let alone beneficial? Sorry for the long-winded post…

Thanks!

2

Unless your gonna be traveling, I don’t see the need for a hard case. Plus some foam can retain moisture and can allow your weapons to rust if you leave them in there for a long time.

3

Having a quality gunsafe has always given me piece of mind when I am away from home. So from that perspective I would sell the Pelican and pick up a decent safe.

4

The hard case is mandatory if you are planning on flying somewhere with your rifle – like many of us do.

Hardigg and Pelican cases will protect your rifle to the extreme, even from the most gorilla-like baggage handlers. I especially like them for precision rifles, where optics really need the impact protection. I have flown my M700 in a Pelican 1750 all over the country and it has always arrived in perfect condition. I also have foam inserts for other rifles, should I fly somewhere to hunt, or take or teach a class.

So, a Pelican case with an AR-style rifle and its complete loadout is a must – if you’re expecting a call from the Impossible Mission Force in the next 24 hours ;). Otherwise, it’s a pretty big honking case to maneuver around the house and get into the car for just local hunting or range work. You can chuck a Pelican case out of an aircraft and its contents would be protected, provided you can dig your case out of the ground!

Most folks will use a simple soft case to transport the rifle from the house to the car, and the car to the range. Plenty effective for that…

Otherwise, from an economic perspective, you will get more practical use from a gun safe, which is required in some jurisdictions – and a good idea if you have little ones running around.

Take the rifle out of the safe when you’re home, since they make great home defense tools. The rest of the time, secure it from little sticky hands, since if they are anything like my kids – virtually everything they can get their tiny mitts on are considered “their” toys.

5

I just take out a layer of foam and use them that way ? with the top and bottom foam and maybe one extra layer ? cant remember now but take that thick one out
things can be piled in more that way and not slide around etc…

never been a fan of cutting the foam for a certain fit since things change to much etc… unless its a wacky electronic thing that costs as much as a house
while the cutouts look cool big waste of space is my thought

on the water/rust thing ? one of my old buddies always kept his foam sprayed down with gun oil very light amount to keep things OK and he never had issues ? not saying to do it just sharing thoughts

my idea of using a pelican is for loading up my rig and off roading and having lots of stuff in with it would rather have it more protected and contained and easy to stack stuff on or put on top etc…
I dont fly with my rifles ? but would use one for sure

I think for going to the range etc… a soft bag is better

like anything what and why do you need it ?

my reasons:
in my rig I can padlock my pelican to my rig meaning they will have to cut it out which keeps the grab and run type from getting it so if I am camping for a week I feel a touch better knowing its in a hard case with a padlock away from my kids and cable locked into my rig keeping it a bit safer than with nothing or a soft bag etc…