I travel 100 miles to Miami to shoot each Wednesday, mostly on a motorcycle. For the past four years I've roped a rifle, in a soft case or blanket or hard case, to the bike. Hard cases are long and stick way out on either side of the bike; soft cases and the blanket method reduce the width. This week I got the brilliant idea of replacing the clothesline and granny knots with bungee cords exclusively. About 22 miles from home, in the dark, I discovered that the hard case, M54 Winchester, 20X STS and cleaning rod were no longer attached to the bike. While saying the appropriate words I turned around and started searching. Six miles back, on a bridge, I found the case and bungee cords, everything intact, on the side of the road. The case says "ProMax", "Protector" series, and Alex bought it for me at a gun show for $10. My trip to Miami and back gave me time to think, and I did, and I think that I'll never use a soft case to carry a rifle again-even when I'm taking a car. My soft cases would allow a dropped rifle to be damaged, I'll bet. But those cheap hard cases proved their worth to me yesterday.
joe b. clothesline and granny knots from now on
