How many laws will I break if I.............

OLDNEWBIE · Jul 7, 2015

Called Delta and woman said locked hard sided case.

Asked her if a regular hard sided plastic case meant for clothes etc. would be o.k. and if it would be o.k. if I also packed clothes in it too?
She told me to hold and after 3 minutes came back with an O.K.!

The wife has a high end piece of hard/flexible plastic luggage that I am going to use. It has integrated combo locks and if I take off the butt stock will just allow space for my rifle.
I hope the Delta woman knows what she was talking about cause I have no back up plan. We are dropping the rental car off and catching the plane. Gonna be in a pickle stuck in the airport with a rifle I can't take on the plane

The wife is getting annoyed already just as I anticipated as soon as I decided to take the gun back.

OLDNEWBIE · Jul 7, 2015

Sodbuster said:
A Marlin made 15 years ago is long before Remington bought them out and moved the factory. What you have there is a wonderful lever action. Enjoy it and shoot it! (after cleaning and oiling first natch)

Sodbuster.

Yeah, I'm really itching to shoot it when I get it home. Funny how I had little interest in it way back then.

Barney · Jul 7, 2015

I agree with oknow.......also take along the rules of the airline you are using just-in-case.

Dreadi · Jul 8, 2015

I recommend that you find a Pelican case on Craigslist. Those combo locks aren't that strong and you will vomit all over the plane if you see a baggage handler toss your luggage onto the belt and it explodes with clothes and a firearm.

pchewn · Jul 8, 2015

Ship it to yourself in a cardboard box via UPS or Fedex. Call it "sporting goods equipment". Don't involve the semi-governmental Post Office at all.

Dreadi · Jul 9, 2015

pchewn said:
Ship it to yourself in a cardboard box via UPS or Fedex. Call it "sporting goods equipment". Don't involve the semi-governmental Post Office at all.

Can't do that.
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/guidelines/firearms.html

http://www.fedex.com/us/freight/rulestariff/prohibited_articles.html

coctailer · Jul 9, 2015

OLDNEWBIE said:
Called Delta and woman said locked hard sided case.

Asked her if a regular hard sided plastic case meant for clothes etc. would be o.k. and if it would be o.k. if I also packed clothes in it too?
She told me to hold and after 3 minutes came back with an O.K.!

The wife has a high end piece of hard/flexible plastic luggage that I am going to use. It has integrated combo locks and if I take off the butt stock will just allow space for my rifle.
I hope the Delta woman knows what she was talking about cause I have no back up plan. We are dropping the rental car off and catching the plane. Gonna be in a pickle stuck in the airport with a rifle I can't take on the plane
The wife is getting annoyed already just as I anticipated as soon as I decided to take the gun back.

I fly with rifles every 2 weeks or so. I use a Pelican case with the old style high-school dial padlocks on it.
They really toss those things around and the latches on the pelican are ALWAYS popped. The combination locks are the only things holding the case closed.

Make sure your hard case can withstand being thrown around.

OLDNEWBIE · Jul 12, 2015

I made it home with the rifle in one piece!

Ended up buying a $10.oo Walmart rifle case there in FL. and my mom and Stepdad gave me 3 rusty old cheap padlocks to fit the thin plastic holes and tabs it had. Changed my mind at the last minute after discovering the hard sided luggage I was going to use with integrated locks was TSA approved and able to be easily accessed by them which is a No No.

The case I bought was way too long for the little Marlin 1894 so I packed a few paperbacks and socks on each end as well sliding the rifle into a pair of jeans for extra padding.
At the ticket counter I declared the rifle and she had me sign a card saying it was unloaded. She had me open the case right there and put the card in and lock it up. Then she walked me and my rifle case a short distance to the TSA area where the guy x-rayed it in front of me, said O.K. and that was it.

As 41Slinger said, after arriving back in Eugene airport it just came out the regular baggage pickup carousel for anyone to grab. It was one of the 1st out of the gate too!
Knowing this ahead of time I was one of the first to arrive at the carousel too!

Being Eugene I got plenty of sideways stares with my blatant display of a rifle case in the,

AIRPORT!!!! But my annoyance quickly disappeared as this pro-gun guy came up asking the details of checked luggage containing firearms.
I told him my experience and how it was legal and also used the opportunity to say within earshot of everyone who was waiting for their bags that if laws keep getting passed by these anti-gun politicians then ..............
He was in agreement and mentioned New York and New Jersey Laws etc.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice and ideas guys! I really was at a loss at first but it was pretty simple in the end. And it only cost me $10.00 for the rifle case as we were able to re arrange our clothes and carry on bags so we had no extra baggage fees!

Now the Marlin 44 obsession can begin in earnest!

pchewn · Jul 12, 2015

Dreadi said:
Can't do that.
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/guidelines/firearms.html

http://www.fedex.com/us/freight/rulestariff/prohibited_articles.html

But you won't be breaking any laws, just some "rules" of the shipping company.