I travel once or twice a month with my rifles, and use 1 of 2 cases for the task. The first, Vault 700, And the second a pelican 1750. I can fit two rifles in either case in addition to my 10 mm and two boxes of ammo. I never order cases with foam as it only works with one configuration. If I'm shipping a rifle, I use a standard hard-sided case and foam comes into play there as the buyer is covering the cost.
My rifles go into independent Thick soft sided cases-- I buy the ones from Federal that are their Brown premium. It's a shave weight, I remove the shoulder straps and carry those in my bag. The Vault gets used more for my 20 inch barrels and less, and the 1750 for my higher end European rifles. Pistol with spare mag goes into a soft chest holster with a chamber flag. My thermal always goes on the plane with me.
When traveling with my ARs for the vehicle/helicopter hunts, I use a two rifle Square carrier that fits perfectly in the v700. Make sure to check the weight of any soft-sided bags as it can add up quick; but almost always is less than foam. To protect the top of the case, my fabric shooting mat gets bungee in the lid with 3D printed bungee holders I made for both Pelicans.
after I'm done packing, I always stand directly in the center on top of the case to see if I can feel any hard objects...... but I never do.Two additional locks and zip ties with a note for TSA get placed directly on top in case they have to cut. By Future proofed and had 16 titanium locks made all keyed the same. To this day, I've only ever had two Locks cut in years of travel.
Pro tip: don't overthink your packing. Remember, many items can go in your carry-on to include scopes.
