Transporting Milsurps to the Range

[alamogunr]

Thanks for the photo, Pietro. That is very similar to what I had envisioned in the OP only smaller. I would only need room for 4 rifles max and maybe a corner for a handgun case. It would have to be at least as long as the one pictured because 91-30 Mosin's, Swede's and K-11's are all pretty long. Some others are not much shorter,

Rather than solid wood, I would probably use a good grade of exterior plywood and paint it for durability. This plus a cover like hporter shows would serve my purpose very well. Thanks to all.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Integrated into my ongoing Built from Scratch Jeep Project,,, Here,,, http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showth...he-Descrambler

I have designed a two drawer system similar to the one Art showed the video of above. Mine is made from Plywood and has two sliding drawers about 5 feet long which should hold all of my guns and support stuff for the jeep itself. Since the Jeep has a Full Length Hard Top that hopefully I will be able to make it water tight. It will be made to fit between the wheel wells and the same height so there is a flat surface the full width of the vehicle. Tie downs included on top for the various totes you need to support a given trip as well as Electrical outlets for various coolers etc. Very easy to configure for different purposes.

One point that needs to be made is if you are planning on having this thing in your open pickup bed, it needs to be waterproof and bolted to the bed. Also you need to be able to lock your tailgate so un-wanteds can't access the front of the drawers.

As far as leaving guns in a open pick up in anything less I would error on the side of caution and just not do it. You can put long guns in soft or hard cases and put them inside the truck cab.

I have a shell on my big truck and I lock it when leaving the vehicle but I don't leave my guns in it overnight in a unfamiliar place. They go inside with me.

With the various gun caddys and boxes shown above I would at lease have a Cap installed on the bed, so that you could lock it. A shell would be better as you can actually use it for shelter if you need to. I have slept in mine many times.

Also the biggest temptation to the less fortunate can be eliminated by the simple phrase,,, "Out of sight, out of mind!"

Randy

[flint45]

I just use a metal tool box that has good key locks put all guns in soft cases to protect them, looks like a contractor witch i used to be.

[hporter]

Randy,

Do you have photo's of the gun drawers on the website that you provided the link for? I didn't want to join another site just to see the photos, but I am intrigued by your project. I have an old Toyota FJ62 4x4 wagon that I want to build an elevated deck for in rear cargo compartment with drawers underneath. Just to be able to keep prying eyes off my firearms when I use it to go to the range.

Harold

[W.R.Buchanan]

Harold: I haven't built them yet. The Jeep Build is still in progress.

The drawer system has to be integrated into the rest of the build and will come to fruition mostly during the Hard Top Install. The forward portion of the box has to provide a place for the Batteries and the Air Compressor as well. It will "essentially" look like the two drawer one shown in the Video that Art posted above but made of Birch Plywood. Birch Plywood is the 'Good Stuff!"

There are @900 pictures of the build to this point. It is worth signing up for!

Also that thread has received nearly 160,000 views, and is updated frequently. There is a lot of info there and it is well worth the read,,, which will take about 2 days to read completely!

If you have a full sized pickup, the bed will swallow a 4x8 sheet of plywood between the wheel wells. That would be the basis for your design and constructing a box the same height as your wheel wells would be the correct height. Once the box is constructed making drawers is nothing more than making two open top boxes that fit side by side however long you need them to be.

I have seen a variety of types of sliders employed from ball bearing ones which can be expensive when they are as big as you need, to simple strips of Teflon Sheet or UHMW on the bottoms of the drawers similar to what they do on Dog Sled Runners. This is what I'll be doing as it is too simple and too easy to do. I like simple, especially if it works well.

As far as locks are concerned it is easy to find key locks with rotating levers that can be installed. These are inexpensive and available from any Hardware Store.

I would recommend drawing something up and figuring out how many Sheets of Plywood you are going to need and try to plan the job out so that you maximize the materials usage.

If you are completely devoid of woodworking skills then I'd recommend finding a local Cabinet Shop and have them build it for you.

Randy

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I've transported many a milsurp to and from the range. I've always used the sleeves like you see at gunshows the gun dealers use. I bought mine for $3 to $5 each and they've lasted for years. They tie with a string and they simply work. I've stacked many a pile of milsurps in the back section of my truck and hauled them to the range, never ever even dinged the wood or the metal. Cheapest way I know of to transport a milsurp. If your gunsafe is dry, they make good storage containers if you get the ones with the plastic like lining, not the sponge lining. One of the online gun case makers sell them now.