Hard case vs Soft?

[TheGrey]

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.

[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?

[jhood001]

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

[SideShow Bob]

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.

[00tec]

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

[StagLefty]

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.

[TheWeeze]

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.

[TheGrey]

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?

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.

[Aloha_Shooter]

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.

[Wulf202]

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