A buttstock pocket at the rear end of this softcase prevents the gun from falling out, even when the zipper is partially open.

Sometime back I failed to zip a soft gun case completely closed and my 28-gauge over/under slipped out the end and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. As I painfully rubbed my finger over the big dent in its stock, it occurred to me that someone should come up with a soft case designed to prevent its contents from sliding out.

Well, such a case is now available from T.B. Gunn, a subsidiary of The Outdoor Connection. An elastic buttstock pocket at the mouth of the case prevents a gun from slipping out even with the zipper completely open. The Luxe is made entirely of calf skin, while the SGC is available in suede leather or a combination of leather and canvas. A third style is wide enough to hold a shotgun or scoped rifle. That model also has a leather strap replete with a Velcro fastener that wraps around the grip of the stock for double protection against its contents slipping out. Other standard features include a reinforced end cap, leather hanging loop and D rings for the attachment of a carrying strap.

There are two basic types of softcases: Full length cases, as I have just described, and takedown cases. Takedown cases accommodate guns designed to be taken down into two parts, which includes most pumps, semiautomatics, doubles and single-shot shotguns. This type of case offers two big advantages: It enables the owner of a long gun to squeeze it into a short space. If the case is dropped on a hard surface, the stock is less likely to get broken at its wrist because it is taken down.

Floating soft gun cases are also a good option, even when a heavy gun is inside the case. Foam padding sandwiched between an inner nylon liner and an outer shell of waterproof PVC provide the flotation. Some of these cases are roomy enough to hold two guns--each in its own padded soft case. While they probably won't float with that much weight on board, they are an excellent way to keep a pair of guns dry in wet conditions.

Hard cases also come in full-length and takedown styles, and like soft cases, their quality, durability and prices vary considerably. I prefer the takedown style for transporting a shotgun due to its smaller size.

Some guns are shipped from manufacturers in relatively inexpensive hard plastic cases. While the better ones I've examined were plenty sturdy for storing a gun and protecting it during trips to the gun club, they are not as strong or durable as those made of plywood and covered with canvas or leather. A leather-covered case is as fancy as it gets. The better ones come with important features such as brass- or leather-reinforced corners, a full-length piano hinge, sturdy lockable latches, brass D rings for a carrying strap, covered compartment for accessories, soft felt linings and a couple of heavy cargo straps for carrying cleaning rods and other things.

My Weatherby Athena over/under three-barrel set came in such a case. Its bottom half holds the three barrel sets and forearms while the buttstock and action are housed in the upper half. The top half also has room for screw-in choke tubes and a few other odds and ends. Other gun companies, including Beretta and Browning, also offer leather-covered cases. As fond of leather as I am, I must admit that a case of the same quality covered in canvas offers about the same protection and is considerably less expensive--sometimes as much as 50 percent.