Gun Cart on the Cheap

Ah, when things were simple. Time was, I only had one pistol, and I could pull right up to the gate at the range, unload one bag with my gun, ammo, holster, and saunter my young knees over to the bench. Then, after shooting, reverse the procedure.

Now, things have gotten worse. I have more pistols, rifles, and a shotgun, and the walk from the parking area to my favorite range's shooting area is 50 yards at best. Or, if I'm taking the whole brood to the WMA (cheaper, you know) that's a 100 yard trek with lawn chairs and ammo boxes and zombie targets and clay pigeons.

I never paid much attention to the shooters at matches who pushed or pulled carts, preferring to convince myself that I was still young enough to schlepp all that gear. Besides, why spend money on something like that?

Then one day I was at the local thrift store dropping off a couch, and I stuck my head in to see if they had any good $3 Hawaiian shirts, and there it was, right up front. An all-terrain baby stroller, with a $6 price tag. My mechanical mind had it stripped and rebuilt into a gun cart in seconds. In minutes, it was in the back of my truck.

And without further fanfare, here it is:

Here it is loaded:

I removed all the baby-carrying apparatus, but left the bottom diaper sled. This fits my shooting bag, pistol bag, and an ammo box, perfectly. Across the top, I mounted a simple 1 x 2 held in place by 1/4" x 6" carriage bolts, and covered with foam pipe insulation. This holds the long guns, plus my holster and a camping chair.

Up front, the barrels of the long guns rest in a steel mortar pan, bolted to the foot rest, and lined with more pipe insulation. The long guns are held in place by bungee cords. This pan screams to be covered with gun stickers.

Simple, elegant, cheap. $16 total.

After completion I loaded it up and pushed it through my yard to test it. Nothing tipped over, nothing came loose. If it does, I can modify it in the future just as cheaply.