IF you travel much by air, you're more than familiar with the TSA's rules. They provide for the relative security of a firearm in the baggage holds of an aircraft, but they don't really do much for your firearm's security after leaving the airport.
Secure Firearms Products' owner David Surgi has turned his attention to that challenge with a line of metal travel cases. David knows metal- his company's best known for steel targets. With competition shooters in the family, he's is also familiar with the inherent challenges of travel with a firearm.
SFP's slimline handgun case. It easily accommodates a full-sized firearm and several empty magazines for flying. If you're driving, it will hold 2-3 handguns and provide a challenge for any would-be thief. OWDN photo. |
The first, a slimline handgun case (Model Number 16123SL) is a case capable of carrying 2 handguns and a couple of magazines each. Despite that capacity, it isn't large (16"x12"x3") meaning you could use it to transport a single firearm empty or properly covered loaded magazines and boxed ammunition inside your luggage. It's easy to understand why it's endorse by a top competition shooter likeTodd Jarrett.
You can place it inside your luggage, then use an aircraft-quality steel cable to fasten it to your baggage (we made a couple of slits and secured it around the telescoping handle of a rolling duffel).
Even if you don't perform minor surgery on your bag's interior, the cable should be taken along and be used to securely fasten your case and its contents to any immovable object after you arrive at your destination.
A dual-setting side-lock system means you can secure the cable without actually locking the case itself. We found that helpful when visiting the range. Rather than constantly locking and unlock the case when changing targets, we simply unsnapped the lid's fasteners and removed our gun and ammo when we returned to the line.
When it was time to go, we simply rotated the push lock on the side to the full-locking position, pushed it in, removed the key and viola, the case was securely locked.
The side-locking mechanism, securing cable and bolt-down mounts. The mechanisms are the same in all their models. OWDN photo. |
After using the handgun case for a couple of days, it was easy to get into the habit of taking a handgun out of the holster and securing it inside the case if errands meant quick trips to the post office or other federal offices.
We took the slimline handgun case by one of our favorite gun shops and it got plenty of attention.
A pair of off-duty officers examined it and were impressed with the ability to quickly secure a weapon inside a vehicle. One of the officers assigned to our airport police station said that while he regularly sees plenty of cases come through security, this one made a more than favorable impression.
He mentioned in passing that that parked cars were favorite targets for thieves - especially rental cars. With the cable locking system, it's simple to secure your firearm to one of the major metal components of a vehicle's front seats.
In the full-sized vehicles we tried (his cruiser), it was small enough to slip out of sight the non-powered passenger seat after being secured.
The MSRP on the slimline handgun case is $446.95
The second case we received was the Tactical Firearm Case (Model Number 36145T).
Like it's smaller companion, it's designed for no-nonsense security and protection of firearms. Its interior features a hard-foam insert designed to be custom cut to your particular firearm (good for owners, but not for testing).
After our experience with the handgun case, however, it didn't take much examination to be convinced the tactical case would be more than capable of protecting and securely transporting your AR-style rifle.
The case can be placed in a trunk as normal, or you can use the locking bar to secure the case inside your vehicle or storage area. SFP photo. |
Like its smaller counterpart, the tactical case features a second steel mounting bar and lock so the case can be secured to a vehicle or other solid structure. If you're fortunate enough to have both cases, you could have the high security locks can be keyed alike or keyed differently, depending on your preference.
Price-wise, neither of these cases are inexpensive (the MSRP on the Tactical Rifle Case is $503.95) but we're of the opinion that security equipment is like parachutes. If you need one, you don't want to be worried about it working.
Additionally, if you have a firearm -or two- and don't have a gun safe, these cases would be viable options for secure storage inside your home. They're not designed to provide the security or protection of a purpose-designed safe, or immediate access in case of emergency, but they would prevent anyone casually accessing a firearm in your home office or shop.