Have you heard the stories about guns being broken on airplanes? Here's what happens. The airline employees are throwing luggage and other freight on the airplane because they're running a little behind schedule. No problem there. Most gun cases will handle a little punishment. But when they pack your gun case inside the fuselage of that 747, you can almost bet your gun case will be at the bottom. Right? But that's not the problem. If they bridge your gun case over other freight or luggage, then pile more freight on top, that's where your gun case gets put to the test. Plastic gun cases won't handle it and the cheap, paper thin, metal ones won't either. Willing to take a chance getting to Africa with a broken gun? We weren't either.

Since we're in the business of building serious duty tool boxes for pickup through semi trucks, we decided this was not going to happen to us. So we built a gun case that would handle the load. For the backbone, we used .080 thickness marine grade aluminum alloy with a full length 3/16 piano hinge. We also put a one inch fold on the box and decided on a double fold on the lid to give it even more strength. We figured more was better in this case. After all, some of those airline employees are guerrilla's. We use a stainless steel 12 gauge hasp in the middle and two butterfly latches on the ends.The corners are then 100% heli arc welded. This gave us a net weight of 22 pounds. Today airlines limit us to 50 pounds so we still have 28 pounds to work with. Even our biggest gun, .416 Remington Mag weighed 12 pounds with scope and soft case. Our Ruger .270 weighed 8 pounds with scope and case. 12+8=20 So you could carry two big guns and depending on the sizes, you might even carry three. For sure, you will have room for two big guns with scopes and soft cases with a couple cleaning kits and extra socks and underwear.

Fortunately we found out about this from our PH (Professional Guide) before we went on safari to Africa. His name is Doug Carlisle with Doug Carlisle Safaris. Doug was happy to give us his "thumbs up" on seeing our gun boxes.

He told us "this is the most common problem with transporting guns."

It's no fun to travel thousands of miles to have to borrow someone else's gun.

Butter-fly latches keep the ends closed tight and are easy to use.

These wheels are tough enough to handle the rigors of travel and are inset for further protecting and hit the ground when the case is on an incline position. A must when getting in and out of airports.

As you can see, there's plenty of room left for a cleaning kit and we like to stuff extra underwear, socks, etc. around the guns. It's nice to make every square inch count when you're traveling and it adds a little more protection for your weapons.

Note: Depending on the airline and the country you're traveling in. They often require you have the bolt removed from your gun. We wrapped ours separately with an oil rag and kept it in the gun case too. However, they usually want your ammo carried in separate luggage. Not a carry-on bag, checked luggage.

Do yourself a favor and contact the airlines for this info. It changes.

This gun box has been to Africa twice, Canada, and several places in the USA. Plus we carry our guns in it to our local hunting camps in the back of our pickups.

Like we said above, your Highway Products - Heavy Gauge™ - gun box comes with a hasp locking system. We looked at a bunch of ways to go and also tried them ourselves. Our conclusion was pad locks are cheap and if you have a problem you can just cut it off and buy another one without damage to your gun box. Key locks are not the way to go.

We recommend a combination pad lock over a key style pad lock in case you loose your key. Plus, the airline security (TSA) will need access when you check in. You don't want to be fumbling around for a key during that mess.

If you have to leave your gun case somewhere, we also recommend you purchase a cable style or bicycle lock (combination style) to take with you. This allows you to lock your gun case to a post or anything solid through one of the the carry handles.

We sometimes traveled in an open cab Land Rover while in Africa. When we stopped for food or fuel we always left someone with the rig but we were still a little uneasy being out of sight of our gun box. You just never know what might happen when traveling. Especially in Africa. So we would lock our gun cases to the truck on those occasions.

Another neat feature about the Highway Products - Heavy Gauge™ - gun case is, it makes a great safe while you're in a hotel or out in the bush. Lock your gun case to your bed post, a tree, or something solid when you're not around. You will feel a lot better knowing your guns are locked up and have a place to keep other valuables while you're on safari. It's impossible to watch them 24-7.

Our Professional Hunting Guide, Doug Carlisle, took excellent care of our valuables but even he thought it was a great idea to be able to lock things up while we were out hunting, on the trip of our lifetime.

Want your guns to get there in one piece? Want to be ready for your next hunt? Order your gun case now before you need it. We get busy during hunting season and that will be one less thing for your to worry about. You know you will love it.
We Guarantee you will - or your money back!

 

Note: Highway Products, Inc. is the manufacturer and does not always keep this item in inventory.
Please call for lead time.

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