http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_185702.html
Airline refuses to transport trap shooter's gun
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, March 22, 2004
James Mautino concedes that the idea of carrying a shotgun onto an airplane might sound a little crazy in the midst of a war on terrorism.
But that's how trap shooters get from tournament to tournament. And it's allowed by many air carriers serving the United States and some foreign countries.
Mautino, of North Huntingdon Township, planned to compete in a national trap shooting contest last week at the largest gun club in Odessa, Fla. He didn't expect any problem, because he'd flown with his $12,000 Perazzi combo shotgun to the Sunshine State two weeks before.
Mautino had planned to drive to Florida, but Old Man Winter reared his ugly head and the 61-year-old didn't like the idea of getting stranded in the snow. So he found an ad for Pittsburgh's newest discount airline and shelled out $232 for a round-trip ticket to Tampa.
"It was a last-minute deal, the answer to a problem," he said.
Mautino got up at 4 a.m. Tuesday, drove to Pittsburgh International Airport and made his way to the check-in counter at USA 3000 Airlines. "I told them who I was and that I had to check a firearm," he said.
He was told that the airline doesn't carry firearms.
"I said, 'Whoa, we've got a problem,'" Mautino said.
USA 3000 Airlines, owned and operated by Apple Vacations, will not transport shotguns or ammunition. The policy is not widely broadcast, but it is stated on the company's Web site.
The airline, based in Newtown Square, Delaware County, decided not to carry firearms as it focused on its primary business of transporting leisure travelers to sunny destinations, Spokesman Trevor Sadler said. The company, started more than two years ago with two planes, now has a fleet of 10.
"We made a conscious decision to not do that at this time," Sadler said, adding that the policy is under review. He couldn't say if or when it might change.
Eventually, a customer service representative at the company's headquarters promised Mautino a refund.
"I can't even imagine this policy for an airline that's trying to build something in Pennsylvania -- the sportsman state of the nation," he said.
The Amateur Trap shooting Association, or ATA, says Pennsylvania leads all other states when it comes to trap shooting. Some 7 million targets are shot in the Keystone State each year.
And the number of gun enthusiasts in Pennsylvania is growing. More than 100,000 are expected to attend the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Pittsburgh next month.
Mautino could have switched to another airline but the fare would have been nearly $1,200, he said, because he didn't book his flight in advance.
Other airlines do allow travelers to check sporting firearms. Gun owners who fly Continental Airlines, for instance, can check as "one" piece of baggage a rifle case with as many as two rifles, with or without scopes; 11 pounds of ammunition; and a shooting mat, noise suppressors and small weapon tools.
Midwest Airlines does not require any additional requirements beyond the federal government's guidelines for checking firearms, which include a signed declaration that the firearm in unloaded and stored in a hard-sided container.
"Here I sit; the competition is going on," Mautino said, adding that successful trap shooters can win $4,000 to $5,000 per event. As he spoke, the Perazzi sat, disassembled, in its hard-sided case nearby.
Officials at the ATA, based in Vandalia, Ohio, said they have not heard any complaints about USA 3000 Airlines and know of no other airline that bans firearms altogether.
A National Rifle Association spokesman said USA 3000's policy was brought to the NRA's attention by one other gun owner who was affected by it.
"Our position is, basically, as a private company they have the right to throw away business," said John Frazer, a federal lobbyist who follows the issue of gun transportation for the NRA.
The government revised the gun transport policy after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but there was little impact on sporting weapons, he said.
Mautino came to trap shooting after stints in the movie and carmaking businesses. He worked at MGM in Culver City, Calif., from 1961 to 1970 as an optical technician doing special effects. He returned to Pennsylvania and worked for Volkswagen at its former plant near New Stanton.
He then launched Tri-State Trap & Skeet Co. in North Huntingdon, one of the largest trap shooting stores in the state, and ran it for 25 years before retiring.
"It's been a great life. I love it," Mautino said.
Trap shooting requires a high degree of precision, he explained. The $1,100 triggers on his guns are not "pulled." Instead, they are set before shooting and "let go."
"Letting go uses three muscles as opposed to 67," he said.
Because of stories like Mautino's, competitive trap shooter George Bush III, of Derry Township, stays away from discount airlines, said his mother, Cindy Bush. He hasn't had any problems transporting his gun on full-fare airlines, she said.
George Bush, 18, is attending Lindenwood University in Missouri on a shooting scholarship and flies to competitions throughout the United States from there. In one month's time, he's been to Louisiana, Texas, Florida and back to Texas.
"We know guys who have been stranded at airports," Cindy Bush said.
Craig Smith can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 850-1217.
Airline refuses to transport trap shooter's gun
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, March 22, 2004
James Mautino concedes that the idea of carrying a shotgun onto an airplane might sound a little crazy in the midst of a war on terrorism.
But that's how trap shooters get from tournament to tournament. And it's allowed by many air carriers serving the United States and some foreign countries.
Mautino, of North Huntingdon Township, planned to compete in a national trap shooting contest last week at the largest gun club in Odessa, Fla. He didn't expect any problem, because he'd flown with his $12,000 Perazzi combo shotgun to the Sunshine State two weeks before.
Mautino had planned to drive to Florida, but Old Man Winter reared his ugly head and the 61-year-old didn't like the idea of getting stranded in the snow. So he found an ad for Pittsburgh's newest discount airline and shelled out $232 for a round-trip ticket to Tampa.
"It was a last-minute deal, the answer to a problem," he said.
Mautino got up at 4 a.m. Tuesday, drove to Pittsburgh International Airport and made his way to the check-in counter at USA 3000 Airlines. "I told them who I was and that I had to check a firearm," he said.
He was told that the airline doesn't carry firearms.
"I said, 'Whoa, we've got a problem,'" Mautino said.
USA 3000 Airlines, owned and operated by Apple Vacations, will not transport shotguns or ammunition. The policy is not widely broadcast, but it is stated on the company's Web site.
The airline, based in Newtown Square, Delaware County, decided not to carry firearms as it focused on its primary business of transporting leisure travelers to sunny destinations, Spokesman Trevor Sadler said. The company, started more than two years ago with two planes, now has a fleet of 10.
"We made a conscious decision to not do that at this time," Sadler said, adding that the policy is under review. He couldn't say if or when it might change.
Eventually, a customer service representative at the company's headquarters promised Mautino a refund.
"I can't even imagine this policy for an airline that's trying to build something in Pennsylvania -- the sportsman state of the nation," he said.
The Amateur Trap shooting Association, or ATA, says Pennsylvania leads all other states when it comes to trap shooting. Some 7 million targets are shot in the Keystone State each year.
And the number of gun enthusiasts in Pennsylvania is growing. More than 100,000 are expected to attend the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Pittsburgh next month.
Mautino could have switched to another airline but the fare would have been nearly $1,200, he said, because he didn't book his flight in advance.
Other airlines do allow travelers to check sporting firearms. Gun owners who fly Continental Airlines, for instance, can check as "one" piece of baggage a rifle case with as many as two rifles, with or without scopes; 11 pounds of ammunition; and a shooting mat, noise suppressors and small weapon tools.
Midwest Airlines does not require any additional requirements beyond the federal government's guidelines for checking firearms, which include a signed declaration that the firearm in unloaded and stored in a hard-sided container.
"Here I sit; the competition is going on," Mautino said, adding that successful trap shooters can win $4,000 to $5,000 per event. As he spoke, the Perazzi sat, disassembled, in its hard-sided case nearby.
Officials at the ATA, based in Vandalia, Ohio, said they have not heard any complaints about USA 3000 Airlines and know of no other airline that bans firearms altogether.
A National Rifle Association spokesman said USA 3000's policy was brought to the NRA's attention by one other gun owner who was affected by it.
"Our position is, basically, as a private company they have the right to throw away business," said John Frazer, a federal lobbyist who follows the issue of gun transportation for the NRA.
The government revised the gun transport policy after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but there was little impact on sporting weapons, he said.
Mautino came to trap shooting after stints in the movie and carmaking businesses. He worked at MGM in Culver City, Calif., from 1961 to 1970 as an optical technician doing special effects. He returned to Pennsylvania and worked for Volkswagen at its former plant near New Stanton.
He then launched Tri-State Trap & Skeet Co. in North Huntingdon, one of the largest trap shooting stores in the state, and ran it for 25 years before retiring.
"It's been a great life. I love it," Mautino said.
Trap shooting requires a high degree of precision, he explained. The $1,100 triggers on his guns are not "pulled." Instead, they are set before shooting and "let go."
"Letting go uses three muscles as opposed to 67," he said.
Because of stories like Mautino's, competitive trap shooter George Bush III, of Derry Township, stays away from discount airlines, said his mother, Cindy Bush. He hasn't had any problems transporting his gun on full-fare airlines, she said.
George Bush, 18, is attending Lindenwood University in Missouri on a shooting scholarship and flies to competitions throughout the United States from there. In one month's time, he's been to Louisiana, Texas, Florida and back to Texas.
"We know guys who have been stranded at airports," Cindy Bush said.
Craig Smith can be reached at [email protected] or (724) 850-1217.
