I have to disagree with my friend, 1-oz, on the Americase. It's had a basic design flaw since its inception. While other cases open fully or have a latching hardware restraints (hold-open), Americase uses a cheap piece of fabric. This may not seem like much, but open the case outdoors and a slight breeze will slam it closed. I learned this the hard way and when I contacted Americase, they couldn't have cared less -- worst customer service I've encountered. The purpose of a gun case is to protect you gun, not provide the unnecessary potential for damage and/or injury.
I have just about every style of shotgun case: fabric long and take-down styles (Bob Allen); un-lined all-plastic (Remington); lined hard plastic (Perazzi); luggage style (Beretta); lined aluminum and plastic (Americacase) and lined all metal (Nasco). They all have their strong points and weaknesses. The soft cases provide minimum protection and security, are easily soiled, and feather light. The all plastic cases will blemish your wood, so you'll want to use a rag wrap, have no metal locking device, but are lightweight and easy to keep clean. The lined plastic and luggage cases have metal locks and provide more protection. But they are a little heavier and the fabric interior will easily stain (also on the outside on the luggage style case). The all metal case offers the maximum protection, but it's heavy enough to cause a greybeard a hernia.
Something often overlooked is the hardware. Have a look at the hinge, it is full length or flimsy? The typical case has a 2 or 3 standard latches with a combo or key locks. These can be mysteriously damaged by baggage handlers. My heavy all-metal case uses drawbolt latches which are a little more robust. If you're going to be shipping your gun a lot, look for a case with recessed latches, or put duct tape over the latches to prevent them from being snagged.
Don't overlook the possibility of a do-it-yourself case. If you're reasonably skilled, you can put together exactly what you want. One of by buddies made cases that looked like they came from Holland and Holland and he said it wasn't that difficult.
