Pelican Vault V800 vs Plano AW2 rifle case
Written by John Wren|
Choose Plano All Weather AW2 42-inch for one rifle that tapes inside 42 inches. Choose Pelican Vault V800 for a long case or two scoped rifles. Latch, cable, sock. The firearm stays at a licensed dealer.
Key takeaways
- Measure overall length with the optic on.
- A 42-inch Plano is one rifle if it fits.
- The Vault V800 is the long double-class case.
- A case is not a safe. The rifle stays a dealer.
Pelican Vault V800 vs Plano All Weather AW2 is a hard-case fight for a rifle you already own: crushproof polymer and push-button latches on one side, a 42-inch Dri-Loc case with rust-minded foam on the other. If you need a long case that will take a truck bed and a cargo hold, buy the Vault V800. If you need a single-rifle 42-inch case with a pressure valve and a foam you can pluck, buy the Plano AW2. The rifle stays at a licensed dealer. This page is the case, the cable, and the sock.
Short version. Tuesday’s case-up is the sit these boxes are for. A locked September kit is the camp version. Responsible ownership still starts with a case you will actually latch. Check live prices on the cases. The firearm and the ammunition stay at a licensed dealer.
This is a comparison of two hard long cases Amazon still sells. It is not a gun listing. It is not a safe. A safe under $500 is the house. A safe you bolt is the year. These cases are the truck and the airline conversation. Measure the rifle you already own — overall length with the optic you actually run — before you click a 42-inch label.
| Job | Pelican Vault V800 | Plano AW2 42-inch | Our call |
|---|---|---|---|
| One hunting rifle, 42 inches or less | Longer interior than you need. Heavier | Sized for one rifle if the tape agrees | Plano AW2 if it fits |
| Two scoped rifles, a long trip | Built as a long double case | Wrong case | Vault V800 |
| Airline cargo | Hard polymer, lock hasps, a valve | Dri-Loc, valve, lockable latches | Either, plus the airline page |
| Truck bed, a dusty two-track | Crushproof pitch | Seal and foam if you latch it | Vault if the bed is the life |
| The house overnight | A case is not a safe | A case is not a safe | A safe |
Measure overall length with the optic on. A 42-inch label is not a 26-inch barrel plus a brake plus a 50mm bell. The rifle stays at a licensed dealer.
Who should buy the Vault V800, and who should buy the Plano AW2?
Buy the Vault V800 if you need a long Pelican-family case, you might carry two scoped rifles, and you want push-button latches and stainless hasps you can actually padlock. Buy the Plano AW2 42-inch if you have one hunting rifle that fits a 42-inch interior after you measure, you want pluck foam and a rust-minded liner, and you will not pretend a 42-inch case is a 48-inch case. Buy neither if the job is the house. That is a safe you bolt.
A sling you fitted still lives in the same bag as the case. A September range day is where you find out the optic still lines up after a ride. A prone mat is the other Saturday. The case is the ride, not the group.
What the Pelican Vault V800 is actually for
Vault is Pelican’s value long-case line: high-impact polymer, push-button latches, lock hasps, a purge valve, foam layers. The V800 is the long double-class case — interior in the 50-inch range on Pelican’s own sheet — which is why people buy it when one 42-inch hunting case is already too short. It is a heavy lift. It is not a backpack. Two people at a ticket counter is allowed.
The Pelican Vault V800 is the live long Vault we named. Confirm V800 on the listing — not a V100 pistol box and not a cooler photo. Check live prices. It is a case for cameras, rifles, and long gear. This page is the rifle-case job. The firearm stays at a licensed dealer. You are buying the empty box.
Do: pick foam so the optic does not take the lid, padlock the hasps if the case leaves your hands, label the outside without advertising a rifle. Don’t: a half-latched lid in a truck bed. Case it before the sit. A dusty two-track will finish a latch you left cute.
What the Plano AW2 42-inch is actually for
Plano’s All Weather AW2 42-inch is a single-rifle hard case: Dri-Loc seal, pressure-release valve, dual-stage lockable latches, pluck foam, a rust-minded liner on the current Rustrictor generation. Exterior is in the mid-40s of inches. Interior is why you still take a tape to the rifle you own. A muzzle brake and a big objective are how people buy a 42 and then own a doorstop.
The Plano All Weather AW2 42-inch case is the live 42 we named. Confirm 42-inch AW2, not a 36 and not a four-pack of leftover tactical cases. Check live prices. Pluck the foam at home. A first pluck in a motel the night before a flight is how you invent a rattle.
Camp kit still wants the case latched in the vehicle the way the state asks. A hard case in a visible back seat is a conversation you do not want. Cover it. The case is not a safe. An in-wall safe is the house conversation.
Measure the rifle you have. The label is not the rifle.
Overall length, optic on, brake on, the way you will case it. Write the inches. Then the listing. A friend’s “it fit my .308” is not your 20-inch barrel plus a 3-9. A 3-9 on a timber rifle changes the bell. An LPVO on a carbine changes the length. The carbine and the bolt gun stay at a licensed dealer. You are measuring an object you already own, or a dealer will measure it on the counter.
Airline: hard case, locked, the firearm declared the way the airline and the TSA page say. This page is not a briefing. The airline page is the briefing. A Vault or a Plano that does not meet the carrier’s lock rule is a counter you will not pass. Confirm hasps and locks before you drive to the airport.
A case still wants a cable when the truck is a sit.
A hard case in a bed is a box. A cable through a hasp and around something that does not lift is the extra minute. The Master Lock Python adjustable cable lock is the live cable we named for the hasp you will actually use: a cable you can run through a case handle or a rack loop, a lock you can work in gloves. Check live prices. It is not a safe. It is the cable on the case you already latched.
Do: hasps closed, cable through, key where you will still have it at dark. Don’t: a cable on an empty bumper and a case on a seat. Ownership is the boring minute. A soft pistol case is a different job — a handgun in a bag, still not a safe.
A knit sock is the inside. Foam is not a sleeve.
Foam holds the shape. A knit sock keeps oil and a nick off the metal you already own. The knit rifle sock is the live sleeve we named for the rifle that goes into either case: a sock you slide on before the foam, enough for a hunting rifle if the listing is a rifle sock and not a random Christmas stocking. Check live prices. The rifle stays a dealer. The sock is the cloth.
Do not store a wet rifle in a closed case. Open the lid at home. Dry the sock. Tuesday’s case-up is the habit. A rusty barrel in October is a September lid you left shut on a wet Tuesday.
What this fight is not
It is not a safe. It is not a DI versus piston argument. It is not ammunition. The firearm and the ammunition stay at a licensed dealer. This page is two hard cases Amazon sells, a cable, and a sock. If your rifle does not fit 42 inches, do not buy the Plano and hope. If you need two scoped rifles in one lid, do not buy a single 42 and stack them.
A case in a bed is a box. Latch, cover, cable.
A hard case that rides in a visible back seat is a conversation you do not want. Cover it. A blanket is a cover. A window decal that advertises a rifle is a dare. The locked camp kit is the longer habit. This heading is the Tuesday two-track. Dust will finish a latch you left cute. A half-latched lid is how foam eats an optic you already zeroed.
Open the case at home after a wet ride. A shut lid on a wet sock is rust you will find in October. Confirm the zero after a hard ride, not after the first sit. The case is the ride. The group is the other Saturday. The firearm stays at a licensed dealer. You are buying the empty box and the minute you will actually spend latching it.
Pluck foam at the kitchen table. A motel bed is a rattle.
Trace the rifle you already own — or have the dealer trace it on the counter — then pluck one layer at a time. Leave a dam around the optic. A bell that takes the lid is a zero you will chase. Extra foam in the muzzle well stops a slide. A first pluck in a motel the night before a flight is how you invent a rattle and a scratched finish.
Label the outside without advertising a rifle. Name and phone on a tape inside the lid. Range day is where you find out the foam still holds after a summer in a hot shed. UV chalks a gasket. Inspect it. A cracked seal is a dusty interior, not a mystery.
So which case should you buy?
Buy the Plano AW2 42-inch if one hunting rifle fits after you measure. Buy the Pelican Vault V800 if the job is a long case, two rifles, or a bed that will try to crush a cheap lid. Our default for a single deer rifle that tapes inside 42 is the Plano. Our default for a long pair or a cargo hold is the Vault. Latch it. Cable it if it leaves your hands. Sock it. Check live prices. The rifle stays at a licensed dealer. A case is not a safe. Bolt a safe for the house.
Range day still wants the case you will open without a fight. Confirm the zero after a hard ride. The case is the ride. The group is the other page.
Also in the magazine
Keep going with casing a Tuesday rifle, a locked camp kit, a safe under $500, and why a safe. Check live prices on the cases.
Frequently asked questions
Pelican Vault V800 or Plano AW2 42-inch for a hunting rifle?
Plano AW2 if one rifle fits a 42-inch interior after you measure. Vault V800 if you need a long case or two scoped rifles. The rifle stays at a licensed dealer.
Is a hard case a gun safe?
No. A case is the truck and the airline. A safe you bolt is the house. See the safe pages.
Will a 42-inch case fit my rifle?
Only if overall length with the optic and brake is inside the interior. Measure. A 42-inch label is not a promise.
Can I fly with these cases?
Hard cases with lockable hasps are the usual starting point. The airline and TSA pages are the rule. Declare the firearm the way they say.
Do I still need a cable lock?
Yes, if the case leaves your hands in a bed or on a rack. A Python-style cable through a hasp is the extra minute. It is not a safe.
Should the rifle go in a sock inside the case?
Yes. Foam holds shape. A knit sock keeps oil and nicks off the metal. Dry it. Do not store a wet rifle in a shut case.