Gear Review: 5.11 LVC M4 Shorty Rifle Bag

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

While so many of us came up in life tossing rifles into the back of the truck to head to the range, there comes a time in our lives where we start thinking a bit more about protecting our firearm assets. It’s more fun to talk about plate carriers and optics, but nothing really says prepared like a shooter who shows up organized and ready to roll.

5.11 has long been a major player in the soft goods realm of the firearms world. How does their LVC M4 Shorty rifle bag hold up?  Let’s see…

Tech Specs:

  • Main Compartment – 29″H x 12″L x 2″D
  • Fleece lined top zipper pocket with optional flip out ID panel
  • Fully padded bag with extra board on the bottom panel for protection
  • Removable shoulder straps for dual backpack carry or single sling carry with crossbody strap
  • Slim, low profile and low vis carry for a weapon up to 29″
  • 840D Nylon
  • Top and side grab handles
  • Weight – 3.0 lbs
  • Made in Vietnam

The Inner Dimesion

What we’ve got here is a pretty straightforward rifle case. In the big picture, it’s very simple. Looking deeper, there are some layers of modularity. The uncomplicated layout of the LVC M4 Shorty bag is one of its strengths.

The main pocket holds your rifle or braced pistol. There’s an adjustable/movable retention strap to keep skinny guns from sliding around from side-to-side.  The webbing that the rifle strap is attached to is a MOLLE style, but witt more widely spaced anchor stitches. If you really want, you could affix a pouch or MOLLE-compatible first aid kit in there, though it would get a little cramped.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

The main compartment unzips as wide as a gator’s mouth, making it easy to get your gun out. The compartment is listed as 29 inches in length, but my suppressed Noveske Ghetto Blaster is 29.75 inches with the stock extended and a suppressor mounted…and I can zip it shut without any trouble.

A quick note on that main compartment zipper, I don’t know that it’s YKK, but it sure feels like it. It’s beefy and secure.

On the upper exterior is a small, felt-lined sunglasses pocket that’s good for keeping a phone — or sunglasses — secure and scratch-free. This zipper is smaller, which makes sense as it’s not as likely to be forced to zip shut over an outsized item like the main compartment.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

The lower exterior  pocket is where you get your shot at customization. This pocket is about 21×14 inches and features a MOLLE/hook-pile-loop (AKA Velcro) compatible backing that measures around seven inches tall and 10 inches wide. Magazine pouches? First aid kit? Do as you like, and there’s still plenty of room below for loose boxes of ammo, gummy bears, or whatever.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

This compartment also has a smaller webbed pocket in the interior for small goods you don’t want to get lost like truck keys and the like.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

The Outer Limits

The outside is as simple as the inside. There are no tactical MOLLE strips, no fields to toss your favorite morale patch, just…a bag with handles, and straps.

Yep, shoulder straps. Two of ’em. They’re wide, padded, and comfortable. They’re adjustable for length and fit on the chest strap that connects them. Don’t want the shoulder straps? You can take them off. There’s a gate latch holding the top on, and a fastex buckle at the bottom.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag

So you took your shoulder straps off and now you need to carry your rifle somewhere. You get a choice…you can carry it hamburger style or vertical hot dog style. There’s a heavily reinforced handle on top, and another on the left/port side as you’re carrying it.

Range Days

I like the design. The LVC Shorty M4 rifle bag passes the old eyeball test just fine. Putting it into use however, is where this thing really makes its money. All that talk earlier about ‘simplicity’?  That’s in there because of my range sessions using the LVC Shorty rather than because it looks nice during unpackaging.

When it’s worn as a backpack, the LVC Shorty carries well. It stays snug against your back, without letting any sharp angles on the rifle dig into your spine.

When you carry it by the handles, the LVC Shorty makes a hell of a briefcase. Well balanced and simple.

Getting to the objective (err, range) is the easy part. Like I mentioned earlier, this rifle case is very straightforward. Main compartment…rifle. Big pouch…ammo. Small pouch…miscellaneous sundries like a small cleaning kit and some minor range supplies.

What I like even better than a comfortable hike to the range is a nice drive to the range. Tossing the guns in the Hilux and ripping up a trail makes for a great start to a day of shooting. The problem, if I’m bringing shooting buddies (mostly my kids) with me, is that I can’t toss the guns in the back seat. The LVC Shorty M4 case is well-padded, and the rigid backing material means that this thing is beefy enough to bounce around in the bed without busting up my optic or knocking off the zero on my IR laser. I usually had to drag out a monstrosity of a case for when my rifle rides in the bed.. but this replaces that.

Actually, the LVC Shorty M4 case replaces two different pieces of gear. The aforementioned hard case and an old backpack that’s doubled as my ‘hike-in’ rifle case for years. Versatility is an important ability.

The LVC M4 Shorty case is definitely designed for SBR’s, but it can hold a full-length AR easily enough as well, albeit with the upper and lower separated.

LVC M4 Shorty 18L Rifle Bag
Plenty of room for longer AR’s

Bottom Line

It’s a rifle case that’s made for shorties, but can haul bigger rifles if needed. It’s a very straightforward package with some room for personalization. It’s light enough to be user friendly and tough enough to keep your optics happy. I don’t have any experience designing soft goods, but from an end-user’s point of view, I like what 5.11 has done with the LVC M4 Shorty rifle case.

This rig runs $125, and comes in six different colors.

 

Jens “Rex Nanorum” Hammer @Rexnanorum

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