Hard or soft pistol case: which one does a beginner need?

If you just bought your first pistol, you may be wondering whether the box it came in is good enough or whether you need a proper case. The honest answer is that it depends on where the gun is going. A trip across town to an indoor range asks very little of a case. A flight asks a lot, and TSA spells out what it wants. This page compares the two styles on the four things that actually differ: protection, locking, travel and carrying.

A note on how we compared them: we haven't dropped, soaked or picked the locks on these cases. We compared what each maker publishes (inside and outside dimensions, how it locks, any seal, and any TSA wording, quoted word for word) and scored them on the public rubric on how we pick. Where a maker doesn't publish something, we say so.

The three side by side

Here's what each maker lists. Every value links to the maker's own page, and "Not published" means we couldn't find that figure there.

Protection: shell vs padding

A hard pistol case is a rigid plastic shell with foam inside. A soft case is padded fabric. That difference decides most of what follows.

The Plano All Weather 2 is a good example of what a hard case adds. Plano lists a Dri-Loc seal that it describes as watertight and dust-proof, a pressure release valve (so a sealed case can equalize air pressure) and pluck foam. Pluck foam is a block of foam pre-cut into small cubes: you pull cubes out to make a pocket shaped like your pistol, so the gun can't slide around inside. If you store a pistol in a truck, a garage or anywhere damp, a sealed shell is the feature you're paying attention to.

The Savior Specialist Double Pistol Case protects differently. It's a soft case with two separate cushioned compartments, so each pistol has its own padded space and the two don't rest against each other. Padding like this is about scuffs and bumps on the way from the car to the bench. It isn't a sealed shell.

One practical way to think about it: a soft case is often the inner layer. It keeps the pistol padded inside a range bag, and the bag does the rest. A hard case usually travels on its own, in a trunk or as checked luggage, where nothing else is protecting it.

Locking: padlocks, zippers and keypads

"Lockable" means three different things on these products, and a beginner should know which one they're buying.

• Hard cases take a padlock. Plano lists the All Weather 2 as "Padlock compatible," and its simpler Protector Series Single Pistol Case has "heavy-duty latches and padlock tabs for secure closure." Pelican goes a step further on the Vault V100 and publishes the padlock hole diameter (0.46 in), so you can check that a padlock's shackle fits before you buy one. The padlock is usually a separate purchase; Pelican sells a 1506TSA lock for the V100 as an accessory.
• Soft cases have lockable zippers. Savior calls lockable zippers "a Savior standard": the zipper pulls can be joined with a small padlock. That keeps the case closed and discourages curious hands. It's still fabric, though, and lockable zippers on a soft case are not the same thing as a locked hard case.
• Lock boxes have the lock built in. The Vaultek LifePod 10 uses a Smart Sense keypad with backup keys and includes a 48 in steel security cable. The SnapSafe Lock Box LG comes in key or combination versions with a 16 gauge steel housing and a 4 ft steel cable. A cable lets you tether the box to something fixed.

For flying, TSA adds a line worth reading twice: "Locked cases that can be easily opened are not permitted." So the latch and lock hardware matters as much as the shell.

Driving to the range

Most new shooters' trips are short drives, and here both styles can work. The common practice at ranges is simple: the gun travels unloaded, in a case, with ammunition stored separately. Several ranges we looked at spell it out. Shoot Indoors, a commercial indoor range in Pennsylvania, writes that "it is required that you bring any outside firearms into the range cased and unloaded" (Shoot Indoors). A soft case or a hard case gets the pistol from your car to the lane that way.

The law is where it gets more specific, and more variable. The federal safe-passage law, 18 U.S.C. § 926A, says that in a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment, "the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console." The federal text doesn't say whether that container must be hard or soft. State and local transport laws vary, so check your state's official guidance before you rely on a soft case with locked zippers. We walk through the federal text and the common practice in our guide to transporting a gun to the range. None of this is legal advice.

Flying with a pistol

This is the one place where the choice is made for you. TSA's page on transporting firearms and ammunition says: "Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only." A soft case, however well padded, isn't a hard-sided container, so it isn't what TSA describes for a flight.

A few more lines from the same TSA page matter when you shop:

• "Be aware that the container the firearm was in when purchased may not adequately secure the firearm when it is transported in checked baggage." In other words, don't assume the box your pistol came in will do.
• "Only the passenger should retain the key or combination to the lock unless TSA personnel request the key to open the firearm container to ensure compliance with TSA regulations. You may use any brand or type of lock to secure your firearm case, including TSA-recognized locks."
• "Declare each firearm each time you present it for transport as checked baggage. Ask your airline about limitations or fees that may apply."

Makers also print their own TSA wording, and each one says something different. Plano says the All Weather 2 "Features TSA-approved dual-stage latches to ensure secure transport." Vaultek says the LifePod 10 "Meets TSA Guidelines." SnapSafe says its Lock Box LG "Meets TSA airline guidelines for firearms storage." We found no TSA claim from Pelican for the V100 case itself. Treat each of these as the maker's claim, in the maker's words, and read TSA's own page before you fly.

Size, capacity and carrying

Capacity is the simplest difference among these three. The Savior soft case holds two pistols; Savior lists it at 13 x 9 x 5.5 in outside and 12.5 x 8.5 x 2.5 in inside. The Plano All Weather 2 holds one, at 10 x 8 x 4.25 in. The Vaultek LifePod 10 publishes its limit by pistol size instead: handguns up to 7.75 in overall length, 6 in overall width and 1.75 in tall. Measure your pistol with a tape before you order a lock box; that's the number that decides whether it fits.

If the case will ride inside a range bag, compare the case's outside size with the bag's inside size. For example, Savior lists its Specialist Range Bag at 13 x 8.5 x 9 in inside, so on paper the 10 x 8 x 4.25 in Plano case lies flat inside it with room to spare. Neither Plano nor Savior publishes a weight for these two cases, so we can't compare them on that.

Carrying style matters too. A soft case is easy to tuck under an arm or drop into a bag. A hard case has a handle and usually travels as its own item. If you own two pistols, one soft double case is less to carry than two single hard cases; if you'll fly with both, you'll need hard-sided cases either way.

Which one fits your first year

Match the case to how you'll actually use it:

• You drive to one indoor range and keep everything in a range bag: a soft case, or a range bag with its own pistol sleeves. Our list of what to put in a range bag covers the rest of the kit.
• You might fly with the pistol this year: a lockable hard case, plus a padlock if the case doesn't include one.
• You own two pistols and drive to the range: the Savior double soft case, or two hard cases if you also fly.
• The gun spends time in a truck, garage or boat: a sealed hard case such as the Plano All Weather 2.
• You want the lock built in and your pistol is small: a lock box such as the Vaultek LifePod 10, after you've measured the pistol against Vaultek's limits.

Owning both is a reasonable plan: a soft case for everyday range trips and a hard case for flights and storage. If you're packing the case into a bag, our guide on how to organize a range bag shows where it goes.

Or consider

If you've decided you want a lockable case and just need the shortlist, our best lockable pistol cases ranks every hard case and lock box we track, including the Pelican Vault V100 and SnapSafe Lock Box LG. If you'd rather have the pistol storage built into your bag, see our best range bags, several of which come with padded pistol sleeves or a pistol rug.