Guys, thank you for the good guidance and advice here. DLH - I hear you on that, but I am more afraid of the various disassembled parts banging around and banging off each other inside a case than I am of a broken stock inside a good hard case. Assembled rifles and shotguns are rigid, provided no angled pressure can be brought to bear on a specific place, like a stock.
Stan, in terms of ruggedness, it's a toss-up between the Pelican and the Tuff Case. The Pelican stands out as a gun case, however, which attracts every type of attention along its path - destructive baggage handlers, thieves, anti-gun airline employees etc. The Tuff Case doesn't look like a gun case, and can't be stacked on top of. It's unique looking, so it is also harder for a baggage handler to set off to the side and then casually walk away with.
CraigD, I will check out the SportTube! Sounds like a variation on this theme. Thank you!
OH, You will like this story. The rifle is the original estate gun. The estate was, at its height, 76,000 acres. The family had it from the early 1880s until the 1930s. The gun was last there in 1902, according to the family's game logs, which I photographed, so it has been 115 years since the gun took anything there. My wife and I visited the estate last summer, and now I am going back just to try and take a red stag with the old gun. The lead-up should be coming out in the DGJ this Fall and Winter, and perhaps a follow-up will be done after the October hunt, if I am fortunate enough to take a deer. I have been practicing a lot and getting 6-8 inch groups at 110 yards, though when I shoot carefully off of a rest the gun groups much better than that. By the time I leave in October, I should be proficient at 135 yards. Photos hopefully!
