National Firearms parts in carry on - TSA says no

[The Heretic]

PSA-Flying with Firearm PARTS? Don't EVEN! - The Firearm Blog

We are not talking about a receiver, the article above is about a PMag a writer got as 'swag' at a gun event.

Not a 'danger weapon' as TSA claims - I would bet that if someone had to go to court, and they had a smart knowledgable lawyer, they would eventually win out. But it does go to show just how clueless the TSA is, how silly their stupid rules are, and how careful we have to be when traveling on commercial airlines.

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[etrain16]

What I've done before, if I need something with me or to send home that will be an issue on a flight is to box it up and ship it to myself. For example, on my last trip to Chicago, I wanted a couple of decent carry knives with me, but didn't want to deal with TSA, etc., so I packed them in a small package and shipped them ahead to my hotel. They held the package until my arrival. At the end of the trip, I shipped them back home. Only cost a few bucks each way and saved a lot of hassle. Obviously wouldn't work well for firearms or ammo, but for anything else, I think it's worth it.

 

[Kruel J]

Agreed. I've done exactly that myself.

 

[The Heretic]

What I've done before, if I need something with me or to send home that will be an issue on a flight is to box it up and ship it to myself. For example, on my last trip to Chicago, I wanted a couple of decent carry knives with me, but didn't want to deal with TSA, etc., so I packed them in a small package and shipped them ahead to my hotel. They held the package until my arrival. At the end of the trip, inshipped them back home. Only cost a few bucks each way and saved a lot of hassle. Obviously wouldn't work well for firearms or ammo, but for anything else, I think it's worth it.

They could just be put into checked baggage. It is the carry on that is most of the hassle.

I just found it interesting and stupid that the TSA considers a mag a 'danger weapon'

 

[Diamondback]

Hell, TSA would like to consider the pecker in your pants a "dangerous weapon." Fascists Gonna Fascist--when one technique for bureaucratic terrorism wears off they move on to the next, because no demand is too great in the name of Reichssicherheit.

 

[etrain16]

They could just be put into checked baggage. It is the carry on that is most of the hassle.

I just found it interesting and stupid that the TSA considers a mag a 'danger weapon'

True. But the other consideration is how insecure checked luggage really is. I don't trust baggage handlers to stay out of my suitcase - I know they get x-rayed and an untrustworthy handler may just want to get at some decent knives, tools, or 'danger weapon' magazines At least with shipping, it will stay sealed until I open it.

 

[3MTA3]

So no roll pins or machine screws either, since those are also parts used in many firearms? What about the spring in my ballpoint pen?

True story - several years ago I made multiple work related trips between Portland and Ronald Reagan National. A few months after that I cleared my carry on bag and found four loaded mags from my Detonics Pocket 9 in there from a weekend I spent shooting with a friend the year before.

 

[The Heretic]

True story - several years ago I made multiple work related trips between Portland and Ronald Reagan National. A few months after that I cleared my carry on bag and found four loaded mags from my Detonics Pocket 9 in there from a weekend I spent shooting with a friend the year before.

Sometimes they catch it, sometimes they don't. The ammo especially is a no-no from what I understand.

I've told this story here before, but about 15-20 years ago I was at the family farm for XMas, and I had brought my Glock. It came time to leave and I had packed my seabag with the Glock in it and put it by the door to carry out to my car. Other relatives were leaving and doing the same thing but they were flying home. Some of the younger gen were helping by carrying bags to the cars and grabbed my seabag by mistake - they didn't discover it until the bag was checked, with the undeclared gun inside.

I called them while they were at PDX and they had already checked the bag. Nobody said anything. This might have been before TSA got really strict or more diligent, but I think it was after 9/11

And yes, I got my seabag back - I lived not far from the relatives who had it.

 

[No_Regerts]

So no roll pins or machine screws either, since those are also parts used in many firearms? What about the spring in my ballpoint pen?

True story - several years ago I made multiple work related trips between Portland and Ronald Reagan National. A few months after that I cleared my carry on bag and found four loaded mags from my Detonics Pocket 9 in there from a weekend I spent shooting with a friend the year before.

Yeah, somehow a loaded G22 magazine followed me to Cancun. Got all paranoid and pitched it into the lagoon.

 

[MasterChief]

Sometimes they catch it, sometimes they don't. The ammo especially is a no-no from what I understand.

I've told this story here before, but about 15-20 years ago I was at the family farm for XMas, and I had brought my Glock. It came time to leave and I had packed my seabag with the Glock in it and put it by the door to carry out to my car. Other relatives were leaving and doing the same thing but they were flying home. Some of the younger gen were helping by carrying bags to the cars and grabbed my seabag by mistake - they didn't discover it until the bag was checked, with the undeclared gun inside.

I called them while they were at PDX and they had already checked the bag. Nobody said anything. This might have been before TSA got really strict or more diligent, but I think it was after 9/11

And yes, I got my seabag back - I lived not far from the relatives who had it.

LUCKY DUCK!

 

[The Heretic]

LUCKY DUCK!

They were lucky - they could have got into trouble. At worst I would have lost my Glock.

I am pretty sure that was before they started Xraying checked baggage too, and I am not so sure they always do that now.

 

[uberguy]

I'm not a big defender of TSA's screening process - but would bet the policy is because it would be possible to have a group of fellas bring components sufficient to assemble a handgun, in our era of polymer frames.
Best to check it or ship as others commented.

 

[The Heretic]

I'm not a big defender of TSA's screening process - but would bet the policy is because it would be possible to have a group of fellas bring components sufficient to assemble a handgun, in our era of polymer frames.
Best to check it or ship as others commented.

When they 'xray' the luggage, it doesn't matter whether something is metal or not. It is the density of the material and a polymer frame still shows up in the image.

 

[Diamondback]

Besides, even a "plastic frame" still has metal rails, unless you're talking like an AR...

 

[The Heretic]

If I were trying to smuggle a firearm onto an airliner, I would put it inside something, like a pretty thick laptop. Some of them have space for optional optical drives and extra batteries or hard drives. With a thin enough semi-auto a handgun frame could maybe be put in there.

If I were a terrorist org with enough time and money, I would have an engineer whip up a laptop that is gutted, but has a small Arduino or other super small computer board and a small battery that had enough power for booting for a few minutes, that could turn on and display something on the screen, then the rest of the space in the case would be for whatever I wanted - a small handgun or explosives. Not rocket surgery - I could do it - and if I can do it, just about anybody with a bit of tech knowledge skill/experience could do it.

 

[uberguy]

When they 'xray' the luggage, it doesn't matter whether something is metal or not. It is the density of the material and a polymer frame still shows up in the image.

Gee, that's nice. Have you ever worked AP Security / x-ray systems? I have in the distant past. Regardless - s h i t gets through all the time; I'd refer you to the 2015 story widely reported with one of many stories linked below (actual guns & explosives):
TSA's 95% failure rate shows airport security is a charade - LA Times

 

[The Heretic]

I have a EE degree and I know how various scanning tech works - in theory at least (I used to look at a LOT of medical XRays when I wrote medical s/w). Your bones are not metal, but they show up on xrays all the time. It is metal detectors that need metal, not the scanning machines.

Of course stuff gets through, in no small part because the operators may not pay that much attention, and because some denser material may obscure things, at the very least making it hard to recognize a gun - but as I said, it isn't because it is polymer and not metal.

And I wholly agree - not just airport security, but all the other crap since 9/11 too - 'security theater'

 

[The Nothing]

...Obviously wouldn't work well for firearms or ammo, but for anything else, I think it's worth it.

It most certainly does.

 

[etrain16]

It most certainly does.

I was referring more to the cost - firearms and ammo get spendy to ship, ammo especially with the hazardous material fees.

 

[uberguy]

I have a EE degree ... Your bones are not metal, but they show up on xrays all the time. It is metal detectors that need metal, not the scanning machines.

I do too. Polymer is less dense, having a much fainter outline than does metal and is therefore metal is much easier to discern than plastic in x-ray scanners.
Anyone seeking to get a firearm by an AP scanner would likely disassemble a polymer firearm and try to mask or obscure the parts. As I said, a poly frame IS easier to hide from scanners than a steel frame.
Maybe you should be writing frame scanning algorithms for the TSA.