Disassembling Rifle For Travel

[bill123]

I'm looking for a way to cut down on the size of the hard sided case that I need for airline travel. I'm wondering how many of you remove the barreled actions from your stocks, and the scopes from actions to fit them in a smaller "Pelican" case.

I'm reasoning that when I unscrew my Badger rings from the base and then retorque them, my POI is usually only off by about .1 mil. Similar for removing action from bedded stock.

Since I'm always going to sight in my gun after travel, is there a reason not to disassemble everything to get it all in a smaller case?

 

[tinkerer]

Shame you don't have a Savage, so much easier.

And I personally would not go any smaller than remove the barrel and leave everything else intact.

Larry
Tinkerer

 

[Punisher]

I avoid this with my long range rig due to the fact that my action is bedded and is a pain to put back together.

With my "small" hunting arms, I don't hesitate to romove the stock... But I always check my zero.

 

[FearNoWind]

I wouldn't expect disassembly to shorten your case requirements by more than about 12 inches (or less) but if that's what you need then by all means go for what works for you. Removing barrel and action from the stock and leaving the scope in place will shorten the case. Removing the scope may reduce the width of the case but not enough, IMO, to justify doing that. Just remember to pack your inch pound torque wrench for the reassembly.
Wishing you best of good fortune on the hunt.

 

[bill123]

Thanks all for the input!

 

[bruce_ventura]

I was worried about the oversize fee when I checked my rifles on my flight to Denver last month. I prepaid the baggage fee when I checked in the night before - there was no option for an oversize fee. When I got to the counter with my rifle case, the airline person saw that my bags were prepaid and overlooked any additional fees. I saved about $150 in baggage fees round trip that way.

I also learned that baggage fees vary widely from one airline to another. It's best to compare total cost when shopping for airline fares.