Good discussion and my compliments to all!
Years ago when my Pards & I attended NCOWS Shoots, most of the ranges were at least 1/8 of a mile or more away from the parking area and we needed to haul all of our 'stuff' to the range since there was rarely any other way to get 'stuff' to the stages and lunch was back up by the parking area. To solve the need to carry everything we created a railroad hand cart unit as RCJ mentioned and hid most all of our things inside and out of sight. The first rig worked so well we built a bigger, better and more historically-perfect unit that consisted of a steamer trunk on its side with a wood dynamite box and an old wood hardware box on top of that to hide and carry everything. All pieces were original to the period and researched, it fit my personae as a RR Freight Agent, I portrayed my G-G-father.
The bottom of the trunk was bolted with hidden bolts to the hand truck which was fitted out on the inside with two rows of gun racks made out of locally grown and hand-cut Walnut, the trunk was lined with red sateen material and brass tacks of the period, the original paper on the inside of the curved lid was retained.
The wood boxes were bolted to the top of the trunk and a square hole was cut into the top of the trunk and padded so that the barrels of the rifles and shotguns could go up though the opening. The bottom of the box on top of the trunk was bolted to the truck so that the 'real' lid opened out, it was also padded with the red material and brass tacks and had leather straps to hold all our Pocket Pistols. On the door a holster to hold a 12" bbl revolver was installed. The top box opened up, inside the red material held in place with brass tacks contained compartments to hold replica ammo boxes, eye and ear protection, a timer and other extras.
The entire package looked exactly like it came from a railroad loading dock. It could hold 4 rifles and 4 shotguns, the big revolver and 4 Pocket Pistols as well as enough ammo for the whole Shoot for 3-4 Shooters. It was well-balanced and made for easy moving to the range and back, we hauled it in the back of my Suburban with little or no trouble loading and unloading.
Why did we need it? It was designed by me to hold enough for us all to go and "...look good doing it." as Will Ketchum says. As I mentioned above, most all of the ranges we shot at were quite a ways from the parking area and to schlep all the rifles, shotguns, revolvers and P.P.'s and enough ammo was sometimes difficult especially with a bad back and knees so it became an essential item for our enjoyment of the hobby and event.
Sorry, but I don't have pics of it but many here may recall it at a Nationals from the past, I think a pic may be in a past issue of THE SHOOTIST in a review of a Nationals event at Ackley, Iowa. When we stopped attending Shoots due to various reasons we sold the rig at the last NCOWS Convention held in Waterloo, Iowa. An NCOWS Pard from Minnesota bought it so it is probably making the rounds up North. Hated to sell it as it was a movie-quality prop, many said it would have fit right into a Spaghetti-type Western.
We didn't have the classes available then like Originals and W.C. and it was generally assumed all scenarios would utilize everything you brought, i.e., 2 revolvers, 1 rifle, 1, shotgun and a P.P. on each and every stage, sometimes twice! Times change, for good or bad the guncart served a purpose for some ranges, others not. We attended many where they had a close-in range and just went back to the truck when we needed some more of this or that. Again, there were no Originals or W.C. classes then, were our health such that we could attend a Shoot now we would no doubt follow the path of the W.C. since it has a limited amount of 'stuff' to carry.
One wise wag earlier said we are all getting older and can't carry as much or walk as far as we used to but we still enjoy the hobby. 'IF' a range had racks at each stage, 'IF' a range had a method to transport Shooters from the away parking area to the range then the perceived need for a guncart becomes a moot point, however, not all ranges or clubs are set to provide these services and that certainly is something to consider when setting up an event. If health issues are prevalent, then a 'historically-correct conveyance' should be researched and implemented, it ain't hard and is a lot of fun putting one together to match your personae.
This is a great discussion and many more good comments will be forthcoming, interesting that W.W.E. mentioned he has the same rig in mind, he also suffers from the same knee malady I do so this furthers the point of involving history in guncart design if one is really needed to make the event/hobby doable and enjoyable. O.C.B. also hits it right on the head with his comment about "...less guns.", how wonderful a thought to have all scenarios written like that, perhaps some day...
Best regards and good shooting!
'Ol Gabe
NCOWS #925