Like most here, I spend almost the entirety of the months of September through February puttering around the wilds with guns clattering around in the back of my truck. So many guns. America.
The $10 Walmart Specials are fine for a few seasons until the heat and the UV in the Mojave desert starts breaking them down, or unless you live somewhere where precipitation is an actual, recurring concern. When you have a few grand into your rifle setup and a hard-won tag in your pocket, the last thing you want is some gear issue caused by improper transportation — broken scopes, shifted zeroes, or water intrusion being at the forefront of my mind.
There are scores of excellent American-made cases on the market at either end of the financial spectrum.It was time to upgrade, and I think the Boyt Harness H-Series Cases follow that cost:value asymptote quite perfectly. I’ve given two H-48s the beans this season and have come away impressed.
The Value Proposition
The Boyt H-48 can be had at $150 at my preferred retailer, Sportsman’s, less than half of what a comparable polypropylene Pelican Protector (say that three times fast) long gun case comes in at, and still cheaper than comparable cases from their Vault line, which are made in Mexico.
The Apache cases you can get at Harbor Freight are around this price, and, while apparently good cases as well, are decidedly not made in the USA either.
Construction
As mentioned, the H-Series cases are constructed from a “No Burst” polypropylene resin. They feature four steel draw latches that are themselves recessed into the moldings to protect the latching mechanism. They cam over with authority.
Thick foam is found inside, which has held all of my guns exactly where I’ve placed them in the case — no sliding around or anything that will wear the case hardening or bluing off your favorite shotgun. There’s an O-ring gasket installed into the lip around the perimeter of the case, as well as pressure relief valve for air travel.
I appreciate high-quality foam that won’t fall apart or get pilly after sustained hard usage.
The Case
These are long enough to fit almost any long gun you’d want to carry around in them. For you traditionalists that are still bitterly clinging to your long-barreled 7mm Rem Mags (such as myself), they’ll fit in here. The big old Wingmaster fits, too, as does the side-by-side.
In practice, the weatherproofing has done a great job of keeping the Nevada moon dust on the outside of the case, as well as any water spills or things of that nature. This is a particularly sensitive subject for me, as I’ve had a misfire in the field while lined up a bull due to water getting into an old case and down into the breach of my muzzleloader. Ask me about that one some other time…
The case is well-built and sturdy; no weird molding marks or artifacts that should have been trimmed off, and I don’t worry about pulling my rifle out and finding the zero has wandered over into the next unit, or that the latches might fail on transport and leave the gun hanging out in the back. Both hard lessons learned from experience. The case carries well and the handle is well-built and comfortable for toting heavier loadouts.
Finer Points
Due to the compressive resistance of the foam, a little care was needed in order to ensure everything is sealing up squarely when those latches are drawn tight. If you have something on the thicker side — say, a hunting rifle with a bolt that sticks out — you might see a little deformation of the sealing surface around the lip of the case until that foam is fully broken in and softened up just a tad. If it really bothers you, stashing the gun with the bolt open can help decrease the overall width of the firearm depending on the design of the rifle. For ARs, leverguns, and magazine-fed shotguns, this likely won’t be much of an issue for you.
What does this mean in practice? You should know that Boyt does not claim full waterproofness for the H-Series cases. If you take a hose, turn it on full, and run it over the edge of the case, you’ll have a bit of water intrusion. Short of having your rifle actually submerge itself, in real-world situations I think the sealing is perfectly adequate for even heavy rain conditions.
If you want guaranteed waterproofing in those most extreme of situations… you’re going to have to pony up for it.
Conclusion
This year, these cases have already seen action in the chukar hills and javelina bajadas in Arizona. Later on they’ll keep the rain out in the black bear woods in Idaho, and other places yet to be determined as the draws shake out.
If you’re the kind of guy that enjoys packing his optics, rangefinders, backup scopes, and a ham sandwich in his rifle case when flying or driving, Boyt does offer two-gun cases, and this might be the way to go if you have to check bags and like to pack your valuables inside hard cases guarded with the safety of a non-TSA-approved lock.
The H-Series cases are made in the US-of-A and also come with a limited lifetime warranty.
