I am posting this in case someone else has the same problem and is for information only.
I just purchased a set of Herrett grips for my SW 41 to go along with an Ultradot Match Dot
II for Bullseye competition. Unfortunately after assembly when I placed the combination
into my Gun Ho (20 year old) pistol box there was not enough room to fit. Before the Herrett
grips, there was just enough room for the scoped SW 41 to fit.
Trying to find one of the new scope capacity Gun Ho boxes was unsuccessful and most of
the newer brand boxes did not seem of the same quality and others were quite expensive.
Nervously I looked at the box and wondered if it could be modified and decided it could be done
with some alterations. The original gun tray is made out of hard plastic and is mounted to the
side of the case with rivets and several staples. The eye for the carry strap is also attached
through the gun tray. The rivets could be drilled out. Next was figuring out how much of the
bottom to cut to accommodate my SW 41 and still leave enough room for load cases, stapler,
etc. in the bottom of the pistol box. That was also complicated by the large diameter scope
(50 mm) that was mounted on the box with a Gil Hebard mount. That scope would not allow
any of the tray to be removed without the scope bottoming out on the base of the box.
The first thing was to look at alternative scopes. I found on Ebay a used Bushnell 9 to 30x
tubular scope 14.25 inches long having a diameter of 2 inches (glass plus ring and cover).
The 14.25 inches would leave 1.5 inches on either side of the box. Through trial and error
measuring removing 1.7 inches off the bottom of the gun tray would allow enough room for
the SW 41 to fit and to have adequate room to mount the spotting scope flush with the top.
It provided enough room for the scope to fit in the box between the bottom of the tray and
the base of the box (figure 1). I then drilled the old rivets out and used a wooden wedge
for leveling windows to loosen the staples. After removing the tray I pulled the staples out
with a pair of needle nose pliers. I used a back saw to cut the hard plastic. Band saw would
be more preferable. I then placed the tray on either side of the gun box held by a clamp and
tested it for level. I had to make a slight adjustment on one side – apparently the Gun Ho
box is not quite square. I used a 5/16 drill bit to drill four holes (top left, top right, bottom
left and bottom right) for each tray and corresponding rivet to hold the tray in place (figure 2).
I used a square piece of the cut tray as a backing to replace the carry strap eye.
Obviously there are holes in the box from removing the old rivets and Gil Hebard mount
(figure 3).
I plan to fill those with wood filler and to paint the inside black. I actually think less of the
tray could be removed, if for example, ½ inch was cut from each of the pistol holder ribs in
the tray. Mine are made out of plywood. That way more room would be left in the bottom
of the box and perhaps not have to change the scope.
To be honest I did not think of that when I was planning the project. The modification clearly changed the original box and its potential resale/collector's value (I have had it for 20 years)
but is fully functional. Removing the staples has to done very carefully so not to crack the
plastic tray material.
I just purchased a set of Herrett grips for my SW 41 to go along with an Ultradot Match Dot
II for Bullseye competition. Unfortunately after assembly when I placed the combination
into my Gun Ho (20 year old) pistol box there was not enough room to fit. Before the Herrett
grips, there was just enough room for the scoped SW 41 to fit.
Trying to find one of the new scope capacity Gun Ho boxes was unsuccessful and most of
the newer brand boxes did not seem of the same quality and others were quite expensive.
Nervously I looked at the box and wondered if it could be modified and decided it could be done
with some alterations. The original gun tray is made out of hard plastic and is mounted to the
side of the case with rivets and several staples. The eye for the carry strap is also attached
through the gun tray. The rivets could be drilled out. Next was figuring out how much of the
bottom to cut to accommodate my SW 41 and still leave enough room for load cases, stapler,
etc. in the bottom of the pistol box. That was also complicated by the large diameter scope
(50 mm) that was mounted on the box with a Gil Hebard mount. That scope would not allow
any of the tray to be removed without the scope bottoming out on the base of the box.
The first thing was to look at alternative scopes. I found on Ebay a used Bushnell 9 to 30x
tubular scope 14.25 inches long having a diameter of 2 inches (glass plus ring and cover).
The 14.25 inches would leave 1.5 inches on either side of the box. Through trial and error
measuring removing 1.7 inches off the bottom of the gun tray would allow enough room for
the SW 41 to fit and to have adequate room to mount the spotting scope flush with the top.
It provided enough room for the scope to fit in the box between the bottom of the tray and
the base of the box (figure 1). I then drilled the old rivets out and used a wooden wedge
for leveling windows to loosen the staples. After removing the tray I pulled the staples out
with a pair of needle nose pliers. I used a back saw to cut the hard plastic. Band saw would
be more preferable. I then placed the tray on either side of the gun box held by a clamp and
tested it for level. I had to make a slight adjustment on one side – apparently the Gun Ho
box is not quite square. I used a 5/16 drill bit to drill four holes (top left, top right, bottom
left and bottom right) for each tray and corresponding rivet to hold the tray in place (figure 2).
I used a square piece of the cut tray as a backing to replace the carry strap eye.
Obviously there are holes in the box from removing the old rivets and Gil Hebard mount
(figure 3).
I plan to fill those with wood filler and to paint the inside black. I actually think less of the
tray could be removed, if for example, ½ inch was cut from each of the pistol holder ribs in
the tray. Mine are made out of plywood. That way more room would be left in the bottom
of the box and perhaps not have to change the scope.
To be honest I did not think of that when I was planning the project. The modification clearly changed the original box and its potential resale/collector's value (I have had it for 20 years)
but is fully functional. Removing the staples has to done very carefully so not to crack the
plastic tray material.
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