Hard case vs Soft?

I'm really enjoying this forum. One thing I've noticed among the pictures is that there are many hard cases for your guns; some with thick foam and others with the egg-crate type.

I have the soft zipper-style carrying cases for my guns. Hard cases are REALLY expensive. I was trying to think of the reasoning behind hard cases, and aside from superior protection of the firearm, I can't think of any other reason to have them. I don't have the Samsonite Gorilla flinging mine around, so I'm not too concerned about that.

For those of you that have hard cases for your firearms, is there any particular reason?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Some people like nice stuff. If you were the kind of guy that was happy shooting trap or skeet with a Mossberg 500 would you wonder why another person would choose to use a Browning over/under instead?

Planes and truck beds. Other than that, no particular reason. I like the soft cases, too.

Soft cases can be store easier when the rifles are in the safe. They can be folded if needed, like putting them in a trunk when not being used.
A very secure hard case for traveling, flying, or just use soft cases for driving.

Flying for me. Baggage handlers have to work to mess up my case.
Need to get another for the AR

I only have one hard case for my Varmint rifle since it's a bit more expensive as to what I have into it. All my others have soft cases but they're well padded.

I use a soft case because it has a little more storage for magazines and things like that so I don't have to double up with a range bag. I don't fly with my rifle at all, so don't have to worry about baggage handling. If I did, I'm sure I'd get a pelican for something like that.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

Some people like nice stuff. If you were the kind of guy that was happy shooting trap or skeet with a Mossberg 500 would you wonder why another person would choose to use a Browning over/under instead?

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I sure would! I'm new enough to firearms ownership to know and understand that I don't know nearly enough. That means packing my pride in my back pocket and asking a million questions, ridiculous as they are.

I have both. I use a hard case to protect my target shooting rifles (Win 52C/D, Kimber 82), especially when flying. I use the soft cases for ease of transport or for my Mossberg 44s and other rifles.

Soft cases to keep scratches off the finish. Hard cases to protect the glass.
Unless you're flying.

I also have both. The only time I use my hard case is when I fly.

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Originally Posted by TheGrey

Hard cases are REALLY expensive.

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I guess it all depends on what you are putting in one. I probably wouldn't put a $100 rifle in a $300 case. Conversely, if someone is tossing a rifle in the back of their truck and the scope alone on that rifle is north of $3K, I'd hope there's a Pelican case wrapped around that rig.

If you travel on the train or plane, you need a hard case. Otherwise a soft case is fine to go to the range. If I had an expensive scope on the rifle I would put it in a hard case for protection.

I have a Pelican case that I use when I fly or for the truck bed. Soft case is for my back seat when I have room and I'm just heading out for a quicker range trip.

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Originally Posted by hatidua

I guess it all depends on what you are putting in one. I probably wouldn't put a $100 rifle in a $300 case. Conversely, if someone is tossing a rifle in the back of their truck and the scope alone on that rifle is north of $3K, I'd hope there's a Pelican case wrapped around that rig.

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Very true. One day, maybe we'll have one of those incredibly expensive and specialized firearms. At that point, I won't think twice about spending the big bucks for a nice hard case.
Right now, we an assortment of garden-variety types that seem perfectly happy to live in soft cases.

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Originally Posted by jhood001

Planes and truck beds. Other than that, no particular reason. I like the soft cases, too.

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^this is my opinion.

Also, my hard case was $50 from Dick's sporting goods before they lost all respect for the 2A. I won't shop there now, but mine was a fair deal for a good case. I bought two and added additional gate-style locks for when I fly. I can't find the exact one anymore, but this is quite similar. http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Alumi...hart-container

This is what I love: http://www.casesforguns.com/index.ph...fle-case-blank

http://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-30.jpghttp://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-33.jpg

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Originally Posted by spyder

This is what I love: http://www.casesforguns.com/index.ph...fle-case-blank

http://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-30.jpghttp://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-33.jpg

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Wow- That's really nice, and far less expensive than I was expecting. Thank you for posting this!

I use hard cases for almost everything. I just like the protection they give. I don't go for the expensive cases. A lot of my guns have some sort of optic on them and I get paranoid about them being damaged while transporting them. If it don't have an optic or fragile sights I will use a soft case.

For handguns I usually use a hard case that has a tray in the top for the guns with room in the bottom for ammo and other stuff.

I tend to think of my guns as being a lot more delicate than they actually are. So I worry less when using a hard case.

I have a pelican case for my AR and all acc.

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Originally Posted by TheGrey

Very true. One day, maybe we'll have one of those incredibly expensive and specialized firearms. At that point, I won't think twice about spending the big bucks for a nice hard case.
Right now, we an assortment of garden-variety types that seem perfectly happy to live in soft cases.

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My Grandpa's trap gun is worth about $20k. Yes, crazy. His hard case was handmade custom hardwood. Dude liked his shotguns. I have mostly soft cases but 2 hard rifle cases from walmart that didn't cost more than $25 that I use when the guns go in the back of the truck.

bubble rap with shipping tape and then go buy a hard case[LOL] save the headache

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Originally Posted by hollohas

My Grandpa's trap gun is worth about $20k. Yes, crazy. His hard case was handmade custom hardwood. Dude liked his shotguns. I have mostly soft cases but 2 hard rifle cases from walmart that didn't cost more than $25 that I use when the guns go in the back of the truck.

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Whoa! Do you have a picture of the handmade hardwood case? I would love to see it. And what's a $20K trap gun look like?

That looks just like one of my guitar cases.

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Originally Posted by spyder

This is what I love: http://www.casesforguns.com/index.ph...fle-case-blank

http://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-30.jpghttp://www.casesforguns.com/media/ca...nk-Foam-33.jpg

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