Canada trip - rifle case advice
 

First the questions, then the details.

(1) How much weight is too much to expend on a rifle case for my upcoming Canada caribou hunt?
(2) Any recommendations on a good (molded?) rifle case for such a hunt?
(Others) Should I be worried about waterproof and the other bells and whistles? I'd like to have a wheeled case, but I'm not that picky.

Details:
I'm flying from Colorado to Northern Canada. Four total flights until I'm in hunting camp. It's a guided hunt, so no DIY camping junk coming along, full amenities at the camps.
I'm limited to 70lbs TOTAL weight on the trip. I just purchased, then returned a $180 Pelican case. Not returned due to buyer's regret in general, just because 19 lbs seemed too much to sacrifice on a case, but maybe it's worth every ounce to keep a $2K gun in tact and dry....maybe????

Thanks in advance to anyone that can share some experience/knowledge.

Pelican is the best !

http://www.pelican.com/us/en/product...ong-case/1750/

I have a Browning, which was designed like the pelican, before they came out, has pressure valve and all, but its HEAVY< mine is a two gun case
has wheels and there needed LOL

MY advice is this IF possible
when I did my AK hunts, where I would fly guns into anchorage, and then take smaller plane to more remote camps(float planes)
I used my HD case to get me from PA< to AK.
I then had a very good soft case that floated, the more rural airports would allow us to store the BIG heavy case there and then would just take the lighter soft case on the float plane's due to they had the weight restrictions, the jets to get to the remote airports were OK with weight MOST trips
the few that were not, were fine with bringing the gun in the soft case on board with us, so we could handle and make sure they didn;t get beat up
was able to leave the hard case in a locker at the airport, or a friends house in AK

SO maybe you can check into that, and then take both cases with you>
I'd be worried about flying so far with the gun in a cheap case, seen far too many air line workers abuse things they think are guns??
I'd talk to your outfitter and see what they can do, maybe they can even loan you a soft case
OR< you can try this, ask if you can SHIP a soft case to them, a nice quality case that floats (if your doing any river floating or float plane runnings?) and then leave it as part of the tip, if you see your guide has a crap case as many sadly do??
I've done that before and the guide's were always very happy, was never the FULL tip of course, but living remote as often as they do, they don;t get good cases often!
the fact you can many times ship gear in advance for trips like this helps a lot too
just talk to your outfitter and ask if they will take things in advance and have ready at your hunting spot?
worked for me in the past, good luck

Can you ship the gun to the outfitter? I imagine you could use a lighter case then.

Don't fool yourself into believing UPS or Fed EX will handle your firearm any more gently than the baggage handlers at the airport. I have received many boxes that were shipped by common carriers that had holes in them even when labeled fragile. If you are going to buy a hard gun case, buy as good a one as you can find. If your gun gets to its destination and it is or the scope is damaged your hunt could be over before it starts or you will be forced to use someone else's gun that you are not familiar with. I don't fly, I drive to my hunting destinations. I ought an SKB hard case for a scoped rifle. It has 3 strong latches and two places to put a pad lock and the holes are big enough for substantial locks, not those small worthless locks that a child can open or break and it is well padded. It is warranted for the life of the owner and carries a $1,500 damage insurance. It has taken a lot of trips to GA and SC and one to Mo in the bed of a pickup truck in addition to my PA hunting and the gun was marking the same place when I arrived at my destination as when I left my home. This is the one I have. http://www.skbcases.com/sports/sku.php?cat=9&pid=34

Thanks everybody. You gave me a lot to think about and research. After some contemplation and research, I did decide to go the SKB single rifle case route. Purchased this one last night:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Will try and remember to come back in and report on it, but it has a TON of very positive reviews on Amazon. I believe this is one I was close to purchasing at Cabela's anyway. Amazon has it $50 cheaper.

I thought you wanted a case with wheels ??

All good - travel safe & enjoy yourself !!!

I did, but it's a sacrifice of weight below 13lbs or wheels. I only found one with wheels under 13lbs and it had terrible reviews on quality. Looks like I'll be lugging the weight on my old back.

Thanks for the well-wishes.

Just received the case (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...iglink21934-20)
I'm impressed. Better latches and hinges than I've seen on any other case at this weight (13lbs) and price ($109). I'm more than confident this case will survive a Northern Canada trip. It's a good fit with the scoped rifle, but don't plan on packing a bunch of other items in it. There is a Styrofoam underlayer under the foam (egg crate style) on the bottom layer and the top foam is glued in. Some might not be too happy with the Styrofoam, but it appears to be decent quality. I'd recommend this case in a heartbeat.

Maybe I can find a way to attach wheels to it.... :)

A good idea is to surround your rifle with socks, rolled up shirts, long johns, etc to keep it from shifting. You'd be surprised how much a rifle can take in a good case. Myself and 3 of my friends went from PA to ID and while we were sitting on the plane we watched the baggage cart come up at a good clip and do a Uturn and we saw our rifle cases bouncing across the tarmac! But other than a couple scratches to the case the rifles were still in the condition they were when put in the case.