3 Gun Bags Made For Bugging Out

My ex-mother-in-law is in town, it seems.

Whatever the possible emergency, here are three gun bags that make for perfect prepping.

Have you ever noticed that range bags and gun bags tend to work as well or better than purpose-built luggage when it comes to hauling stuff around? It stands to reason if you think about it: A range bag needs to be extremely sturdy so it keeps its shape and protects the glass and steel inside while standing up to the weight of your firearms and ammunition. It also needs to have lots of nice separate compartments so you can keep the potentially leaky stuff like solvents and lube away from your expensive optics. Finally, it needs to have a weather-resistant finish that can stand up to being kicked around in your truck bed. These all happen to also be factors that are ideal for disaster preparedness, or prepping. Whether the possible SHTF Time is a natural disaster, a zombie apocalypse, or just your mother-in-law heading in for a weekend visit, range bags make great bug-out bags.

Boyt Harness Company “Covey Bag” Rolling Duffel, $325-$362

What’s cool about this workhorse range bag is that it doesn’t really look like a range bag at all, looking for all the world like your standard high-end rollaboard carry-on luggage. (In fact, if you can reliably remember to completely empty it of any guns, accessories, and ammo before heading to the airport, you’ll find that it fits beautifully under the seat of just about any plane, no matter how terrifyingly tiny.) Despite its modest waxed-canvas and leather exterior, the base is purpose-built to hold a hard-sided gun case, and its three exterior zipper pockets can keep your cleaning and maintenance accessories separate from everything else. There are a couple of size options, but they all offer enough room for a skilled prepper to build in a few days’ worth of essentials.

Boyt Harness Company “Ultimate” Sportsman’s Duffel, $89.95-$164

I don’t know what’s up with the scare quotes around “ultimate,” because this is definitely the ultimate bug-out bag as far as I’m concerned. First, it’s constructed of the same kind of waxed canvas and iron-tough leather as the actual harnesses for horses that made Boyt Harness Company famous around the turn of the 20th Century. Secondly, it’s got everything I want in a bug-out bag: Room for a carbine (or two), three zippered exterior pockets, two generously sized end pockets, a slightly triangular shape that keeps it from rolling all over the place when things go rodeo, and a shoulder strap that means I can easily carry it myself should I find that Mad Max has gotten to the last of the gasoline.

Boyt Harness Company Heart-Shaped Handgun Case With Pockets, $26-$31

“OK, Trace,” you’re probably saying, “I’m calling you out right now. That is not a bug-out bag.” And you’re right; it isn’t. Instead, it’s what I’m going to attach to the console of my bug-out ATV so I can have instant access to my handgun should a pack of shuffling zombies be attracted by the noise of its engine. (And no, I am not going to use a bicycle instead. You Zombpocalypse your way, I’ll Zombpocalypse mine.) I also figure that, as the radioactive dust settles and the survivors climb from their shelters, I’ll be able to woo my next future ex-Mrs. Munson at Valentine’s with the postapocalyptic charm of a heart-shaped case full of pew-pew firepower.

If you’re still furnishing the rest of your doomsday prepper heaven and aren’t ready to invest in your bag yet, fear not! These three bags, along with a variety of other hard-sided Boyt gun cases and all the guns and ammo you’ll need to fill them, are still up for grabs in our Youth Shooting Sports Association $9K Spring Guns & Gear Giveaway! It runs through March 20, so take advantage now. Even if the Four Horsemen aren’t showing up any time soon, you won’t regret it. Click here to enter.