Travel by Air

krkeco said:

Hi THR

I am going hunting this month and am super excited. I think I've gotten everything setup, but am not 100% on whether I should "check bag" my scope or "carry on" it. TSA says both are okay. I'm concerned it may damage the scope if a dingdong drops my rifle bag (hard outside foam inside pelican case)? Anyone have experience on this? Is removing it from my rifle and taking it carry on worth it? Or is a hard case enough protection?

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Welcome to THR, krkeco!
Curious - are you going to be able to check your rifle's zero after you get there? I personally would leave the scope on the rifle packed in the foam lined hard case. But even if I did that, I'd like to be able to check my rifle's zero after I got where I was going.
I use to work with a guy that made a couple of different trips to Africa for hunting. And he told me that the PH (Profession Hunter) provided a way for my buddy to check the zeros on both his .338 Win Mag, and his .416 Rem Mag before he actually went out hunting.

I fly from Washington State to New York state every year to go deer hunting last year I took my grandson and his rifle shot perfect a couple of days prior our flight, all holes touching. The day after flying in we went to the range and it shot three inches high and to the right.
My rifle was right on.
Same hard plastic gun cases.
When ever traveling always check you rifle with a few test rounds before you actually go out hunting.

I fly several times a year with a hunting rifle. Only use a Peli case and no problem yet.

H&Hhunter said:

I’ve traveled the world with scoped rifles in a pelican case. Pack them tight in the foam with no room for movement and you won’t have a problem.

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^^^This. Packed correctly in a Pelican, impact shock, even if a "dingdong" drops it, should be no harder on the scope than gun recoil.

A plastic case like a cheap Plano or Gun Guard doesn't help much when it comes to luggage gorillas. I shipped a beautiful Savage 99 EG to New York in a Plano. I even wrapped the gun with bubble wrap inside the case. Fedex dropped it hard enough to crack the corner of the case and the pistol grip. A Pelican case is worth every penny if you have to travel by air.

I've got one of the older Cabela's IBC cases made from welded aluminum that I've used for years when flying. Zero issues with retaining zero.

As the others have said, a quality case is key.

krkeco said:

Awesome responses as always, thanks! I'll have to rethink my padding situation. Was trying to just do a snug fit, not cut things out.

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Its easy enough to cut the foam: I just used a serrated kitchen knife. I understand a electric carving knife work OK too. Convoluted (egg box) foam or the pick & pluck foam works Ok as well. My Peli 1720 rifle case looks like they towed it behind the baggage wagon on the concrete when see the heavy abrasions on the out side of the case after one flight.