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If you have ever had to fly with a weapon or spend large periods of time outdoors in inclement weather, you have probably purchased a hard case for your weapon. Both pistol and rifle cases fit into the same mold for hard cases. You typically have some form of heavy duty plastic shell that can be secured and then locked for transport. The insides contain any number of various types of foam that are either pre-cut, custom cut or hand cut by you to fit your firearms.
When we recently had to look for a hard case for an upcoming trip we are taking. Having never needed a hard case before I was blown away at the high cost of some name brands. Finding Patriot Cases was a huge relief , they offered a really sturdy looking product that met our needs at 1/4 the prices we had been seeing.
We purchased the AR/AK Case- BLANK with the BLANK representing an uncut solid piece of foam. The foam itself is an upgraded 2.2lb polyethylene material which is an additional upgrade for most manufacturers. The advantages of this upgraded foam are:
- Does not hold moisture
- Impervious to cleaning oil or solvents
- High density offers additional protection.
The case itself boasts the following
- Weighs 9 lbs
- 42″ Long
- 13″ Wide
- 5″ Deep
- Two layers of HDPE on bottom
- Convoluted foam in the lid
- ATA Specification 300 II rated
- Available Customization for labeling
Patriot Cases does offer to actually cut the foam for you as well as offering several generically precut foam pads. However for those of you who want something custom and have even a little bit of Do-it-Yourself in you making a custom case at home is easy.
This is my first attempt at documenting on video what we do here at 248 Shooter. I am sure many of you will laugh at our $0 budget studio, with my childrens toy’s and all. Unfortunately that was the best place for me to be able to mount a camera and have a workspace. Look for an upgrade in production for our future videos. As you can see though with virtually no skill I was able to cut a custom case.
My kit includes:
- 16″ AR-15
- Scope mounted on AR
- 4 Pmags
- G26L with pinky ext magazine
- G17 MAgazine
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There are a few things this video demonstrates.
- A person with no technical skill scan do this
- Even a bad cut sill still hold the gun well
- You can never look as bad doing this as I did.
Since the video we have done some further testing. While we did not submerge the case in water we did leave it out in the storm we had here the other night and no water got in.
We took the foam pad out and ran it under a hose for about 10 minutes to see if it would hold water. With a wipe of a towel we were able to bring the foam back to dry as it repelled the water instead of absorbing it.
As you can see here as well even the foam is very durable.
Another note about the Patriot Cases is the cases offer a long term lockable storage solution. I would not recommend these cases as a long term solution in a home that has children, but in a home without kids a locked hard case offers a more responsible level of ownership than a soft case. It keeps the gun safer as well as securing it from prying hands when properly locked.
On 248 Shooter we have advocated to buy quality products one time so you don’t waste money by having to buy twice. Looking at the cost of the Patriot Cases offerings verse it’s competition it would be easy to assume the product is cheap crap. That assumption would be dead wrong. While the competition has some features we prefer like an upgraded latching system and thicker exterior plastic the cost associated with those bonuses may not be worth it for the average user. If your looking for an inexpensive but still high quality case then look no further than Patriot Cases.
If you have bought a case from them and done a cut out better than mine please send us pictures we would love to see what a good cut out looks like.
