What's the one shooting accessory you want but can't find?

[MacGyver]

I get totally put out sometimes when I want a product, but am disappointed by either the unavailability of it or by the total lack of quality in a product that I've just spent good money on.

What are the products that you've either been totally disappointed by or simply cannot find? For me, of late it's been magazine holders. I hate spending $75 on a Raven Concealment one, but every other holder I've tried of late has either been low quality or prints more than my weapon. I mean, is it really that tough?

I guess I'm going to have to start pressing my own kydex.

[Troutburger]

Quality disappointment has to be the Mossberg 930 SPX.

[TLRMADE]

Quality disappointment has to be the Mossberg 930 SPX.

I've actually been looking at these. What's wrong?

[peejman]

I'll agree on mag holders, especially holders for little mags (P3AT). They're either big and bulky, expensive, or both.

[Jonnin]

range box, the type that opens up into a spotting scope stand and so on. I finally found one but it was of lowish quality -- the doors are difficult to open and to not meet up well with the closing snaps. It had a freaking hard metal rod that you supposedly put thru the trigger guards to hold the pistols in place, not the best pistol storage design ever thought up. At best, it was "OK". There were almost no others on the market, a few used ones that were sold time I found them.

[K191145]

"What's the one shooting accessory you want but can't find?"

New eyeballs.

[Garufa]

A brass magnet.

[Woody]

A brass magnet.

Lol ! Me too !

[MacGyver]

range box, the type that opens up into a spotting scope stand and so on.  I finally found one but it was of lowish quality -- the doors are difficult to open and to not meet up well with the closing snaps.  It had a freaking hard metal rod that you supposedly put thru the trigger guards to hold the pistols in place, not the best pistol storage design ever thought up.  At best, it was "OK".   There were almost no others on the market, a few used ones that were sold time I found them.

I saw someone at the range with one of these the other day and was pretty impressed. It looked like a great box - diamond plate steel, roll-on design and all. Then, on his way out of the range, the handle broke and the resulting spill popped open the door and dumped out all his stuff.I went from, "man that's a great idea" to "man, that's awful" in under a second.

[Jonnin]

I have seen some really nice ones. But when you ask the guy that has it, the answer is always "I bought that back in 1967" or something.

[Caster]

Roth Steyr .....that I can afford.

[Defender]

An off the shelf , no thumbreak,OWB leather holster with a sweatguard, for my Sig Scorpion 1911 (Railed) and another for my Ruger 1911 that I don't have to mail order. I've got one made by Don Hume for my Sig Carry model but can't find for the others. The one I have is ok, but the sweatguard isn't really as thick as I like, but it works....Just the other 2 guns wont fit in it.

[hipower]

Had a nice range box that my dad built back in the mid 60's. About like the Pachmeyer cases of a few years ago. Had felt lined slide out tray that held six pistols and a lower box for accessories and ammo. Nice hinged lid with brackets to mount a spotting scope. Used it for several years, but the 2010 flooding totally destroyed it. Have thought about getting a plan together and getting with a good cabinet maker and doing another.

That's what I would like to find.

[Smith]

NFA Tax stamps.

[gjohnsoniv]

Good but inexpensive ammo.

[JReedEsq]

Good but inexpensive ammo.

+1

[Troutburger]

I've actually been looking at these. What's wrong?

Sent you a pm

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Had a nice range box that my dad built back in the mid 60's. About like the Pachmeyer cases of a few years ago. Had felt lined slide out tray that held six pistols and a lower box for accessories and ammo. Nice hinged lid with brackets to mount a spotting scope. Used it for several years, but the 2010 flooding totally destroyed it. Have thought about getting a plan together and getting with a good cabinet maker and doing another.

That's what I would like to find.

Hi hipower

Was the case made of plywood? 3/4" or something thinner? What were the approx dimensions?

Just curious if it was bigger than "fairly small" if it was on the heavy side for toting around?

Maybe I carry too much but most range boxes and bags don't look like they have enough space, too small. Would have to tote two bags. I've been using a cheaper than dirt "israeli deployment bag" or whatever that will probably tear up eventually but hasn't yet. Its about 36" long and had to glue some 3/8" plywood in the bottom to get it rigid. It will carry several pistols, tools, mags, targets, even a chrony and tripod, and lots of ammo. But when it is loaded up the thing is HEAVY for an old guy to tote. Not impossible to tote but getting on up there.

Had been thinking that something rugged out of 3/4" ply that size, might go "over the edge" in weight for the ordinary feller to tote around. One idea would be just to build a fairly elaborate set of drawers and storage compartments on a decent hand truck frame. Though such wouldn't like traveling in a car very well, though it would travel fine in a truck, van or suv.

Or it could have good-sized wheels on one end and retractible hand-truck handles, making it a little easier to dump in a back seat or car trunk if it wasn't too dang heavy.

There is the consideration of outside appearance. Wood can be made to look so pretty on one hand, and polyurethane finish is pretty tough. Then again, it is pretty easy to buy materials used to make flight cases with aluminum edges, heavy duty locks, wheels, reinforced edges and corners. Something like that isn't too hard to build and they are pretty bullet-proof, or roadie-proof.

[Jonnin]

the ones I have seen lester are a good 2 foot square ... when you prop open the lid for the scope, it is about 3-4 feet off the table and perfect at most ranges for standing up beside the shooting bench.

They usually hold about 4 1911 sized guns and 500 or so rounds of ammo with room for tools and targets and other stuff.

I would say roughly 2 foot by 2 foot by 10 or so inches deep on the average. The box does not have to be heavy, but they are not small nor light as a bag either. Most are not roadie tough, they are just meant to be hauled in a car then carried or rolled to the shooting station. Mostly, these seem to be used by bullseye shooters who want to use the scope and possibly just like the traditional support item. Apart from the scope it has no advantage over a bag, really.

A picture for 1000 words ..... here are some high priced and questionably constructed examples. http://www.bullseyeg.../home.php?cat=6

if you look closely at the top 3, see the bracket for the scope in the open lid? The scope lives, when the box is closed, in the compartment down low that has the blue ammo boxes in it. They have their display all wrong!

The one we got was one of the under $100 models and the lid and such barely close. All these demonstrate the metal rod thru the trigger pistol storage, which I strongly dislike. The things are overpriced for the quality of construction. The gun-ho model has a good rep, or once did, but was not available when I bought mine.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Jonnin

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks for the explanation and link, Jonnin. If that market is at all price sensitive, it would be seriously difficult to compete against those prices even if a feller could make a nicer box?

Hadn't thought about it lately but most likely road case construction would be the winner for weight vs durability, but lots more expensive especially small-run production. The steel and aluminum hardware and tough plastic exterior panels allow fairly thin plywood to be used.

Such a concept even if one didn't need the scope mount feature, looks like it is easy to "get to" everything once the case is open. My bag works ok but I have to do a lot of digging around in the bag, or alternately take time to take a bunch of stuff out and clutter up the bench.

[hipower]

Hi hipower

Was the case made of plywood? 3/4" or something thinner? What were the approx dimensions?

Just curious if it was bigger than "fairly small" if it was on the heavy side for toting around?

Maybe I carry too much but most range boxes and bags don't look like they have enough space, too small. Would have to tote two bags. I've been using a cheaper than dirt "israeli deployment bag" or whatever that will probably tear up eventually but hasn't yet. Its about 36" long and had to glue some 3/8" plywood in the bottom to get it rigid. It will carry several pistols, tools, mags, targets, even a chrony and tripod, and lots of ammo. But when it is loaded up the thing is HEAVY for an old guy to tote. Not impossible to tote but getting on up there.

Had been thinking that something rugged out of 3/4" ply that size, might go "over the edge" in weight for the ordinary feller to tote around. One idea would be just to build a fairly elaborate set of drawers and storage compartments on a decent hand truck frame. Though such wouldn't like traveling in a car very well, though it would travel fine in a truck, van or suv.

Or it could have good-sized wheels on one end and retractible hand-truck handles, making it a little easier to dump in a back seat or car trunk if it wasn't too dang heavy.

There is the consideration of outside appearance. Wood can be made to look so pretty on one hand, and polyurethane finish is pretty tough. Then again, it is pretty easy to buy materials used to make flight cases with aluminum edges, heavy duty locks, wheels, reinforced edges and corners. Something like that isn't too hard to build and they are pretty bullet-proof, or roadie-proof.

Yep, Dad made it of 3/8in laminated plywood, used heavy duty piano style hinges. Approximate size was 24"lomg by18" high and 14" wide. The handle was secured from the outside with 1/8 threaded bolts thru the laminate and a 1/8 steel plate in the top for added strength, and double locks on the front. It was a very sturdy, as well as moderately heavy box.

With several guns and ammo, I always thought it to be about 30 lbs. Never did weigh it when I carried it. Just knew it was a load.

PS I understand. My typical load in a cordura, or similar range bag is 3 guns, ammo(usually 200 rounds each), targets, stapler, muffs, glasses, and the other assorted stuff shooters carry. It's always a heavy bag to go up and down the stars that seem to be the norm at most ranges. I really need to pare things down to one gun per session, but I go so infrequently these days; I get overly optimistic in what I can shoot and carry in a session.

Edited April 25, 2012 by hipower

[gjohnsoniv]

I have an idea that I'm about to upload. Take your bad Lester and build a wooden rack in it, one for pistols, one for tools, and one for ammo. That way everything would stay organized and not slide around or anything else.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks for the good ideas. The weight of the loaded bag is kinda like ordering parts for a computer. All the individual parts are cheap but the final price is always sticker shock. Nothing goes into the bag that is heavy all by itself. I think the ammo is what makes it so heavy. Maybe it would make sense to carry ammo in a separate container even if it required toting two things.

[hipower]

Additional comments: Just looked a Jonnin's link and that's pretty much the design I was trying to describe. That typw of box is so very easy to overload, as are bags; but is much more protective. It's just awkward and heavy, at least to me.

You're right about the access capability though, the slide out tray makes getting to your guns very much easier, and secures them well. The open area below is good for a few boxes of ammo and maybe small tools and glasses. But unless it's 4/6 inches or better in depth, access to it is limited. And mounting a spotting scope on the door in the up position is relatively easy.

So there we get back to an overloaded, heavy case or a second bag. But at least if you are on level surface, a hand truck can be used to move it about. Just strap it on.

And now we're back to more bulk and weight to take to the range.

[peejman]

Thanks for the good ideas. The weight of the loaded bag is kinda like ordering parts for a computer. All the individual parts are cheap but the final price is always sticker shock. Nothing goes into the bag that is heavy all by itself. I think the ammo is what makes it so heavy. Maybe it would make sense to carry ammo in a separate container even if it required toting two things.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

I have a range bag with all the usual goodies. I haul the ammo in an ammo can. With the bag over one shoulder and the ammo can in the other hand, the load is heavy but reasonably balanced. Putting a 20lb hunk of ammo in a box that's already somewhat awkward to carry just makes it worse.

Also consider how often you head home from the range with zero ammo left. If you're really shooting up that much ammo, are you actually working on a skill with it, or mindlessly perforating paper? I quit taking so much ammo to (help) force me to practice important things. That and it's expensive...