Pelican Rifle Case

Never tried it, let us know how it goes.

The best way to cut the foam is a Hot Knife. A good one will run around $100.
Use a marker on the backside of the foam, and then cut it out with the hot knife. Simple and easy!

I have two pelican rifle cases, one has cut-outs for a rifle and shotgun, never use it, too big, too heavy, too specific to one rifle and shotgun. The other one has no foam but contains a Armageddon Gear CSASS soft case, it gets used slightly more but it's still too heavy and too big for most uses. And was a very expensive setup.

Replace the middle layer of foam with a layer of egg crate foam will make shuting the case easier and give you more flexibility in it's use.

jski said:

I just received a Pelican rifle case as a present. The problem is that there is no cut-out for any rifle. Not wanting to hack out some crude rifle+scope profile in the foam. I’m trying to create an indentation in the foam by applying a small weight to the case lid with the rifle+scope in the case.
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Good idea? Or bad idea?

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If you don't have 40 years or so for the foam to chemically break down, it's going to just bounce back up 95% or more to it's original shape. Cutting or replacing with a different foam is the way to go if you don't have the time to wait.

Those are really nice cases. Let us know how you cut the foam.

Txhillbilly said:

The best way to cut the foam is a Hot Knife. A good one will run around $100.
Use a marker on the backside of the foam, and then cut it out with the hot knife. Simple and easy!

Click to expand...

A $20 electric knife works well.

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER...refix=electric+fillet+knif,garden,309&sr=1-12

Cut the foam.

For reference - you are putting more “memory” into the plastic of the lid and hinges right now than you are to that foam. Not in any good way.

Cut the foam.

Interested to see how it works out.

If you want to try your hand at a finer cutout, there's alot of good input in this thread from awhile back. My cases are probably the roughest looking of the bunch in the thread, haha.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/custom-case-on-a-budget.863139/

Varminterror said:

Cut the foam.

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Cutting the foam is nice but then you have a very nice high protection gun case that only works with a small subset of your firearms. Replacing the center layer of foam with egg crate foam and now you have a very flexible use gun case and can be use with nearly all your firearms in most cases. Both are good options depending on your needs and not mutually exclusive, you can do both!

I was given one by a buddy who's SIL served in Iraq. It still has the fine sand embedded on the outside. Mine has two layers of foam about 1 1/2" thick. I've not cut anything, and who ever had it before me didn't either. I've had two rifles in it sandwiched between the foam and just remove the bolts. It closes and latches fine.

If yours is the same as mine it is indestructible, but too big and heavy. The only time I'd ever use it is when taking guns on an airplane.

Agree that won't work. Likely doing bad things to the plastic shell.

I took most foam out of mine, just put the dragbag inside it. Then I have spare space, can put other stuff in as needed, even put a different gun in.

If you are a type that doesn't mess with your guns much (they will stay the same configuration, etc) then time to cut. Get a handier, artsier friend to help if needed. Trace gun onto top foam. Chalk can be brushed off, sharpie is forever. Cut one piece of foam at a time, and all cuts are straight and all the way through. If you want pockets, etc then glue the foam together. There are spray glues that do not destroy foams (many others WILL melt it) and that's how they make foam cases with blind holes like battery compartments. You can, if you want, glue the thick foam to the thin bottom foam when done.

Electric knives will work but leave a slightly rough finish and lots of foam dust IMO. Hot knives are hit and miss; ideally work well but hard to find a good one, can be expensive, and a bit of skill to get used to them (how fast to go, etc).

I like a fillet knife. Get a new cheap one or sharpen and scrupulously clean yours beforehand. Just slice slowly, saw (slowly!) if it gets stuck, etc. Make very gentle curves, OR make a point of cutting only straights and joining.

Plan ahead and practice. When you buy stuff for the next weeks or month, notice the packaging. Any foam thats at all squishy (not styrofoam) and you'd be throwing away otherwise: practice on. Do not just cut, but draw lines and practice cutting specific lines.

Another method is to make a templet out of cardboard or poster board and pin it to the foam. I used the hot wire method to cut around the template.

jski said:

Where do I get this egg crate foam?
SKB comes with it in their cases.

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Never had to buy it, my wife was an engineer at a packaging company that had the machine that cut eggcrate foam (convoluted foam). The machine is funky and used a straight blade to cut it.

Do a search for [convoluted foam] and add in the model of pelican case you have. There are retailers that sell it precut for the 17xx series of pelican cases.

jski said:

I just received a Pelican rifle case as a present. The problem is that there is no cut-out for any rifle. Not wanting to hack out some crude rifle+scope profile in the foam. I’m trying to create an indentation in the foam by applying a small weight to the case lid with the rifle+scope in the case.
View attachment 1060028
View attachment 1060029
Good idea? Or bad idea?

Click to expand...

Probably bad, shopping for cases is a pita , cutting foam and looking professional is pretty tough even though I’ve seen a couple guys did ok most did not..

After completing the precision cutting, give it multiple coats of spray PlastiDip to "armor" the foam.
The last thing you want is having all that careful cutting work looking haggard and shopworn in a few weeks.
I have been entirely pleased with PlastiDip spray as a final detail step in my case projects.

By the way, outlining the firearm with toothpicks is a good way to establish a cutting guide.

mcb said:

Cutting the foam is nice but then you have a very nice high protection gun case that only works with a small subset of your firearms.

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The foam doesn’t have to be as form fitting as most guys cut it to be - solid “stops” in all 4 directions is all you need.

I agree cut it. I tried to avoid it but you are never going to get the foam to compress. As an aside if you want to use the case for more than one rifle you can get replacement foams from Pelican and have multiple inserts for the same case depending on what rifle you are using.
I have a double rifle case and plan to do this.

-Jeff

You have to go searching for it, but they sell the foams that comes in blocks where the cut edges will "grab" each other almost like legos. So, you just pull out the blocks you need to make the rough void required.

The convoluted foam is used in many of the other cases out there, and the "fingers" of it just deform around whatever is inside. This can mean having to lean on the lid to get it to shut over wider things.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Toughest part about cutting the foam is that you don't want to go full depth through the foam, which can introduce a further wrinkle in your plan/scheme.

CapnMac said:

You have to go searching for it, but they sell the foams that comes in blocks where the cut edges will "grab" each other almost like legos. So, you just pull out the blocks you need to make the rough void required.

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I think this is what you are referring to:

https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-Midd...am&qid=1645035801&sprefix=1750,aps,87&sr=8-52

Further examination of my case shows that I didn't get the middle piece of foam. The hardest use it's gotten so far is sitting flat in the bed of a pickup which hasn't been a problem. If I ever do subject it to the abuse of airport baggage handlers, I think I'd get a piece of the pluck foam or a piece of convoluted for some extra support.