Anyone take firearms in checked baggage?

[clearconscience]

Anybody take their firearm while going on vacation/business trips?

I am going back to Ohio to visit family for a week and a half and would feel more comfortable carrying a firearm. Especially with all the crazy news from Ohio lately.

I'm flying United and have a lay over going there and coming back.
Just wondering if anyone has experience with this and how bad of a headache it is please let me know.

I'm also flying with young kids and don't want to get held up, miss flights, or just be slowed down (more than my kids will)

Thanks!

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[Member 5605]

People do it all the time..

Transporting Firearms and Ammunition

 

[ORYGUNHolsterCompany]

It's easy. Just use a hard locking case or suitcase, and "TSA" approved lock.

Declare at ticket window, they will send you to a secondary check for inspection. At the secondary check they will verify its unloaded and without stored ammunition. They take the bag from there.

 

[The Heretic]

Ask for their practices beforehand. Some airlines handle firearms differently. One time I flew into Anchorage and they held my firearms in a special area while I waited at the carousel for half an hour it to come around. Others just put it on the carousel.

Also, I strongly recommend very durable cases - I forget the airline I flew into Anchorage on (probably Alaskan) but they managed to break the latch on my Pelican hard case, so you can imagine the abuse they put luggage through.

Personally, unless I was going somewhere I new I was going to be hunting/shooting, I wouldn't bother to bring a firearm when flying. I am not afraid to go unarmed most places. YMMV.

 

[Larrytpdx]

People do it all the time..
Transporting Firearms and Ammunition

Each Airline posts their own regulations and requirements on their website.

 

[Certaindeaf]

No one checks their firearms these days. It's keester city.
that was a joke.
You have to.. wha?
Yea, you "check"/pronounce it, to include all that is legal upon these lands, and then eat your peanuts like a good boy during your flight.

 

[Dungannon]

I haven't, but I bookmarked the following first-person account that was posted on The Firearms Blog
[Guest Post] Traveling with a Firearm - The Firearm Blog

 

[transittech]

I have done it a few times, not a problem. If they screw up, they answer to the ATF...

I taped a big piece of paper on the top of the box clearly labeled in BIG letters with my name and cellphone number.

 

[P7M13]

+1 to all of the above.
I was going to bring two rifles along with me on the current trip that I'm in, but I was going to fly through JFK, didn't know and was too lazy to find out whether or not my stuff was legal in New York. Next time though, I'll fly through a different lay over, and I've already been checking out a couple gun clubs to join since I come here several weeks a year

 

[parallax]

Be really, careful what you have and where you are connecting,, If you make a connection in a state where its is illegal to have whatever kind of firearm you are traveling with, and for some reason you are unable to make your connecting flight, or flight is delayed or cancelled and you are forced to take possesion of your firearm, You can be arrested. this has happened to other travelers. !!

Why People Get Arrested at Airports with Firearms - USA Carry

Unexpected Flight Delay => Hotel Stay => Criminal Prosecution for Gun Possession - The Volokh Conspiracy

 

[3MTA3]

This is the best write up I have seen on packing a firearm for transport and making sure it's there at the end of the flight: Traveling with your CCW best friend: or how I pack to pack | Survival Monkey Forums

Note the section where all ammo must be in the original box:
"The next thing most all airlines and TSA require is that no magazine maybe charged with ammo and all ammo must be in the mfg orig box."

 

[Southpaw]

I've done it (long rifle) from PDX to PHX, was really no big deal, locked case and a once over from a TSA. I was more worried about it getting ripped off thru baggage claim before I got there to pick it up.

 

[Quartermaster]

Be really, careful what you have and where you are connecting,, If you make a connection in a state where its is illegal to have whatever kind of firearm you are traveling with, and for some reason you are unable to make your connecting flight, or flight is delayed or cancelled and you are forced to take possesion of your firearm, You can be arrested. this has happened to other travelers. !!

Why People Get Arrested at Airports with Firearms - USA Carry

Unexpected Flight Delay => Hotel Stay => Criminal Prosecution for Gun Possession - The Volokh Conspiracy

Peaceable journey would still protect you.

 

[Quartermaster]

This is the best write up I have seen on packing a firearm for transport and making sure it's there at the end of the flight: Traveling with your CCW best friend: or how I pack to pack | Survival Monkey Forums

Note the section where all ammo must be in the original box:
"The next thing most all airlines and TSA require is that no magazine maybe charged with ammo and all ammo must be in the mfg orig box."

He's wrong. You can have loaded mags in the same case as the unloaded gun. Here's TSA's rule:
Transporting Firearms and Ammunition
I've flown with firearms about 50 times in the last five years, and never had a single issue with loaded mags. Ammo is heavy, and I only traveled with enough for hunting/defense.

 

[clearconscience]

Yeah I have a small under a car seat kind of pistol safe. And I planned on only taking enough mags/ammo for a carry piece.
With the none stop horrible news coming from Ohio and traveling with the kids I'd feel better about it. A knife can only do so much.

I'll call the airline and see how they say to approach. It's just a G26, so if lost I can pick another one up no problem.

 

[ORYGUNHolsterCompany]

Yeah I have a small under a car seat kind of pistol safe. And I planned on only taking enough mags/ammo for a carry piece.
With the none stop horrible news coming from Ohio and traveling with the kids I'd feel better about it. A knife can only do so much.

I'll call the airline and see how they say to approach. It's just a G26, so if lost I can pick another one up no problem.

Just make sure it can be locked using a TSA lock. If they decided to re-inspect the contents without it, they would probably break the thing open causing a whole new mess of problems.

 

[clearconscience]

Yeah that's what I was going to ask about. I might just go with a different case

 

[ORYGUNHolsterCompany]

If your suitcase is solid and locks it should be fine in there.

 

[DONOTBUGME]

DONT USE A TSA LOCK! You are the only person that can open it. They will ask you to open it when you check it and then you sign a piece of paper that they include in the gun case. Then you LOCK it. They may do this at the counter where you drop your bags off or they will send you to a second location with tsa personnel. Don't use a TSA lock because once the case is closed they do want anyone but you to be able to open it. This includes the worthless tsa agents.

 

[parallax]

I fly in and out of Eugene Oregon with weapons and gear many times a year, on Delta, Alaska and United, so far, have not lost anything, ((keeping my fingers crossed.)) only problem i had was a few years ago, a TSA agent was being a horse's you know what, was being loud and obnoxiuos pointing and waving his finger at me,,and demanded to open my locked and inspected weapons case, which had 2 side by side ar-15's took them to a table next to the x-ray machine, and decided he wanted to field strip one of my ar-15's, he split the upper and lower, still scratching my head wondering what he was trying to prove,maybe checking to see if it was class III ?..I kinda dont like people messing with my weapons zero or taking apart my weapons, Another incident,, I flew into Las Vegas Nevada, with a couple of rifles, normally the airlines recieves the rifles separately from the normal baggage carousel and you are supposed to go physically claim them from the airlines office. Instead I was waiting for my regular luggage, and low and behold out pops my rifle case on the baggage carousel. I picked it up and off i went, Delta airlines was pretty upset when the rifle case did not show up at the delta office, I contacted them later to tell them what happened..thats there fault, hopefully they tightened up there procedures.