Protection Overkill?

[SmilingDog]

My wife, yes MY WIFE, recently bought me a Colt Accurized Rifle for our 10yr anniversary. I purchased a Pelican case (1750) to house it based upon the threads I read on FiringLine.

What I'd like to know is it protection overkill to place the rifle, housed within a silicone impregnated gun sock, inside the Pelican case with a dessicant bag? Or could this actually be detrimental to the firearm and scope?

Also, Pelican does an excellent marketing job of displaying cases with weapons and accessories housed within cut foam templates/inserts. I love the look, and I'm considering doing it myself since my SIG P229 case has this. Any suggestions on how best to accomplish this without totally shredding the foam? Pros/Cons?

Thanks.
Smiling Dog

[Rainbow Six]

To cut the foam, lay the gun or whatever you're cutting out for on top of the foam wherever you want it to go. Outline it with a black marker and then use a very sharp knife to cut the foam. Poke the knife through on the line somewhere and use a sawing action letting the sharp blade do the work. You'll get the cleanest edge by using a knife that is long enough to reach all the way through the foam and still have some blade left for sawing. Do not use a lot of pressure to pull the knife along the line. Again, let the blade and the sawing action cut the foam. If you force it it's likely to tear and leave a nasty edge.

It's not hard, but it requires a little finesse. I have a hard case with cut out foam for my Rem 700 LTR and scope. Makes for nice, stable storage when in transport. I don't store the rifle in it in the safe though. The only "con" I can think if is having to buy new foam if you ever decide to use the case for something besides the P229. I've used this for camera equipment and had to buy replacement foam to cut out when I traded cameras or other gear. No biggie though. It's not that expensive and you probably won't need to change it out that often unless you change guns as often as you change underwear.