If you have been doing competitive shooting for certain amount of time, you find out soon enough that other than 1911 magazines, the shooting accessory that fails the most is the cheap gun range bag. I went through 3 of them till I decided to forego bullcrap and invest in a Competitive Edge Dynamics range bag which has stood the test of time and my mishandling.
The great thing about the bag is that you can pack a lot of stuff you may need for a long day of shooting at a remote range. It is comforting to reach inside and either bring out your pistol, the mags, ammo, country ham sandwich, suntan spray, bug spray, emergency poncho, gunsmith tools or anything else you need.
But, the bad thing is that as you get old and you just want to do a quick trip to the local range to practice, that is a humongous thing to carry around. Smaller range bags tend to be built cheaply and you end up wasting money again, but it was the wife that came up with the great solution of getting me my first tool tote when I got into “tactical” rifle with my AKlon.
Plain old tool carriers you can buy at your local Big Box hardware store, not too expensive and overbuilt to withstand mistreatment by almost anybody.
I have acquired a couple of extra items in the same vein, including a small tool bag for simple and quick trips to the local range.
The Husky bag a top of the CED range bag carried my Eye and Ear protection, a couple hundred rounds of 9mm, spare mags for the PC9 plus 8×8 targets and tape. I went to the range without looking like a packing mule and got my shooting done in comfort. They come in different sizes priced between $15 to $25 IRRC.
OK, I am outta here. I must go out with the missus.
Yard sale double bolwing ball bag… lots of pockets a handle and wheelie wheels… $1..
Little bit of hard foam in the ball pockets, perfect.
I have been advocating tool bags for years. For exactly the reason you cite. These things can take a world of abuse, and are cheap.
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Took a handgun refresher course last year, and everyone, including the instructors thought I was stupid, until they saw how much my $39 bag could hold, all neat and organized. And, I generally look for zippered organizers when the big box stores have what I like to call the “disposable tool” sales. (Black Friday and around Father’s day) There is always some organizer on sale dirt cheap.
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Another place I like to look for range gear and bags is the fishing section of your local sporting goods store. Lots of sectioned boxes for small parts. And, do we tend to need small parts on the range? Yeah, we do.
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The only drawback is the pockets are sized for tools, not handguns, magazines, or spare ammo. Stuff tends to flop around a bit, or that pocket is just a hair too tight. But, if you are only walking from the car to the range, it is a great way to carry your gear.
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Added bonus. If you get one that zips closed, and need to run an errand, people walking by your car will think you have some tools, not guns in it.
Also, you can put just your guns in the little Husky bag so you can carry it in to a store with you instead of leaving them in the car if you need to make a stop and never get a second look. Especially good if you have a state law that will get you charged with criminal negligence if you leave a gun in a car and you don’t have a trunk.
I tried a number of bags over the years but keep coming back to my very first range bag, from MidwayUSA, and now more than a decade old.
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It’s not fancy; end pockets, side closures that zip all the way open, and just a big center space. Fits two or three handguns, good eye- nd ear-pro, magazines, etc. (I usually carry the ammo in an ammo can for weight distribution.)
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Side comment, for the handguns, I much prefer using hard side “triangle” cases than rectangular. They do just as good a job of padding the gun, but take up half the space or less than the OEM or generic rectangular cases.
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Unfortunately my range bag got stored (okay, I put it in) a garage closet at our last place, and between scraping against particle board that I know, now, is ancient and shedding, and a general mustiness that appeared during the spring rains, it now looks horrible and smells, ah, well, it smells. Hopefully it will wash out. Midway apparently no longer make it; there is one from Primary Arms that’s close.