Gun Carts,,,what to and what NOT to look for?

[Marshal Deadwood]

I could use some help on gun cart knowledge.
What are features to look for and ones to avoid?

Thanks folks,

Marshal Deadwood

[Ransom Gaer]

One mistake I made when I got my guncart was size.  I decided to save a little money and get the smaller one.  I should'a gotten the larger one.  And I could have gotten the larger one on the same day.  I always seem to fill the thing up with stuff and still have stuff left over.  If you find one you like and can get a little bigger one get the bigger one.  Other than that personal taste will dictate what you get to some degree.  In theory I have enough space for four long guns.  In reality I have enough space for two long guns, water bottles, some cleaning supplies and ammunition in the box.

Some have hard rubber tires, others wooden wheels.  Mine has pneumatic tires.  I like that.  I think the cart may be a little easier on the guns since the tires give a little.  The bad side. I've had to replace a tube on it and now carry a spare with me in the truck.

Good luck finding a cart.

Ransom Gaer

[Marshal Deadwood]

Ransom, one prob I have is I need a colaspable one sinice I need to load it in a  car. If not for that, id get a huge one and stack stuff in it like I was running off from home !
Who makes these things or might have one ready to go?

Marshal Deadwood

[Indiana Isaac]

Try this link---http://www.curtrich.com/simpleguncart.html

And this one---http://www.cowboyactionshooting.org/links.html2.html

More than you probly wanta know 


Indiana Isaac

[Ransom Gaer]

Marshal,

Mine is a takedown also.  It fit real well into the trunk of my old Ford Contour.  The larger one I was looking at was identical except it was a little wider.  So it would have still fit in the trunk of my old car.  I had that same space issue.  Now I have a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup and space isn't quite the problem it was.  Mine was locally made.  I'd give you his phone number, but I don't know if he is still building them.  I haven't seen him around in ages.  And he doesn't have a website.

Ransom Gaer

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

The trick is getting a cart that's not too big, and not too small. I remember one time I saw a pickup truck full of cowboys piling out of a truck and loading all their guns into a huge cart. I think it held about a dozen long guns. I think those boys decided it was much too big after dragging it around all day, becuase although I saw them plenty of times, I never saw that cart again. Then again, you want to be sure your cart is big enough to carry all the stuff you think you'll need for the day. If you need to stow it in a vehicle, a knock down design is usually more convenient than a foldable one. My cart knocks down and I can get it in my Subaru Forester, along with Mrs Johnson and all our gear.

I suggest you take a look at the SASS Links off the SASS hompage. There are several cartmakers listed there, and you can get a good idea of what's available. Some are knock down, some are not.

Here's some photos of my cart.









I stole the design of my cart lock, stock, and barrel from one of the commercial cart building outfits. I scaled it to what I thought would be useful. Some useful criterea:

Wheels; the bigger the better. Small wheels are impossible in rough terrain. I used commercial semi-pneumatic wheels. I think they are 16" in diameter. I think that is a minimum for negotiating rough terrain.

My cart stores 4 long guns vertically. That way I have room for a rifle and a shotgun for Mrs Johnson and a rifle and shotgun for myself. I think 4 long guns is just right. Much more, and the cart starts getting heavy.

The box on the back has had to be rebuilt twice, each time I made it bigger, in order to be able to carry enough ammo for both Mrs Johnson and myself all day. We shoot different calibers, so we need a lot of ammo space.

I tend to carry alot of stuff at a match. i shoot Black Powder, so I carry BP cleaning supplies, and a few simple tools that may be needed during the day. I drilled holes directly behind the long guns so I can keep a full length cleaning rod with me all day, if I should need it. The box on front of my cart is tall enough to accomodate a removable tray, plus the box is tall enough to make a comfortable seat, in important consideration at the end of a long day. I attached coat hooks onto the sides of the cart to hang our empty shell bags from so they are handy all day.

I was able to retrofit a holder for a big umbrella for hot sunny, or rainy days. A word of warning, with a big umbrella mounted, a gust of wind can knock the whole thing ass over teakettle, so be careful how you park it.

I made my cart out of white ash, a hardwood similar to oak in strength and durability. If I were to do it all over again, I would make it out of pine. With all the stuff I stow in it, my cart can get pretty heavy at the end of a long day. Pine would be much lighter and plenty strong enough.

[Marshal Deadwood]

Driftwood,,thats a heck'va nice piece of craftsmanship and woodwork. 
Thank you, and the other folks for ya suggestions.
And thanks for the effort to post the pictures Driftwood,,,I do appreciate it.
Ya'll take care.

Marshal Deadwood

[Camille Eonich]

Here's a great thread on guncarts

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,1340.0.html


If you search you will find a bunch more most with pictures all with great ideas and comments.

[Camille Eonich]

Here's another one
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,4202.0.html