In a Comment thread a while back, a few of you talked about your difficulties in getting to the range (i.e. from the car to the shooting bay); some required two or more trips (e.g. me), or some just humped the whole shooting match — guns, ammo, range bags, rests etc. — in one go (also me, only a lot less frequently lately).
When I used to go to Cowboy Action (CAS) meets, I was impressed by the lengths that some guys had gone to schlep all their cowboy shooting gear from bay to bay, event to event. Here’s one such example:
…which is super-purrdy, until you see the price (“Hand me a couple them tamp’ns, Margaret, Ah need to plug mah nose”). Also, they’re almost as heavy as the damn guns and ammo they carry, not to mention bulky (I don’t drive a truck anymore, which most of these old boys seem to do).
As always, I’m probably late to the party and everyone is just going to laugh at me, but of late I’ve been seeing quite a few Ole Pharrts using these little things from Academy to get to and fro:
…which seem to fit the bill quite nicely. They cost around $45, and I think I’m going to get one. Bass Pro and Cabela’s carry similar ones too, only quelle surprise theirs cost $85 and $110 respectively. (Cabela’s “All-Terrain Multifunction” description no doubt justifies the price variance with Academy’s humble “Sports Cart”.) Scheel’s has one priced between the two extremes.
Anyway, the next time I’m at Scheel’s or Academy, I’m going to look into it.
These get used a lot as beach buggies – the Tarquins and Jocastas in Cornwall love ‘em. Mr Truebrit loads his up with wetsuit and essential paraphernalia for a Brit beach holiday – windbreaks, umbrellas (for the rain, not the sun), beach tents,, buckets, spades, copious large towels (also for the rain it the sun), cool box etc. £50 off that Amazonian place. Job done.
I like this new outdoor range I’ve been going to where I just back my Blazer right up to a few feet from the table, drop the tailgate, and use whatever I want as I need to. No check-in, no limitations, no requirements, just flat out shootin’. And I don’t have to police my brass if I don’t want to and there’s never more than 1 or 2 other people there.
You guessed it. My neighbor bought a 90 acre farm about 5 miles from here and he has it set up with ranges out to 300 yds. Next up? Trap shooting. I’m researching rigs currently. Never did it before. Any suggestions on an inexpensive rig that will dependably fling the clays? We’ll be using 12 ga’s.
I use this one from Lowe’s hardware to haul my fishing gear to the lake:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Seina-Folding-Yard-Cart/1003008852
I put my tackle bag in the cart, and stick the handles of my rods thru the frame by the handle and lay them over the frame on the other end (I have a hunk of pool noodle zip tied to it to protect the rods), then bungie-cord the rods down. I can’t stand the rods up because I have to go under a chain that prevents vehicle access, and the bungies and pool noodle keep the rods in place as I pull it up the gravel walkway.
I also use it for hauling stuff around the yard, cleaning up branches after a storm, or moving my grilling stuff from the shed to the deck. Works like a charm.
Mark D
Same as what Mark said, these get used a lot by fishermen. Especially us cheap bastards that don’t own an expensive hole in the water (called a boat). Pier fishing generally involves ice chest, lawn chairs, tackle box, bait bucket, fishing poles, and other assorted paraphernalia that has to be lugged half a mile down a gravel path before getting even getting onto the pier, and then another long haul to get to the end of the pier.
I picked mine up from Lowes, somewhere around $45 to $50, same as Academy.
Dafuq kinda “cowboys” you shootin’ with, comrade? 😉
I bought one of those about three years ago to haul equipment from my car to the hardware cabinet at a co-location site in AZ. One of my better investments. It is a 500 meter walk so making it in one trip was desirable. It also works really well to haul luggage from the car to the hotel room. No reason it wouldn’t work for a range trip though, at only about a meter long, some of my longer rifles might be a bit awkward.
My son shoots a lot of 3-Gun and Steel Challenge in Colorado and he bought one of the Yuppie Running Strollers for babies, strong, light with large wheels and he converted it to a rolling gun rack including a golf umbrella. A lot of his home range in Gunnison is sandy, rocky stuff and moving uphill in places so the big wheels and light weight have worked out well. He found his stroller at a thrift store for a fraction of the price yuppies pay for new ones.
Brilliant!
Also, I’ve looked at the two-wheeled carts before, but never bought one. It seemed to me that 300lbs was a more useful capacity than those ones with the small wheels that look like old-fashioned wagons. Here’s a heavy-duty two wheeler from Cabela’s https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-game-cart
Old Texan,
That’s a smart move!! buying second hand can save a lot of money
JQ
I’ve got one of those – bought the stroller of Craigslist for like $20, bolted ATV long gun clamps to each side, and there you go. A 50 cal can in the baby’s seat will usually hold enough ammo for a one day match, and water, snacks, and sunscreen in the basket underneath.
Exactly what I use, from exactly the same place Kim. I keep all of my sundry shooting gear in a flip-top tote, which stays in the wagon. All I need to do now is add a gun rack…
Check out Amazon for the one with the wide wheels. It costs more but the first time you pull it through sand or gravel, you’ll thank me. My wife bought one for me and I’ve thanked her every time I use it for the last five years.
Mac45110
The Cowboy action carts sure look nice but they are heavy and bulky.
We bought the wagon you have pictured that folds up several years ago. we bought it to use for a yearly picnic that my brother in law hosted at a state park. The cookout sites were several hundreds of yards away from the parking lot and several trips for the grill, coolers and such were tedious so we bought the cart and it’s very handy.
The place where I target shoot has parking away from the shooting bench area and a car would come in handy. We got ours from Amazon or Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight also has a heavy duty one that supports a couple hundred pounds. I have seen those wagons at garden centers so people can tote around the plants they want to buy. They’re really handy.
Enjoy!
JQ
Just make sure the one you select has Fat tires for hauling stuff over any surfaces. The carts with the thin wheels just cut ruts in the gravel / sand and you might as well be dragging a sled.
I’ve had no problem with mine on gravel. I wouldn’t want to try to drag it thru sand though, but that’s not what I got it for.
Two words:
Tactical. Wheelbarrows.
HaHaHaHa!!!
I suppose it’s worth mentioning, for those who have never considered it, that a sled like this one (Jet Sled) works well, too. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/shappell-jet-sled
It may actually be handier for more types of terrain (desert, marsh, rocks) than something with little wagon wheels. You can get high-strength runners for them that allow you to drag them over pavement and hard surfaces without damage. (I could have sworn that I have seen wheel attachments for them, too, but I can’t find any just now.)
Be a little loud when dragging it into an indoor range, though.
I went to a Bass Pro yesterday. They had a Magpul X-22 stock for the Ruger 10/22 for $279.99. Magpul sells them for $140. I don’t see how BP stays in business when everyone knows they are a complete ripoff. Play on people’s stupidity and laziness – it’s a great business model.