How do you tranport your rifles to the range?

[ScrapMetal]

I'm not new to shooting or even BPCR guns but I am just trying to get geared up for shooting those guns. I've always like the idea of BPRC and I picked up a custom built Sharps and a Browning High Wall many years ago but life kind of got in the way for a bit. As I've gotten a bit older and can afford to spend a bit on some hobbies I've picked up a few more, a new Shiloh Sharps, a Lone Star rolling block, a Hepburn, and a Borchardt.

I have about a hundred rounds of .45-70 ready to go so I can sight in a couple of these rifles (not all of them are .45-70). As time is the hardest commodity to come up with at the moment I want to plan ahead a bit to get the most out of my time at the range.

This leads me to a couple of questions:

First, how do you transport your rifles to the range? The sights seem fragile so I don't just want to throw them in sleeves that could rattle around my truck.

Second, what do you take to the range with you in the way of gear like wipers, cleaners, decapper, something to throw the spent brass in, etc.?

I look forward to hearing about what you do.

Thanks much,

-Ron

[bobw]

I usually just walk out the back door of my house and set it down on my deck rail bench, haven' t broke anything yet.

[semtav]

Second, what do you take to the range with you in the way of gear like wipers, cleaners, decapper, something to throw the spent brass in, etc.?

I
-Ron

I take mine in a hard case.
Usually takes me longer to load and unload the equipment than it does to shoot.
Take everything you are gonna need to shoot ( I usually forget at least one thing and sometimes it the shells !!!)

[bpcr shooter]

Hard case, or a padded shotgun case. If Im taking more than one I stand them up so the sights are pointing up.

[SSShooter]

A good quality soft-case (Orvis & Track-of-the-Wolf). I find hard cases too heavy/clumsy to deal with. Gave most of them away. Loading the shooting box, scope box, ammo boxes, etc., takes up enough space & hassle without a hard gun-case (or two). If shooting iron sights I do remove the staff and carry it in the my range box for longer trips (overnight). 30sec worth of effort to do so for additional safety is not a big sacrifice.

[Dennis Armistead]

Ron, good question. Being a long range competitor I have gotten into the habit of consistency when it comes to shooting and my gear. I transport my rifle in a good hard case as well as all the other stuff I need. I set my gear up the same at the range as I do at competition. Almost all of the top shooters that I know use hard cases at matches because rifles are being moved around during strings of fire etc. and a soft case is just asking for rifle damage at some point. On the line...off the line...to your table...the bed of your truck...etc. Spotting scope, range box, radios, ammo, wind flags, wiping gear, mats etc. all go with me so when I need something it's there and isn't sitting in my gun room back home. I don't shoot from the bench. I shoot prone with sticks just like I was competing so I stay consistent with my form. Hope this helps.
Dennis

[Coltsmoke]

Airglide by Plano.

[desert deuce]

Pretty much what Dennis wrote above: However, having been retired for a while I found it necessary to make a complete list of everything I have to have at the range, typed it out and saved it on the computer, printed it and posted it by the door to my reloading room so every time I load the truck to go to the range or a match I have to walk back and forth by that list and that ensures everything makes it into the truck and to the range and like Dennis I do mean "everything I will need is on that list."

I bought an SKB hard gun case in 1997 on advice from another high level shooter that all my 34" barrel long range rifles can fit into and it will hold 4 at a time. It is also my hunting rifle gun case and made it back and forth to South Africa on British Airways with 3 rifles and a shotgun plus incidental gear perfectly. Probably the best investment in overall incidental shooting gear I have made over the years.

Besides the rifles the next most important equipment is the sights on the rifle itself. But that is another matter.

Practice like you shoot a match. Sterling advice plus go shoot in matches is the best way to gain practical knowledge.

We don't know where you are located or what your range availability is much less your long term goals. All is important for us to know to help you on your journey.

[Lumpy Grits]

I use the hardcase my Shiloh's were shipped in
Gary

[ScrapMetal]

I usually just walk out the back door of my house and set it down on my deck rail bench, haven' t broke anything yet.

Bob, Bob, Bob,.... there is one in every group. I have been searching for the right property for years so I can do that as well.

It sounds like some new hard cases are in my near future. At one point I was ready to build a period type box to haul them in but after I figured out just how much it would all weigh with two or three rifles in it I gave up on the idea.

Thanks for the advice Dennis and Desert Deuce that's the kind of stuff I need to hear. I don't really have an idea of what extra gear I need for the range or matches. I don't know anyone who shoots BPCR and have never seen anyone but myself shoot black powder (Okay, I did take my son out and watched him shoot my front stuffer a bit). I've been shooting for close to fifty years now but have always shoot alone (unless the wife wants to go with me now as I started her in shooting ten or so years ago) and get all my new knowledge from reading lots of books and magazines (and now forums).

To provide a bit more background on my situation( Thanks for bringing it up Double Deuce), I live in the Omaha, NE area and there just is nothing going on near by. The only shoot I know of in NE is the big Alliance shoot but that is a six hour drive. I run my own business and doubt that I can really get involved with a lot of shoots as I don't think I can get away for the length of time it would take. Basically, right now, I am shooting for the joy of shooting and making little holes in things far away.

I do belong to a "local" shooting club that runs a very nice outdoor facility about an hour from my house. There are a number of different ranges that are from 50 to 600 yards for rifles as well as a large pistol range area.

Thanks for sharing with me guys, it's really appreciated,

-Ron

[desert deuce]

Ah, haa, Scrapmetal is a self employed businessman. So when I express the opinion that every piece of equipment I buy is viewed as a durable investment that requires no further explanation.

So the basics. First, find a peruse the Buffalo Arms Website, as they have a lot of what you will need that may be hard to find in Omaha. If you want to shoot good scores (targets) you will need good bullets. That means you need to become a bullet caster. Several places sell pre alloyed metals. If you are in or associated with a commercial scrap yard you may save some money but expend a lot more time in finding lead and tin there and mixing it yourself. You will need a reliable lead melting pot, a lead dipper and a quality bullet mould with handles. Pan lubing is probably the best way to get started so you will need some bullet lube.

45-70's, in my experience, are notoriously easy to work with so you have about all you need there to get started once you decide on sights.

Maybe thinking in the terms of dividing your time up into short term and longer term goals and working through them incrementally will work best in your case. Starting off accumulating what you need to cast bullets and load them in to cartridges range ready. Then what you will need at the range when you go shoot, starting maybe 50 yards to get your sights more or less wind zeroed and get the hang of shooting the rifle, then stretch out to 100 yards. More or less when your groups are about 2-2 1/2 minutes at each increasing distance until you get to 600 yards should take you a while and you will incrementally improve in the broader aspects of shooting these rifles well.

Think of this in the athletic sense of crawl, walk, jog, run and enjoy each phase of the exercise.

[mdeland]

I use a hard case generally for car travel but over the last few years I have been increasingly buying and storing my rifles in gun socks purchased from Sportmen's Warehouse. They work really well to keep the guns from getting scratched and dinged inside your gun safe or cabinet.

[Woody]

Hard cases for transport. I now use several surplus military footlockers for my shooting gear. They just stay in the back of my truck so thinking about what to bring to the range or match is a thing of the past. If I need the bed for some "Honey Do", They are easy to unload. I have also modified my bed with a plywood partition for storage of the guns out of sight. I do have a quality cap over the bed that is lockable as well as the tailgate locks.

Woody

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Pelican hard cases,
I travel to a lot of matches, Phoenix alone is 2160 miles round trip.

I do have a few SKB cases also, Pelican bought out another company that got a military contract and I own one of their cases.

Kenny Wasserburger

[desert deuce]

Just looked at SKB home site, boy have prices gone up since 1997

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