All posts tagged Allen gun cases

Buying what you need and not what you don’t need for your firearms

allen gun casesThere are huge differences in the material and protection that you will get from various gun case manufacturers.  We have a showroom here in Pennsylvania where all you have to do is pick up one of the rifle cases and squeeze it and  you’ll feel better knowing your $2000 AR15 , Optics and flashlight is going to take a few clunks and still be protected.  We still get people walking in looking for items such as the Allen pistol rugs because they only need it for transporting and don’t want to drop $100 on a fancy range bag or spend $40 on a pack.  I’ve never gotten into the pistol scope thing but many people are using the Trijicon RMR optics on their guns.

If you want an easy fix for gun transport the gun socks are great for shotguns or rifles that don’t have optics on them.   I keep several of these around as well as other Allen gun cases for my Russian SKS rifles and my Remington 870.   The Russian SKS can take a few dinks to the stock because it’s already pretty roughed up an I’m not so concerned about scratches.  The Assault rifle bags are fairly inexpensive and for someone that wants to keep their magazines organized these are a great way to keep your stuff together.

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Gun cases for the gun enthusiasts

If you are new to collecting firearms, I have some advice for you.   Keep your guns, ammunition, magazines and accessories organized.   This may even mean that you have to spend money on gun safes or gun racks, but considering how much damage can occur to your firearms and especially rifle scopes, good organization means preservation.    I have on many occasions seen guy show up with rifles and bring the wrong gun magazines or the wrong sight in tools and from my experience, all of that should be in a range or gun bag at all times.   It’s better to keep everything in one place and bring it all with you then having to worry about if you have your AK sight in tool, M1 Garand sight in tool or your AR front sight adjustment.

If you have several long guns,  consider buying the same type of gun cases and write on them which gun case if for which rifle.   It can be a real headache if you are constantly trying to remember which gun is in which case and if the assault rifle case is for a Mini 14 or an AK.   If you own both guns, get 2 gun cases.   Allen gun cases are very inexpensive and for the most part, once you know the length of your firearm you should know if it will fit in the case.  High mounted optics or flashlights can make it problematic on knowing if a gun case will work.   The Endura pistol rug is easy to file away and can also be easily written on or marked.

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Getting into a good firing position

There are plenty of times that I have wondered why  certain people even bothered to spend so much money on firearms when they were afraid to get them dirty or wet.  There is nothing wrong with being a bench rest shooter because that in itself is a skill of it’s own.   Some people don’t realize how much talent it takes to make a bullet, and the hard thing to do is make multiple bullets hit the same impact point.   I have moved away from bench rest shooting because I’ve found my accurate loads for most of the 45acp, .308, .303 and 30/06 loads I shoot.  If you really want to become proficient, you really have think about getting off the bench.  Using a rifle sling is important, but it’s not the only option.

Serious tactical shooting skills will require you to get off a bench rest, but learn how to make your own in the field.  I have a few good shooting mats that work as rifle cases and they can unzip and fold out to be shooting mats.   I suggest getting a good backpack that can act as a shooting rest and if you learn to get yourself into good physical condition and be able to move your body, you should be able to stay in the position and shoot accurately.   The US Peace keeper shooting mat is 72″ long and 36″ wide and will give you something to lay on other than mud and dirt.

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Take your gear camping and get back to me

I always enjoy watching the weekend warrior guys show up with their $4000 worth of M4 and accessories that are the first ones to panic and want to leave the range if it starts to drizzle.   The idea that your $4000 rifle will some how get ruined in the rain and the majority of firearms like it are expected to be combat reliable.   Well… what is combat reliability?  Combat reliability is a gun that will take a level of abuse in bad weather and dirty conditions without malfunctioning.  If you have a military issued rifle, the gun better darn well be combat reliable and a little bit of rain shouldn’t concern you.

Combat optics are are also given this description because they better take the abuse and still hold zero.  The gun should work if it gets dropped and the glass better not break.   I’ve retired a few rifle scopes because they would fog up and I learned the lesson of wiping all of my hunting rifles down with a light amount of CLP whenever I brought them back from a trip. Take your gun cases and your firearms out on a day when the weather isn’t that great and have some confidence.   A good nylon rifle case should protect your firearms from moisture and dirt and there’s nothing to cry about if you know your gear.

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The SKS rifle, more accurate than the AK?

I’ve heard all of those stories about how inaccurate the AK is, but I’ve seen my fair share of 2 MOA guns that could hit out to 400yds very effectively if the shooter knew what they were doing.  Yesterday i witnessed 2 young adults nail targets out to 30oyds with an SKS rifle that was zeroed in at 200yds.   I would say that if they had optics that gave them a bullet compensator then they probable could have been effective out another 150yds.   The real problem with the SKS rifle is that it doesn’t really hold it’s zero once the mount is removed.   I would never recommend skipping cleaning the rifle because it does have a flaw in the design and there are some safety issues.

The SKS is a fine blasting and plinking rifle and although the range is limited by the 7.62×39 ballistics, it can be a step up into the semi-auto world for a novice shooter.   I’ve heard that the SKS was used as a sniper rifle in the Vietnam war, and although it’s not a great gun for that, with good ammunition, 2 MOA means  being capable of getting a head shot at 400yds if the shooter knows what they were doing.  We hauled a few of these around in soft gun cases, and they fit into a gun sock that I have left over from a Remington 870.   The SKS has a fixed magazine and with stripper clips, it feeds and reloads quickly.

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Transporting the 1927 Thompson

I recently attended a World War II gun club event and had a lot of fun being there.    I have always know what I liked from the WWII era, but I never really jumped on the collectors bandwagon because most of the guns are in my humble opinion, collectors items.    Many of the bolt action rifles that were used during the war are chambered in .303, 8mm and 30/06 and still have a place in the hunting community, but for home defense or modern combat, those calibers are not very common and there aren’t very many gun chambered in them anymore.   Finding ammunition is very hard and with todays inflated prices, it’s very much a collector thing.

The M1 Garand is a great and powerful for it’s time, but the function of it is very dated.   Having 8rds of 30/06 in a semi auto that is capable of hitting targets out to 600yds easily is far more than what the average deer hunter is going to need.   The M1 Carbine would probable be my favorite if the caliber wasn’t so hard to get and there were more bullet designs that could be applied for defensive purposes.   The M1 Carbine is more powerful than .357 magnum, but the gun is designed for FMJ and would urge against them for home defense.   My favorite is still the Thompson 1927 which can be toted around in gun cases that look like a violin case and will get a lot of laughs when you show up at the range.   The 45acp gun is very reliable and will shoot many defensive rounds.   The 45acp you get out of this gun is a powerful close range weapon.

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Slings on shotguns and home defense

While I must admit that I have never taken a shotgun training class, and I have not yet gotten around to watching the Magpul Art of the tactical shotgun DVD,  I have seen enough things happen on firing lines to know that the more stuff you put on a firearm, the more you are complicating things.   The more you complicate things the more you have to worry about things falling off or getting snagged.  Slings are extremely useful tools and it will get real uncomfortable carrying a firearm with out one.   I recently picked up a shotgun scabbard because I personally do not like having slings on a pump shotgun.   The fact that you have to manually cycle the gun and your sling will be moving around while you do this, I’ve  seen too many times where people’s hands get snagged up.

I must remind you that this is a personal preference, not everyone has these types of problems.   There are ways of training to get around some of the issues, but they can all  be eliminated by not having one on.   My shotgun scabbard is basically one of my rifle cases because it is attached to one of my primary shooting backpacks, I can just toss a lever action rifle or small bolt action into the same case and carry it on a hunting trip.   Some of my friends have the Galco battle sling on their shotgun and it is  a very thick sling.   Some people may prefer this because it is easy to grasp and feel.

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Gun storage, gun safes and gun cases

I mentioned a few days ago that the ideal way of locking up all of your firearms and ammunition is to create a fireproof room in your home that you can just walk into.   I know several gun collectors that have done this and if they would have gone out and purchase gun safes they probable would have had to remove a few walls in there house just to get the safes in, not to mention how much destruction they might have caused trying to move one around the house.   I believe my one friend had 3 gun safes that would today, cost close to $10,000, but I don’t think he would have done that again.   Security systems are much better designed and you can keep various sections of your home under active lock downs while it’s free to roam in other areas.

One thing that hasn’t changed very much is the reality that guns usually get damaged during transport and many people don’t  have the right gun cases matching up to the rifles.  I had issues with several of my Uncle Mike’s assault rifle cases not working very well with some of my M4 Carbines when they had anything more than a rifle scope on them.   The Uncle Mike’s gun cases are very good, but if you have lasers or flashlights on them, you may need another fatter type of gun case.  There have been times where I have taken 7-10 rifles to a gun club and that was an enlightening time for me.   After I put my most expensive rifles in the better gun cases like the SKB gun cases, I ended up just having gun socks for shotguns and 22 rifles.  I think gun socks are good for the money, but the Allen Endura gun cases offer a little more protection.

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Avoiding unnecessary searches during police stops

There has been a recent issue with a man who moved from Colorado back to New Jersey and has been arrested and thrown in jail for transporting firearms that he legally owned.   I won’t go into the whole story, but it’s available with just a google search.  From what I am reading about it now, there was something that occurred and the police made a stop and searched this individuals car, they found two unloaded handguns in the car and he was arrested.   Transporting firearms in non-gun friendly States has been a real problem for those traveling across State lines for hunting trips.   I had the opportunity to take a trip to Maine and I had to plot driving routes to avoid as many blue States as possible although  avoiding all of them was impossible.

So many of my friends own SUV type vehicles and I have urged many of them to think about tinting the windows, not too dark, but darker than what they had, just because they can dramatically reduce their chances of having a theft by making it harder for the less  honest in society,  from seeing any firearms even in gun cases or valuables they are transporting.  Most of the smash and grabs that I have heard of were for laptops and the CCW stuff was under or near it.   Of all of the times I have ever been in a vehicle stop, being polite to a Police officer avoided any friction and I have never had issues with searches.

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Even your shotgun should go in a case

I don’t know what it is with hunters, but when I comes to gun cases, I see more neglict with lever actions and shotguns than other rifles.   I guess some people think that if it has glass on it, you need a gun case, but if it all wood, you don’t need one.   I don’t know how many times I’ve been on hunting trips and see my buddies unload there guns and gear and the  shotguns aren’t in any kind of case.  When they pack, they just load up the bags and gear and then toss the guns in right on top.   Well, one of my second most common reasons for having a gun sock or gun cases, soft or hard shell, is not just to protect the gun from getting banged around, it’s also to keep glancing eyes from noticing what you are transporting.  I have 3 friends that have lost firearms in cars, along with laptops, because they had them in visible sight.

When you are travelling, there may be occassions where you may want to stop and get something to eat or have to run and take a leak.   Smash and grabs are the most common ways that I have seen firearms stolen from vehicles and none of them were in gun cases,  if the criminal didn’t see what was in the car, they wouldn’t know what it was or get the temptation.    There are a few criminals in New York that are walking around or sold a few of my friends Glocks and Browning shotguns.   If you are a gun owner, you may want to consider tinting the windows on your vehicles.   There are also areas in the Country where a bad cop may become problematic if it’s obvious that you are transporting firearms.

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