Flying with a Firearm

[shane]

Hey gang, So I am going to be traveling to Texas this Thursday and I want to bring my carry gun. I double checked that my permit will be allowed in Texas. I am flying Midwest (operated by Frontier) to Texas and Frontier coming home. I checked both Midwest's firearms policy (Here) and Frontiers firearms policy (Here) and what I gather is the firearm must be unloaded and in a hard case that can be locked and I must declar the pistol too. It also seems I will be able to put any ammo I am bringing along in that same case as long as it is in the original boxes. I still need to get some type of locking case for my springfield xd. Does anyone have any advice where I can get a case like this locally? Also, is it ok for my to put the belt and holster in my bag I plan on checking in with all my clothes and stuff in it? I would love to hear the experience of people who have traveled with firearms in the past so I can avoid any headaches at the airport.

[Byte Stryke]

Outdoor world/Bass pro shops, Gander Mountain... Most larger gun shops will have a nice locking case.


http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...05000_425-5-10

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...05000_425-5-10

http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...3&merchID=4006

There there is this thing..
http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...3&merchID=4006

Just some Ideas

[johngraves2]

I found this on the united page. I am sure it is similar for all carriers.


Federal regulations require that firearms in checked baggage or in their own shipping cases be unloaded and declared. Firearms are not allowed in carry-on bags. Firearms in checked baggage must be packed in a locked hard-sided bag or gun case. TSA locks are not approved for securing firearms. A maximum of 11 lbs. of small arms ammunition is allowed in checked luggage in the original manufacturer's box or securely packed in a fiber, wood or metal box to prevent movement of cartridges.

[psawjack]

I just went through this business about 2 months ago for the first time. I would recommend you picking up a Pelican case. There was a guy on this forum who was selling or trading Pelican cases for ammo. Here's a link to his thread. Maybe he still has some.

http://www.co-ar15.com/forums/showth...t=pelican+case

Inside a 1450 series Pelican case I had 2 pistols with 2 magazines each and a factory box of SD ammo. The Pelican case was then locked and placed inside a overnight type roller suitcase. I walked up to the Southwest Airlines counter and told the attendant that I needed an inspection done on my suitcase and I had to fill out a small form and place it inside the case directly on top of the pistols. Then I had to accompany the case to a luggage x-ray machine and wait while it was scanned. When I received the all-clear I was good to go. I had my carrying belt on my body and 2 holsters in my other piece of luggage and didn't have any problems with both of those items.

The info from the airlines website was good except for one thing (which I found out when I called up the airlines customer service): I read online that the Pelican case could be checked in as is but the CS rep told me that the locked Pelican case needed to be located inside another soft unlocked suitcase. No big problem for me though.

Any questions let me know.

Patrick

[bjl913]

you are pretty much good to go! I just got a cheap hardsided case that locks at big 5 sporting goods, nothing fancy, but it will easily hold 2 full size pistols or one with accessories and ammo.

Also, they will probably open your bag just to make sure that the declaration slip is properly placed in/on the firearm, and to make sure it is actually in the case, so make sure you get a TSA approved lock for you suitcase, or else it they will cut off your lock and not put anything back on it... not cool! On the firearm case itself though DO NOT USE A TSA LOCK ON THE FIREARM CASE, AND MAKE SURE THIS IS A LOCK WITH A KEY, NOT A COMBO, AND THE ONLY KEY IS IN YOUR POSESSION, NOT IN THE BAG!!! If they want to open the firearm case, they will page you and have you come open it yourself. Much better than some sneaky TSA dork getting himself a nice XD for free, and you having no proof who did it!

The whole process was super easy and painless. Pack the firearm on top... When I checked my bag, I said that I had a firearm to declare in my checked luggage, the lady working the counter gave a few quick keystrokes, asked me if it was unloaded and if any ammo was in the original boxes. I said yes, she handed me an orange tag and said to put it in the box with part of the tag/string hanging out, relock it, and put it back in my suitcase. If TSA had questions, they would call me over the loudspeaker, so keep my ears open! I was never paged, and everything went smooth, unfortunately, the TSA guys did go through my bag that was packed pretty stratigically to protect some valuable stuff from my grandfathers estate, and with things being shifted, the stuff was broken.... grrrrrr!

Hope this is helpful!!!

~Ben

[shane]

So do I need to fill out paperwork before I go to make things easier? Can I get this off of the TSA's website? Also what is a TSA approved lock? Are we talking a master lock with a key? And it looks like I'll pack an empty bag just incase they want me to put the hard case in a soft shell bag as patric was saying. Good info here gentelmen. Thank you.

[ChadAmberg]

Hey gang, So I am going to be traveling to Texas this Thursday and I want to bring my carry gun. I double checked that my permit will be allowed in Texas. I am flying Midwest (operated by Frontier) to Texas and Frontier coming home. I checked both Midwest's firearms policy (Here) and Frontiers firearms policy (Here) and what I gather is the firearm must be unloaded and in a hard case that can be locked and I must declar the pistol too. It also seems I will be able to put any ammo I am bringing along in that same case as long as it is in the original boxes. I still need to get some type of locking case for my springfield xd. Does anyone have any advice where I can get a case like this locally? Also, is it ok for my to put the belt and holster in my bag I plan on checking in with all my clothes and stuff in it? I would love to hear the experience of people who have traveled with firearms in the past so I can avoid any headaches at the airport.

I just flew last week to the east coast on Frontier with a couple handguns. It was so easy, my neighbor is TSA and she gave me the run down, and here's what I did.

I used a plastic ammo can from Midway, that has the two lock holes in it already. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=535518

I went to Target, and got a 4 pack of small NON TSA padlocks for like 10 bucks. Must be non-TSA, they're not allowed to open the box without you there. Threw in my guns, targets, and ammo (in their original box). Put on 2 of the padlocks, the rules say 2 locks.

Shoved the ammo can in my duffel bag.

Walked into COS airport and up to the counter. Said "I have to declare unloaded locked firearms." She wrote up the red tag, I put it inside the duffel bag. I walked the 10 feet over to the TSA counter, handed them the bag. Didn't tell them about the firearms. Just wait there while the bag goes through the x-ray machine. Once they throw it on the conveyor, you're done.

On the way back from Filthadelphia airport, same exact routine. In fact, the guy at the counter upgraded my seat because he likes shooting.

The only downside is, that you don't get to skip the lines for security anymore, because they'll take the bag right there at the counter.