Pelican 1740 with Multiple Gun Storage Inside?

[BuffCyclist]

Long story short, I’m leaving my gun safe behind when we sell our house, at least thats currently the plan because in order to remove it from the closet, I have to cut the door frame again and I don’t want to do that [LOL]. This means I have to find a new way to store my guns, and buying a new gun safe for a rental house/townhome isn’t really an option (because according to the wife ti would be too difficult to move by myself and I agree). But I definitely need a method of keeping them in a dry environment (moving to VA where humidity is pretty high at times) and it needs to be lockable. While it doesn’t prevent theft, it does prevent unauthorized tampering and keeps them well preserved.

So I started searching for gun cases that hold multiple long guns and after a while I found this:

http://www.casecruzer.com/guncruzer/3n3-gun-case.html
http://www.casecruzer.com/guncruzer/gallery-3n3-gun-case/gun-case-handgun-3n3-gunpod.jpg


I was immediately sold, then I saw the price tag at $582. However, it’s not a Pelican case and I can't find ANY reviews on the quality of their cases so after contacting them I found out they can custom order it in a Pelican case. I’m guessing it’ll be close to $700 because they sell their 2N2 in either their proprietary case or in a Pelican.

Then, after looking at specs for various cases, I found that the above 3N3 GunPod is basically the same dimensions as a Pelican 1740 and I got to thinking, why don’t I just buy a Pelican 1740 and cut out slots the depth of the case, leaving a little foam in the bottom, that would be more universal like the 3N3 and hold 4 rifles. At first I was looking at just rectangular slots to the bottom, so the guns would sit on the bottom of the butt and the barrel. Then I thought I could cut out the slots, and then cut ramps in that scrap foam to cradle the bottom of the stocks more and get all barrels to be horizontal instead of tipped downward.

To do this though, I would need to get some closed cell polyethylene foam, which I found a vendor that sells it to custom cut outer dimensions or I can buy the 1740 with that foam in it already. Both options come in around $400.

After some more searching, I found some guy made this:


http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/14/ybudagyg.jpg


This is almost exactly what I’m after, but I don’t know if I want a rack, I think I’d prefer to do slots with foam on all sides of the long guns. If I did this though, I would need a separate case for my pistols and thats when I found this 6 pistol case with option to purchase the custom foam in a pelican. I thought this would be ideal because then I could have two separate cases, one for rifles, one for pistols. The price is right at $200 and is reasonable for a Pelican case, especially with custom insert. Plus it gives me room for my collection to grow a tiny bit. [Tooth]


http://www.caseclub.com/6-pistol-case.htm
http://www.caseclub.com/products/6-pistol-left-big.jpg


Regardless, I need to get a longer case for my Remington 700, and am looking at a Pelican 1750 with closed cell foam that I’d cut myself. That would leave the 1740 with 3 long guns and a slot for my receiver that I plan to finish as an A2 rifle, the Pelican 1750, and the 6 pistol case. But, going with the 1740, I'm limited in length to only 41 inches so that kind of limits my future purchases in that case.

While not completely ideal as its a lot of cases and quite a bit of money, getting a new guns safe is just out of the question right now (yet purchasing these types of cases has already been approved by the wife and thats after she learned of the price, but the 3N3 is out since its so much).


Does anyone else have a better idea of how to store this many guns in a lockable, weathertight container that is more universal (so if I sell my rimfire rifle, I can replace it with another AR or any other long gun without having to replace all of the foam)?

[ruthabagah]

Nice, but can't really anchor it anywhere. By my experience, if it can be moved by one person with minimal effort, it is not a good enough protection against theft.
What about a simple StackOn Cabinet? It's light enough to be installed by one person, will prevent unauthorized access, and can be anchored to a wall. I used one in a rental when I was out of state for a year, and it did the job.

Just my 10 cents. Cool case though.

[Wulf202]

Get an old upright freezer. Build in some simple racks add a solid hasp and lock

When your done with it. Call a scrap guy.

[BuffCyclist]

Nice, but can't really anchor it anywhere. By my experience, if it can be moved by one person with minimal effort, it is not a good enough protection against theft.
What about a simple StackOn Cabinet? It's light enough to be installed by one person, will prevent unauthorized access, and can be anchored to a wall. I used one in a rental when I was out of state for a year, and it did the job.

Just my 10 cents. Cool case though.

I realize I can't protect against theft with this method, however the point is to keep them locked up, easy to transport and protected from moisture (with desiccant and proper lubrication before storage). I know about the StackOns, but soemthing that has to be bolted isn't an option because I'm liquidating a majority of my tools as well to reduce the amount of stuff we have (and save for a few tools, they're mostly cheap walmart crap that don't work that great anyways).


Get an old upright freezer. Build in some simple racks add a solid hasp and lock

When your done with it. Call a scrap guy.

Not an option as its too large/bulky. If I was going to get something that large, I'd get another safe and not bolt it down, which I'd prefer but the wife says no to another safe (yet she's okay with these cases).

[merl]

It looks like you found a solution that'll work. You can always get some dog leads or other wire rope and lock them to a discreet eyebolt. Would at least slow someone down trying to grab em.

[BuffCyclist]

Just spoke with CaseClub, they recommend the 6 Revolver Case, because it fits both revolvers and semi-auto pistols. Granted it doesn't have the nice individual magazine slots, it does have a small accessory pocket that mags could be put into. And judging the size of that pocket based on the glasses, I could probably stack 4x glock mags where the glasses are.

I might start out getting the 6 Revolver Case and the Pelican 1750 w/Polyethylene foam and see how that works, then get the bigger Pelican 1740 at a later time. I know I need desiccant for each case, and will probably put double the necessary amount in to ensure it stays dry inside. But, thats a lot of money to be dropping on cases which makes me hesitant, but unless I can come up with an alternative solution that will work similarly, these are the best solution I can come up with.

[Wulf202]

Pay a handyman to uninstall and re install the closet door frame.

[KS63]

Dang! I like those pistol cases. I'll have to contact them about just buying the cut foam.

[BuffCyclist]

Dang! I like those pistol cases. I'll have to contact them about just buying the cut foam.

just the cut foam for most of their pistol cases is an option, but its about $100-120 depending on the case.

For instance: http://www.caseclub.com/6-pistol-case.htm

Just below the "Add to Cart" button, it says:

Purchase this Foam Only for the Pelican 1520 case (no case) - $112.38)

A Pelican 1520 case is around $115. Or you can buy the combo kit for $198.54, so you do save money buying together with them unless you have a plethora of pelican cases just lying around unused.

[clublights]

Just get the Pelican the size you need with the pick and pluck foam .... then grab an old electric carving knife. and go to town custom fitting to exactly what you have .


save money. get perfect to your needs.

[BuffCyclist]

Just get the Pelican the size you need with the pick and pluck foam .... then grab an old electric carving knife. and go to town custom fitting to exactly what you have .


save money. get perfect to your needs.

I want to get polyethylene foam, its denser than pick n pluck foam and does not absorb water, so its ideal for long term storage of firearms. I also want to make the cutouts in the foam more universal, so to speak, so that it will hold any long gun so long as its no longer than 40-41 inches, etc

[clublights]

I want to get polyethylene foam, its denser than pick n pluck foam and does not absorb water, so its ideal for long term storage of firearms. I also want to make the cutouts in the foam more universal, so to speak, so that it will hold any long gun so long as its no longer than 40-41 inches, etc

True But I'd think the silica gel would solve that part.. but then again I've never owned a weapon and lived in a humid climate .... hell I've never lived in a humid climate... I'm a high Desert Kid ... Here, New Mexico, Las Vegas.... all dry

[BuffCyclist]

Silica gel only absorbs so much water before it is saturated. I would think if the foam is wet and touching a gun, it would start rusting before that water evaporated and was sucked up by the silica gel.

[rbeau30]

http://www.amazon.com/Gram-Silica-Gel-Desiccant-5-Pack/dp/B006LMDBS4

$25 bucks for 5 and you can reuse them if you have a 200 degree oven.

If you buy the stuff up here (arid environment) or keep it in the open up here for a bit, recharge a bunch of these things and seal em up, should be good to go. If you keep the metal surfaces properly lubed before and after touching (I grew up in wisconsin, fingerprints turn into rusty fingerprints in days.) I think you would be good. I read somewhere that the desiccant that you get at walmart and stuff in the bucket is actually an acid, you may want to steer away from that stuff.

[BuffCyclist]

Thanks, I already have a huge canister of high quality desiccant, but had planned on getting some of those packs already.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards buying the Pelican 1740 with polyethylene foam already in it, cut out 4 rifle slots and then just store pistols in the 4th slot until I either finish my other AR or decide to buy a dedicated pistol case. I just hope I'm able to cut out the polyethylene foam as easily/cleanly as I think I can.

[clublights]

Thanks, I already have a huge canister of high quality desiccant, but had planned on getting some of those packs already.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards buying the Pelican 1740 with polyethylene foam already in it, cut out 4 rifle slots and then just store pistols in the 4th slot until I either finish my other AR or decide to buy a dedicated pistol case. I just hope I'm able to cut out the polyethylene foam as easily/cleanly as I think I can.


Electric Carving knife or a "hot Knife" I think I saw on some youtube vid how to make you own hot knife.( google?) I've used my electric a few times .. easy as pie to cut the foam .. also easy to make mistakes.. but a little 3M 77 spray and all is good again .

[BuffCyclist]

Electric Carving knife or a "hot Knife" I think I saw on some youtube vid how to make you own hot knife.( google?) I've used my electric a few times .. easy as pie to cut the foam .. also easy to make mistakes.. but a little 3M 77 spray and all is good again .

You had great success with an electric knife on closed cell polyethylene foam? The foam that doesn't compress much?

If that's the case, then I'm not that worried about it. Drafting up a rough design right now, just found a major problem with my AR, the handguard is too wide!! [panic] If I replace it with something else, then the AR will fit (tightly) in a 2" wide slot, then I could have 4 slots that are all 2" wide. The 4th slot could hold pistols with a 1" piece of foam to tighten the pistols in place.

[clublights]

I dunno about the particular type of foam your using but I've used electric carving knifes on soft and harder foams and styrofoam ( making set pieces for bands)

I'd say try it on a piece of similar material and see how you feel about it first .

[KS63]

just the cut foam for most of their pistol cases is an option, but its about $100-120 depending on the case.

For instance: http://www.caseclub.com/6-pistol-case.htm

Just below the "Add to Cart" button, it says:


A Pelican 1520 case is around $115. Or you can buy the combo kit for $198.54, so you do save money buying together with them unless you have a plethora of pelican cases just lying around unused.

Thanks. I emailed them about selling only the foam for a 4 pistol plus storage design and it's $131. Yikes!

[hatidua]

Put a good lock on a closet door and a floor-mounted light bulb (which will take care of the humidity). While I own nearly a dozen Pelican cases, they are only justifiable if you are planning on the case dropping on the ground on a regular basis or if your guns are being handled by airline baggage people. It's your money, but buying a Pelican for in-home storage seems like 3rd or 4th best option....maybe not even that high on the list.

[BuffCyclist]

Put a good lock on a closet door and a floor-mounted light bulb (which will take care of the humidity). While I own nearly a dozen Pelican cases, they are only justifiable if you are planning on the case dropping on the ground on a regular basis or if your guns are being handled by airline baggage people. It's your money, but buying a Pelican for in-home storage seems like 3rd or 4th best option....maybe not even that high on the list.

The reason I was thinking cases is because I don't own enough guns to fill a closet. The biggest complaint my wife has with our current home is that we don't have enough closets, so me attempting to commandeer an entire closet won't go over well. And yes, I could just store linens and other stuff in there too, but I'm positive that family/company would have enough evidence to prove I'm insane when they find out I lock up my linens.

And this is the appeal of pelican cases (or other similar type cases) that can be sealed, locked and stored anywhere (perhaps even at the base of a closet). Putting an eye bolt into a stud and running a cable lock through it to the locked cases is sufficient to ensure they don't grow legs too easily.

eta: I considered a large job site box to store all firearms and all my ammo, which should be sufficiently heavy that it wouldn't walk off without a forklift, and frankly, who brings a forklift when they burglar someones home? [Dunno] The reason I avoided that is that they are still large/heavy/awkward to move by oneself although easier than a safe.

[BuffCyclist]

Okay, so I've spent a few days toying around with various arrangements and here is what I have come up with. In a Pelican 1740 case, I can fit 4 rifles (maximum length 39") and 4 pistols.

I have two packs of 40g desiccant, which is good for up to 10,368 cubic inches. The total volume of AIR (excluding volume taken up by guns and excluding volume taken up by foam - closed cell foam doesn't trap air) is 817 cubic inches. Therefore, the amount of desiccant that I have compared to what I need is roughly 12.69 times larger. This should be more than sufficient to take care of humidity inside the case. The closed cell polyethylene foam will not absorb moisture so I only have to worry about humidity in the air when I close the case. The left most desiccant pack has holes drilled to have access to the pistols, with a groove cut in the support rib between the two. The right most desiccant pack is primarily for the entire case since it can't easily access the pistols. But that's thinking that the desiccant packs care where they get their air from.

The following were animated gifs showing the different layers, but when I tried uploading them they wouldn't work, so I've just included the two different views: top down and cross cut.

The rifles for size comparison of the case are as follows (top rifle in picture is rifle 1, 2nd from top is 2...)

1 - AR15 SPR - 18" Barrel, 15" Troy Alpha Handguard, MagPul UBR (collapsed), 1-4x Optic
2 - AR15 M4 - 16" Barrel (rifle length gas port because I didn't feel like drafting a new barrel), JP Rifles 11" Handguard, no optic, standard M4 stock
3 - Remington 870 Shotgun...ish. Didn't draft this one, found it online and can't find a standard stock.
4 - Empty for Savage Mark II-FV whenever I get around to actually drafting it

Pistol 1 - Colt 1911
Pistol 2 - Glock 22 Modified to be dimensions of Glock 23
Pistol 3 - Glock 26

Anyways, for you rifle case experts, I would love to hear your feedback on this layout, whether it is too crammed or perfect. All layers of foam have 1" between the rifle and the case, and 1" between parts. All foam layers are 2" thick, except for the bottom layer (1.75") and the lid (1.5") if I recall correctly.

The pictures are all looking down from the top of the case, and each subsequent picture is removing the top most layer of foam. The first picture is the lid foam. The second picture is what the case would look like when I open it. Was going to put the pistols in the 4th rifle slot, but realized I had lots of unused space under the rifle handguards. Still haven't decided if I'll stretch the rifle cavity the full width of the case or not (under rifle slot 4).

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[BuffCyclist]

These next photos are looking at the case from the front, showing a cross cut through the rifle slots (roughly in the middle).

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[clublights]

+1

[Eggysrun]

awesome thread :)

[def90]

eta: I considered a large job site box to store all firearms and all my ammo, which should be sufficiently heavy that it wouldn't walk off without a forklift, and frankly, who brings a forklift when they burglar someones home? [Dunno] The reason I avoided that is that they are still large/heavy/awkward to move by oneself although easier than a safe.

I just bought a 48 inch Rigid job box from Home Depot just for this purpose. I live in a 2nd floor condo with it's own entrance so there is only one way in and one way out. I plan on cutting some foam blocks to create a storage system similar to a crate of Mosins.. I'm thinking of a layer of rifles, space along the front or back for ammo cans and then space on top to lay my soft sided gun bags. The box has a shelf as well that will work for my handguns. I plan on running a few heavy lag bolts through the back side into the wall behind it. i don't see this thing walking away too easily. After looking at the stack on cabinets this should be way more secure for less money.

[hatidua]

Replicating the 3N3 Gunpod dividers in the original post would not be hard if maximizing space is the goal (I think they did a pretty decent job of it but there is still a fair bit of negative space going on). In the past, with large Pelican cases, I've either used the padded velcro dividers that they can be ordered with, or had them custom made by a woman in NM, I will try to get the details for the OP on her. Foam (closed or open cell) is really the last resort as neither are a perfect solution to anything.

The upside of padded velcro dividers is that when guns enter/leave the collection, the interior can be adjusted to reflect those population shifts.

As with gun safes (or any storage space...suitcases included), no matter how big you get it, it will fill. As such, I'd avoid leaving too much foam or dividers of any type between firearms as it is only taking up space. (and do whatever you can to avoid the use of open-cell foam in a humid environment).

I'll dig through my archives to find the contact details for the woman that made my custom dividers/

[BuffCyclist]

I just bought a 48 inch Rigid job box from Home Depot just for this purpose. I live in a 2nd floor condo with it's own entrance so there is only one way in and one way out. I plan on cutting some foam blocks to create a storage system similar to a crate of Mosins.. I'm thinking of a layer of rifles, space along the front or back for ammo cans and then space on top to lay my soft sided gun bags. The box has a shelf as well that will work for my handguns. I plan on running a few heavy lag bolts through the back side into the wall behind it. i don't see this thing walking away too easily. After looking at the stack on cabinets this should be way more secure for less money.

Thanks for the input, I know the rigid job box would be cheaper than a pelican, but it is quite a bit larger than a pelican (showed one to my wife when we were at Lowes yesterday and she agreed it was too large).


Replicating the 3N3 Gunpod dividers in the original post would not be hard if maximizing space is the goal (I think they did a pretty decent job of it but there is still a fair bit of negative space going on). In the past, with large Pelican cases, I've either used the padded velcro dividers that they can be ordered with, or had them custom made by a woman in NM, I will try to get the details for the OP on her. Foam (closed or open cell) is really the last resort as neither are a perfect solution to anything.

The upside of padded velcro dividers is that when guns enter/leave the collection, the interior can be adjusted to reflect those population shifts.

As with gun safes (or any storage space...suitcases included), no matter how big you get it, it will fill. As such, I'd avoid leaving too much foam or dividers of any type between firearms as it is only taking up space. (and do whatever you can to avoid the use of open-cell foam in a humid environment).

I'll dig through my archives to find the contact details for the woman that made my custom dividers/

Those dividers of the 3N3 are appealing. I can't tell if there is wood supporting underneath, it definitely looks like there is wood on the ends. I know foam isn't an ideal solution, I could get soft cases to store each firearm in and might get by with more firearms in the case but if anything I see me getting more pistols in the future than rifles.

Regarding the padded velcro dividers, the point of making the rifle slots more universal is that I can fit other firearms in them should the collection change in the future. Two slots will be 2.25" wide and two will be 2.0" wide which I think covers quite a range of rifles/shotguns. Anything nicer (my Rem 700 5R for instance) are too big to fit in the case lengthwise, so that gets its own case anyways.

And yes, the only way I'm going with the pelican is getting closed cell foam. Not only does this mean it wont trap moisture, it also will be more rigid so I can leave the walls between the firearms a little thinner and still have protection between them. I might add another 0.25" to each slot and then if they're too big, I can just put the rifles in a gun sock to further pad it.

I found a few rigid interiors that can be customized for pelican cases, but none so far that fit the 1740 model (they're all for the more square 1500-1600 cases). Perhaps I'll look further down this path and see if anything really fits the bill.

Thanks everyone, its a huge work in progress but I really want to find something that is perfect for what I want and looks somewhat decent when finished.

[BuffCyclist]

Well, after a long wait for the foam to be delivered and having some time to cut it, I had some time last night and this morning to cut the foam.

From my experience, cutting straight lines is harder than I thought it would be, even with clamping a 1"x2" piece of wood along the cut line. The interior of the pelican cases do not have the dimensions they say. Holding the knife vertical seemed to be part of the problem. The bottom of the case is roughly 0.25-0.5" narrower than the top and the top of the case is about 0.125-0.25" wider than the specs. Sure, it averages out but when you use that dimension to cut the foam its a pain in the butt. Bamboo shish kebob skewers work PERFECTLY to stiffen up the 0.5" thick walls between the rifles. I may still add more, so they're spaced 3" apart. They also help to adhere the top 3 layers together so I can pick them all up out of the case at once to get to the pistols.

The final product yields:

Pelican 1740 - 4 Rifles, 4 Pistols, 2x 40g desiccant packs.

Pelican 1750 - 1 Rifle and space for more accessories in the future, 1x 40g desiccant pack.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with how both cases turned out. Cutting the Pelican 1750 was MUCH easier because I had a rifle stencil I could trace with the knife.

And now the part everyone's been waiting for, PICTURES!!!

Pelican 1740:


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Pelican 1750:

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[Gman]

Nice job!

[rbeau30]

eta: I considered a large job site box to store all firearms and all my ammo, which should be sufficiently heavy that it wouldn't walk off without a forklift, and frankly, who brings a forklift when they burglar someones home? [Dunno] The reason I avoided that is that they are still large/heavy/awkward to move by oneself although easier than a safe.


I keep ammo in these. once filled with ammo, (once you find it ) it is hard to move.

You could drill them out yeah, but it is hard to find in the first place.