Carry of Rifle on Motorcycle

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Recoil Junky

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Anyone figured a good way to do this?

For a hunting rifle, I could modify the mount for one of those ATV hard scabbards, but none of them will fit the front sight tower of your average AR-15 A2. For an AR, I could break it down and use a smaller case, but a 20" DCM upper is still about 30" long. (well, 28", but I like to add some padding.)

I just can't see why I need to take the truck to the range when the ONLY thing I'm taking that doesn't easily fit is the rifle. There has to be some kind of solution. And I'm looking for something that if the motorcycle goes down, the rifle has a chance of surviving. So, leather scabbards and slung across the back are all out.

Any ideas?
 
what state do you live in?

for example, in VA, i've seen guys open-carrying loaded EBR's (an AK, IRRC) on their motorcycles. which of course, is entirely lawful if you have a VA CHP.
 
actually, one of the atv gun cases (hard case with a mounting bracket) should work very well. check cabellas , midway, or your local gun store or atv dealer. i have an older style case, it has 5 - 1/2" mounting holes on the bottom. you mount the case to the atv (or motorcycle) and the top 1/2 comes off so you can retrieve the gun. there is also a provision so you can place a padlock to secure the top 1/2 to the bottom. that will make it legal (in most states) and secure.
 
Softcase or backpack are not a suitable answer as they provide no protection in the case of an accident. And worse, wearing the gun could likely cause a severe back injury.

I've been in contact with all the ATV scabbard manufacturers and they have all explicitly told me that the AR front sight will NOT fit any of their designs. Since the AR is one of the rifles I will be regularly carrying, the ATV scabbard is out.

State really doesn't matter as I'd like to be able to travel to multiple states, so some kind of locked enclosed case is pretty much mandatory. Locks are easy, so I'm not worried about that. It's the Case and mount that is the challenge.
 
Does anyone make any hard-side athletic-gear or musical-instrument cases that could be adapted for your use?

Or you could do this, but it'd be a teeny bit conspicuous... :D

2546951287_cb4595a1ce_o.jpg
 
30 cal slob said:
for example, in VA, i've seen guys open-carrying loaded EBR's (an AK, IRRC) on their motorcycles. which of course, is entirely lawful if you have a VA CHP.
Click to expand...
You need a CHP to open carry a rifle in Virginia?
 
I carry my ruger 10/22 on my harley in a soft guitar case slung across my back like the guy in the above pick. I tried using both shoulder straps but because of the helmet it wouldn't lift my head all the way.
 
This is a topic where the search feature will turn up several informative discussions, IINM.

benezra, that picture made me laugh - they guy's got it made - I mean really, what else do you need besides your steel horse and your kalashnikov heater? :D
 
Here's how I did it... I'm sure the rifles would be damaged in a serious crash. But then that would be the least of my worries.
9da9d62e.jpg
 
I use a Galati Drag Bag. It's big enough to hold any rifle I want plus muffs, ammo, etc.

It has backpack straps to wear it like a regular backpack.

Catches the wind a little but it's not too bad and it does bang the back of the helmet.

I've open carried too depending on how far and where I was going. Don't usually do that through the middle of downtown :)

db4812.jpg
 
I was going to suggest exactly what you see in benezra's picture. I open carried an AK while riding my R6 quite frequently in UT.

the only other thing I can think of is building your own scabbard out of leather or some other durable material. It's not that hard, and would cost you maybe $30 in materials.
 
I use a hard-sided plastic case bungeed onto my cargo rack. For those times when I've had my topcase installed, I've just left the hard case sitting on the seat behind me and bungeed it to the cargo rack behind the seat. I've never had the slightest problem. Sure, I got some stares from some of the cagers, but I've been passed by multiple police cars and bikes, and never elicited any more than a wave and/or a thumbs up.

Of course I live in AZ, where we still enjoy a few freedoms without constant harassment. Your locale may be different, and you may wish to check with local law enforcement to ensure you're in compliance with the laws that apply to you.

Tim
 
W.E.G. said:
What a nonsensical comment.

Virginia law regarding carry of rifles aboard motorcycles (or skateboards for that matter) has ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING to do with whether a person has a Virginia concealed handgun permit.
Click to expand...
In some localities in Virginia (mainly NoVA), it is illegal to carry a loaded semiauto firearm equipped with a magazine which can hold more than 20 rounds. Having a CHP is an exemption to this law.

Cite.
 
I've seen this here in NJ. A guy at the range built some mounting brackets for that hard sided case used on ATV's and mounted it to his Honda Goldwing. I assume he had ammo in the hard sided bags. Not sure if this is legal, but I've seen it.
 
OK, not finding a good commercial solution, I built my own.

At first, I wanted to find some kind of existing hard case and just build a bracket to attach it to the bike. This didn't work out well as cases were too large, or not supported well enough to really take the type of mount I was looking at building.

So, I built a heavy steel cage into which I could slide my soft rifle case. This cage holds the case fairly tight and is strong enough to easily protect the rifle from a tip-over or minor crash. In fact, I can stand on the cage and it takes my 220 lbs with just a minor flex on its weakest part.

The brackets are constructed out of 1/2" plate. This is mounted to the solid aluminum tailbox mount and creates a very stable and strong mounting point as shown here:

FinalBracket.jpg


Onto these 9/16" grade 5 bolts, I attach the cage like this:

FinalMounted.jpg


and holds the rifle case like this:

rack-bag2.jpg


Seeing that I'm in MA and they have some pretty strict transport laws regarding "Assault Weapons" and this solution is compliant, I suspect that it would work anywhere.

Performance is great. Big bumps do cause the cage to hit the scooter's body, so I'll need to add a small rubber pad at the contact point to save the paint, but the rack is pretty rigid overall.

While riding the rack puts most of the case into an existing airflow and I don't feel any performance issues even on the highway at 70mph. The top of the bag does flap and I can see it in the mirror. But I don't think it matters. That's the barrel end of the rifle, so there isn't a lot of support for the bag up there.

The Waller and Sons bag has a built in lock which complies with MA law for a locked case. I further use a shotgun style cable lock to secure the case to the cage. I have no illusion that this is 'secure' as anyone with a 9/16" socket set could remove the cage and rack. But I'm also not going to be leaving this rig anyplace with the rifle on board.

In any case, I can now take the 70mpg scoot to rifle shoots instead of the 9mpg 3/4 ton V-10 pickup.

Anyway, that's my solution to the problem.
 
Wow. That's pretty darn slick! The best I could come up with for transporting my shotgun to the trap range was one of those plastic cases strapped sideways across my rear seat. I'm sure I got quite a few double takes when riding through a 'ritzy' area on the way to the range.
 
nice RECOIL.. I had this same idea (taking the bike instead of truck/car) but figured that the law would make it close to impossible, but I should have checked into it a little more. Nice to see people still making their own stuff.
 
To the range, I just put my double rifle hard case on the back of my old GL1100 Honda dresser. I took it to Waco a couple of years ago (about 250 miles) to hunt birds with my buddy, my Winchester 12 gauge 1400 auto in it. I got to thinking, what if I have trouble or a flat or something? Now, I have a little 20" coach gun in 20 gauge for bird hunting off the bike, fits in the saddle bags when taken apart. I have other guns I've bought just because of that, like my AR7 and then I have my contender and a few other handguns I hunt small game to hogs/deer with.

I built a gun rack when I was a kid in junior high metal shop for a CT90, my second ever motorcycle. It fit on the front fork. I'd like to have something on my little 200cc dirt bike, but I think it's better to sling the rifle. Less bumping around off road that way for rifles with scopes.

I've ridden through town with a deer, two rifles, and my buddy in my sidecar on my old GS1000 before. In Texas, legally, though it's not done, you can walk around town with a loaded rifle, no problem. I remember riding through Freeport on a cold morning 4AM with my shotgun on that rack I made on my CT90 going duck hunting, all camoed out, deek bag on the rack. City cops just waved. Now days, kid on a bike with a shotgun. I'd be face down with the cuffs on. :rolleyes:

Motorcycles are kinda getting popular with gas the way it is. Lots of newbies. I've been combining riding and shooting for 41 years, now. I spent one year in college without a motorycle. I'd walk around looking at all those new Honda CB750s and 500s and just cry. LOL After a year, I bought a new GT550 Suzuki and never looked back. I've got three street legal bikes now, 200cc street legal DP bike (dirt/street) I hunt with, SV650 is my two wheeled Miata, Wing is my two wheeled truck. In addition to my wife's Toyota Echo, I'm set up for 7 dollar a gallon gas they all say we'll see in a couple of years. I still don't like it, though. :rolleyes: I don't drive the van much anymore, but it ain't far to the range. I save for boat gas. I'm looking at kayaks, too. Can't quit fishing. I'll toss that yak on my flat bed trailer and tow it behind the wing. :D

Oh, that's another thing. I have a pop up camper I can tow behind my wing. It will hold long guns, decoys, whatever. It cuts gas mileage a little, but it's still over double the Van. Here's a shot of my wing set up to go flat track racing with my mad dawg class flat tracker. :D Where there's a will, there's a way.

img_0111.jpg
 
Good solution for the reflex.
I have a similar solution for my archery equipment that uses a piece o cpvc tube.

As always, Harley is a century behind. That won't work on a telescopic fork. And, the extra weight on the tele front fork will create a steering issue or moment.
 
Nice solution, Recoil. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I bought a little Honda CRX last week- I figure it's basically a 4-wheeled motorcycle. Only weighs about 2x what a Gold Wing does. :D

If no-one said it, welcome to THR!

John
 
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