Cases For Vintage Guns
 

What sort of cases are appropriate for carrying vintage guns on everyday hunting trips? I’m interested in what the good folks here use to case their vintage Parkers. What is aesthetically pleasing and practical?

There is a real variety and you just have to look around until you find one that fits your particular gun. This summer I bought a VH 16 from a member here. A short time later, I found a modern leather trunk case for sale at our gun club.

eBay is a good place to look. The Spring Southern or any of the major shows is great. Look around on this forum too and it is the best if you are patient

Do you routinely use a trunk case, as opposed to a padded “sleeve” a la Boyt?

A good ol' leg o' mutton case is appropriate most of the time and I have several, but I often get lazy and use my padded single or double full length cases.

For hunting trips a full-length case is the only answer. Anything take-down is just an aggravation and time waster.

You’re right about the full length case. Which do you use?

I probably have at least fifty, anything from the "Black Rhino" down to the late 1930s vintage canvas & leather ones from J. Warshal's Sporting Goods in Seattle that were my father's.

Attachment 113791

Super duper, love that old canvas case! Very special that it came from your Dad. :)

90% of my doubles (S X Ss and O/Us) reside in LOM and takedown cases, but are transported to and from hunting, and the range, in a variety of full length soft cases. I don't really fret over the soft cases being "appropriate" for the vintage doubles, being more concerned with their ability to protect the guns inside. Modern materials and construction often trump aesthetics. As an example, my vintage duck guns ride in a boat to the blind in a floating, waterproof soft case that just happens to be camo. Duck boats, and retrievers, can be rough on nice old guns.

Not to mention the chance of damage by dropping/fumbling the forend or barrels while trying to assemble the gun with cold hands in the rain, snow or dark.

My first Parker was purchased from a B17 WWll pilot who had a gun store when I was about 22 or 23. It came in a Redhead LOM case which I thought was way cool at the time but he warned me about breaking it down every time I took it out to use. He was right.

I use one of many canvas, cloth, padded cases with the gun in a sock that I've accumulated of my time with guns.

For transport, a compact trunk case, canvas bout style or LOM is best. For actual hunting where you may be in and out for short hunts in various locations, a long zip-up slip is most convenient.

I concur with the long case for hunting/shooting trips. I use a Filson and/or Boyt long canvas case and also have each gun in a gun sock. The long cases fit nicely and snuggly atop my folded up back truck cab seats, out of the way and out of sight, but readily accessible. I damaged the stock of a nice gun once when I used to carry guns in take down cases. Never again.

Garry, I totally agree with your method. Any of my guns that are going on a hunting trip with me ride in a full length case (I second your Filson, Boyt. decision, as well), but they are also in a sock, then inside the gun case. I may drop the sock when actively moving from spot to spot, but I always case the gun. The sock just provides an additional layer of protection while traveling.

Incidentally, I also store every gun of mine in my gun safes in a sock. i picked that habit up from an old Kentucky "backyard" gun dealer. You can place guns in and out of your safe(s) a little easier if they are protected that way. It really turned out to be a blessing when the tornado hit my farm last year. The gun safes took a few cartwheels through the debris field, but every gun escaped unscathed and in perfect original condition.

Dave

Dave, can you post some pictures of the carnage involving your gun safes?

Glad to learn your guns made it through the twister. I also store my guns in socks in the safe…barrels down.

Bill, let me look through the pictures from immediately after the tornado. We recovered the gun safes from the rubble pretty quickly to ensure their safety, and i'm not sure if I have photos of my shop after it was leveled.

Garry, yes, I agree.... barrels down!

Dave

A Browning single, similar to a Boyt I guess, and a double case from Galazan that my wife bought me years ago...

https://i.imgur.com/kXa1A8rl.jpg

I also take my guns hunting in a soft, padded zipper case. One thing I'm keenly aware of is that it is laying perfectly flat, and not atop anything. A friend managed to snap his gun at the wrist when something heavy, a cooler if I remember correctly, fell over on top of it.

I just wanted to make a plug for Boyt. I have several of there cases and I had one with a plastic latch attached to the leather buckle strap crack and I contacted them and they sent me a brand new case. All they would have needed to do was send me the leather strap piece with the plastic latch attached but they said it was easier to send me a new case then just a part. They are a company that stands behind there product in my experience.

I have a dozen cases I have accumulated over the years. My favorite case and the one I use when I take a gun out hunting is a case I had made a number of years ago.
It was designed to hold a shotgun whether it was m 410 or an 8 gauge. A thin saddle leather lined with a inner finished leather glued and sewed together. ( a unfinished leather ) will hold dirt and will mar the finish. No sheep skin or other fabrics that hold moisture.
Heavy duty nylon lariat rope covered with leather for handles. Two leather straps secured with brass buckles to close the flap. It has served me well.

That quail on the flap is a wonderful touch!

Beautiful case Phil. I do like cases that open all the way down so the gun doesn't rub anywhere sliding in and out.

Talk to PGCA member Matt Hansen. He will make you a dandy one .

I picked up a lovely 2 gun trunk case from a member here and it’s my go to road trip case as I usually take 2 guns on trips. I take a modern canvas case to use while I’m hunting. The trunk case provides more protection on the road and seems to pack more efficiently.