Custom Case for my M&P from MyCaseBuilder

[Mr. Satchmo]

I have owned my M&P and have grown to dislike my blue S&W case. I live in the desert and my equipment is often exposed to dust and sand so I realized I needed a better case. I was strictly looking for one with custom foam and after looking at the shotshow 2014 footage, I was intrigued by a small company called MyCaseBuilder. I found the website and began to build my case. I got to picked whatever case from pelican seahorse etc and I went with a Seahorse SE300 in gun metal grey. The website uses an online program that let's the user design a case for anything they want.
Here is a screen shot of the program. The site also has several pre-made cases for many handguns including the shield, M&P FS, and 1911 variants.

The website has many firearm designs and also has a feature that allows the user to upload a picture and scale it using measurements. I got to pick the type of foam and went with the Stronger PE foam.

The case finally came today and I am very happy with how it came out.

I will probably have them build me a custom case for my Remington 870 with magpul furniture.

I ended up paying $45 plus $8 shipping for this case, but the company also sells the custom foam insert by itself in case a customer already has a specific case like a pelican case or whatever one may have. I chose the seahorse and is really nice, it's made in the USA and is dust, and water proof as well.

 

[jhawk19]

What'd you pay for that?

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

What'd you pay for that?

I paid $45 plus $8 shipping, it was fair to me.

Here is the link for the same case. They have a template now.
http://www.mycasebuilder.com/smith-and-wesson-m-and-p-40-custom-pistol-case-seahorse-se300.html

The case is dust and water proof as well and meets TSA standards.

 

[coltle6920]

What'd you pay for that?

Do a search for "mycasebuilder" and you'll see there's a section for pre-made cases priced by case and foam or just the foam cutout.

Seems to be interesting enough though not trusting my skills doing an online design I would rather buy the foam and perform the surgery myself with the gun and case in front of me.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Do a search for "mycasebuilder" and you'll see there's a section for pre-made cases priced by case and foam or just the foam cutout.

Seems to be interesting enough though not trusting my skills doing an online design I would rather buy the foam and perform the surgery myself with the gun and case in front of me.

I'm glad they have the pre made cases and templates for firearms, I had designed my gun case like the pre-made one but with the gun on the left instead, but I ended up going back with the pre made design to make sure all the dimensions were correct. I once made a home made foam job and it came out terrible haha.

 

[Rastoff]

Very interesting site. I'll have to spend some time there.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Very interesting site. I'll have to spend some time there.

I've spent too much time on it thinking on what my next case lay out should be. The M&P one was easy because a pre-made template exists but my 870 with magpul stuff will be a challenge.

As far as the price I paid for my case, it wasn't too bad. Amazon sells the waterproof seahorse case I got for $40 shipped, and I paid $45 with the custom foam. I Know other places charge about $35 or so for the same case with the pick and pluck foam but that doesn't look as good as this. I'm very happy with it. The case itself is much deeper and taller than the stock case but way more heavy duty.

 

[Morey]

Really happy you posted this. I was just on their site earlier planning out foam for my shield. Wondering how it would look and if it was worth it over a DIY job. After seeing yours, now I know.

I have a range bag I would like my case to fit in. Possibly even 2 of them, so I was looking at the pelican 1170, but their prices for pelican are crazy. $112 for the case with foam, and $37 for just the foam ... The exact same case with PNP foam is $35 on amazon. So I feel their case prices are a little too inflated for that.

I looked at the seahorse you got, but I think it is a bit too thick, and not big enough elsewhere for what I want. I want a slimmer case since I have a slim gun. For a gun less then 1" thick. I don't need a 4"+ thick case. Wish somebody would make a better, slimmer one.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Really happy you posted this. I was just on their site earlier planning out foam for my shield. Wondering how it would look and if it was worth it over a DIY job. After seeing yours, now I know.



I have a range bag I would like my case to fit in. Possibly even 2 of them, so I was looking at the pelican 1170, but their prices for pelican are crazy. $112 for the case with foam, and $37 for just the foam ... The exact same case with PNP foam is $35 on amazon. So I feel their case prices are a little too inflated for that.



I looked at the seahorse you got, but I think it is a bit too thick, and not big enough elsewhere for what I want. I want a slimmer case since I have a slim gun. For a gun less then 1" thick. I don't need a 4"+ thick case. Wish somebody would make a better, slimmer one.

One option is to buy the pelican case without the foam on amazon and just buy the foam, there was one that was $30 on amazon and the foam was $35 which was cheaper than $120 for the whole thing. Seahorse cases are a bit bulky that's the only downside.

 

[Morey]

One option is to buy the pelican case without the foam on amazon and just buy the foam, there was one that was $30 on amazon and the foam was $35 which was cheaper than $120 for the whole thing. Seahorse cases are a bit bulky that's the only downside.

that's my plan. just buy the case, then the foam. easy. Trying to decide if I want to drop $75ish on this right now or just deal with that I have. right now the no foam option on amazon is $10 more...

pelican makes gun cutouts in foam as an option too, but they are generic and add's about $20 to the cost of the case... I'd rather just buy the case and for not much more have custom made.

the $120 price from mycasebuilder is just insane.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

that's my plan. just buy the case, then the foam. easy. Trying to decide if I want to drop $75ish on this right now or just deal with that I have. right now the no foam option on amazon is $10 more...



pelican makes gun cutouts in foam as an option too, but they are generic and add's about $20 to the cost of the case... I'd rather just buy the case and for not much more have custom made.



the $120 price from mycasebuilder is just insane.

Yeah it is, that's why I didn't get a pelican, I got lucky with the seahorse case because amazon sells them for $40 and on MCB I bought it for $5 more.

There's also the option of cutting your foam yourself with a hot wire, I've seen several examples online of people who made their own

http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=3&f=4&t=292695

 

[Morey]

Yeah it is, that's why I didn't get a pelican, I got lucky with the seahorse case because amazon sells them for $40 and on MCB I bought it for $5 more.

There's also the option of cutting your foam yourself with a hot wire, I've seen several examples online of people who made their own

Cutting Gun Case Foam (lots of photos) -

I have been looking into that a lot as well. Just more working sourcing the foam, cutting it to fit the case. then customizing slots. I am a handy guy and very good with an exacto knife as well.. so i know i could do it. but might just go for a custom job.

I have looked at kaizen foam as well. Pelican sells an insert made for their cases. then you just cut and peel each layer, i just don't know if i like the finished look.

doing it myself I like the idea of customizing the lid too. enough room to put a few little slots for misc. items or an additional mag.

i share an office with our videographer so there are about 10 different pelicans in here with slots for all the camera equipment. Just none of the 1170 for me to check sizes. Lots of 1200's, 1500's and a big wheeled 1610

I was curious if I would be able to fit 3 mags as shown in the attachment. Or if they are too close together and the strength of the foam in-between wouldn't be enough to retain good shape. I only have 3 mags right night, but would like to add another 8 round. I would probably add another slot under the shield for either my boresnake (i store them in pill bottles) or a little slot for my lube bottle. Snake makes more sense of things I need at the range. Or an ammo box spot there and do the lid to hold the snake and/or lube.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

I have been looking into that a lot as well. Just more working sourcing the foam, cutting it to fit the case. then customizing slots. I am a handy guy and very good with an exacto knife as well.. so i know i could do it. but might just go for a custom job.



I have looked at kaizen foam as well. Pelican sells an insert made for their cases. then you just cut and peel each layer, i just don't know if i like the finished look.



doing it myself I like the idea of customizing the lid too. enough room to put a few little slots for misc. items or an additional mag.



i share an office with our videographer so there are about 10 different pelicans in here with slots for all the camera equipment. Just none of the 1170 for me to check sizes. Lots of 1200's, 1500's and a big wheeled 1610

Maybe you can find a used one on eBay and save a lot on it to offset the total cost.

 

[Morey]

Maybe you can find a used one on eBay and save a lot on it to offset the total cost.

i looked. sadly not a lot of discount to be had. seems like pelicans hold their value good. not like you can do too much damage to them. ha.

I don't want to diverge from your thread topic too much though. I put an attachment above of what I had been planning out yesterday when you posted your shot. Perfect coincidence that you posted photos of a finished project. google wasn't helping much with specific examples.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

i looked. sadly not a lot of discount to be had. seems like pelicans hold their value good. not like you can do too much damage to them. ha.



I don't want to diverge from your thread topic too much though. I put an attachment above of what I had been planning out yesterday when you posted your shot. Perfect coincidence that you posted photos of a finished project. google wasn't helping much with specific examples.

That looks really nice! I had a really hard time finding an example of a finished product. The one thing about the PE foam is that it has a plastic liner on the top that looks a bit weird but it's not that big of a deal because it's the strongest foam they sell.

 

[Rastoff]

I did some poking around and they have a nice concept. For those that say they can just cut their own, maybe you haven't used a laser cut product before?

In the Air Force we have all our tools placed in foam cut outs like this. It makes for big tool boxes but easy inventory. I've cut hundreds of pieces of foam like this and nothing is as nice as a laser cut.

For me though, I'm not sure this is the way to go. I have no use for a one gun case. I want a case to hold multiple guns for class instruction purposes. Those are pricey, but worth it in the long run. A case like this is the right idea for me:

But, there is a lot of wasted space. I'll have to keep looking.


By the way, I have no experience with seahorse, but I have used Pelican cases a lot. There isn't a better case on the planet. I have trusted some really expensive equipment to them and they have always protected it.

 

[coltle6920]

I have multiple mags for my semi's so whether it is for storage or carrying to the range I would want more options.

I checked out an AD that popped up here a while ago.Nice gun cases and room for ammo,muffs,glasses or whatever.

Checkout "casecruzer.com" for ideas.

 

[Morey]

For those that say they can just cut their own, maybe you haven't used a laser cut product before?

Some of us have access to those kinds of playtoys at work too.

I have a laser cutter and a 3d printer in our fablab downstairs. I just don't know if our laser would like the PE foam.

For foam that isn't too thick like I am looking for in the 1170 (it's a shallow case) I would be able to reproduce many of the kinds of cuts I would want with a blade. I am a graphic designer and making mockups of three-dimensional products is part of my job. Doing stepped levels of cuts etc though would be out of the question.

just depends on how much I want to DIY and how much I would rather just have someone else do it. The OP's case looks great, and looks like it would function great.

As for single gun vs multi. I like the single gun setup too. Everything I need for that gun in a case. I have a small collection though. As I get more, I would probably want to change my thoughts on it.

 

[Morey]

Checkout "casecruzer.com" for ideas.

beat me too it. i have looked at these before. really nice looking product.

 

[Rastoff]

As for single gun vs multi. I like the single gun setup too. Everything I need for that gun in a case. I have a small collection though. As I get more, I would probably want to change my thoughts on it.

I agree. A single gun case when you're only carrying one gun is really nice.

There are times when I need to take 5 or 6 guns with me. Then the multi gun case is much nicer.

I've seen the Case Cruzer before. I really like their QuickDraw cases, but they are pricey. I'm sure they are worth it in the long run though.