Americase AT M4

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By Jeff John

Both flying and driving off road can cause jostling and load shifting, which may prove deleterious to a firearm. But when traveling, space is nearly always at a premium, and the Americase Aluma-Trans M4 AR case—built for an AR M4 with the stock collapsed—takes up as little as possible.

Your normal soft case with external mag pockets is all fine and dandy until your buddy I. R. Clumsy drops a full 250-round ammo can on it, denting the snot out of the contents. So better the hard case takes the hit than your gun, scope or mags. The AT M4 AR case is so nicely finished you’ll always feel a twinge at seeing the resulting scuff mark or ding, but better the case than what’s in it. After all, taking abuse is what a hard case is for.

If you do go off road to an out-of-the-way shooting site, even a well maintained dirt road has as many bumps and divots as the average California
highway. Hard cases prevent anything bad from happening during travel, let alone if the load shifts. Or if you park on an angle and opening the back of your truck or SUV causes the load to jettison spontaneously.

QM-0916-1B

The middle Etta Foam layer (above) cuts easily. Trace the outline with a Sharpie
and cut inside the lines. A straight edge is a big help on straight lines. Clean
off the marker lines with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits. Twin, folding butterfly
“twist latches” hook over the lid’s latch (below), turning to cinch the lid against
the Santoprene gasket. Padlocks (not supplied) can be added, and the padlock extensions
add a buffer to help prevent latch damage in hard use. The latches have springs to
hold them flush against the case body.

QM-0916-1A

The hard Etta Foam cut to fit holds the gun in the fashion you desire. The mag
cutouts hold 4 30-round or 20-round magazines. Since Jeff uses the 20-rounders
at the range mostly, he cut down the 30-round insert into a block to take up the
excess space. With rifle and 4 mags, the case weighs 21.5 pounds.

Internally there are 3 layers in the case. Two layers of soft foam sandwich a hard-foam layer Americase calls “Etta Foam.” (Etta Foam surrounds the interior of the case where the aluminum is folded to prevent the cargo from hitting metal inside.) Two methods of use include cutting the Etta foam to fit the rifle, which looks attractive but afterward restricts the case to one particular gun, or putting the hard foam layer on the bottom and the soft foam in the middle and squishing everything between.

Both methods work very well, with the first looking more businesslike than the other. The Etta Foam cuts easily with a pocketknife, but is a little too thick for a box cutter. First, draw the outline with Sharpie. Any leftover pen marks clean up quickly with alcohol or mineral spirits and a patch. You can order additional sheets of Etta Foam, or order the case with all soft foam and call it good.

One of the nicest things about the AT M4 AR case is the latch system. Twin “Twist-Draw” latches are quiet, smoothly cinching down the case against the gasket as you turn them closed. A spring holds them flush against the case while two padlock hasps double as protection against the latches being crushed. The padded handle is held folded by a spring to keep it from snagging. The case is powder coated, and the standard color is Black. Optional colors include Hammertone Grey (shown) or Desert Tan.

Aluma-Trans AT M4 AR

Maker: Americase
1610 East Main St.
Waxahachie, TX 75165
(800) 972-2737
www.americase.com

Weight: 12 pounds
Interior Dimensions: 33 x 12 x 3 inches
Exterior Dimensions: 35 x 14 x 4 inches
Latches: 2, pad-lockable
Handle: spring loaded
Seals: Santoprene gasket
Finish: Black, Hammertone Grey (tested) or Desert Tan powdercoat
Price: $269

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