Checking your CCW gun inside checked baggage when flying?

[Elkins45]

I'm curious if any of you check a CCW weapon in your checked baggage when you fly? I've been flying for work an awful lot lately and almost everywhere I've been accepts a Kentucky CCDW permit. I'm curious to hear about your experiences with the airline counter personnel when checking your bags.

It it too much of a hassle? Do the baggage handlers routinely steal handguns from checked bags? Do the counter people actually know the rules of their own airlines?

 

[forindooruseonly]

They'll make you put it in a separate case, clearly labeled hangun! with red danger signs on it. Don't expect to see it on the other side. I've lost 2 guns that way over the years.

It's a hassle, takes a lot of extra time at the counter and then the supervisor's office because even if they know the rules, they don't act like it, then there is no guarantee it will come through. And if I recall, the last time they wouldn't insure it for theft. Go figure.

 

[NOLAEMT]

not true.

The firearm needs to be in a locked hard sided case, but can be inside of your other checked luggage. It also cannot be labeled as a firearm.

I've checked firearms a half dozen times, and it never takes more than an extra 10 minutes.

 

[khegglie]

^^^^^

Like the man said....

 

[Jsherman]

I've checked a firearm many times in my luggage. No issue at all. Treated with respect by all involved...no stupid questions and no undue stress.

As they've already mentioned...locked box...paperwork related to the firearm goes inside. Firearm must not be loaded. Must declare at time of checkin. Simply state that you have something to declare...at which point they'll inquire about the declaration. You are checking an unloaded, locked firearm within your luggage.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1666.shtm

 

[STL73]

Have flown dozens of times with a checked firearm with no trouble and no lost firearms. Make sure and check the website of the airline you are traveling with. They all have very straightforward rules listed. Get there early and and be extra nice at the counter. At times I was shocked at how casual they were about it. I got the feeling they saw more of this than I realized. Be smart about how you declare your weapon. I always lead in with " I need to declare an unloaded firearm". Due to my EDC being an auto loader, I went the extra step and field stripped it in case they wanted to inspect.

Get a small pistol sized hard case with two locks. The first should be a standard key lock that only you have a key to, the second should be a TSA lock. After you declare it, you will be asked to date and sign a declaration card that goes inside the hard case, then lock it with the keyed lock. Put the key in your pocket, not in the suitcase. Place the locked hard case in your suitcase, zip it all up, then put the TSA lock on your suitcase and hand the bag over to the attendant. Airports are no longer allowed to put the big red "firearms" stickers on the suitcases anymore. Once you lock it all up, yours goes in the pile and looks like everybody elses.

The first couple of times it's a little unnerving, kind of like when you first get your CCW. After you see how it works a few times, it gets a lot easier. I traveled for work extensively over several years, all over the country and only had one incident with an overly zealous attendant. I was calm, polite and cooperative. During the process I started to get the feeling that she was probably anti-gun, but it didn't matter as I knew the rules and was compliant.

With all that being said I cannot stress how important it is to look up and be familiar with the Airlines policies on traveling with a firearm. Don't take my word for it, look it up for yourself. In the beginning I carried a printed copy of the particular airlines rules I was traveling with just in case. If nobody else there knows the rules there, you should...

There is often this undeserved notion out there that the self defense crowd are all cowboys and renegades. In almost all cases that is the opposite, as I have found most other CCW's to be pretty decent upstanding folks who just happen to understand and exercise their rights. Smile, show 'em that good guys have guns too, and have a safe trip.

 

[STL73]

One quick clarification... My firearm was already unloaded and stripped and in my suitcase when I went inside. I just had to open it real quick, put the declaration card inside and close it all back up.

 

[coolluke01]

I checked a rifle just a few years after 9-11. On the return flight when I checked it in in Memphis TN. They were very adamant that I keep my hands out of the case and away from the gun as they checked it out. The kid that checked it in took the gun out of the hard case and shouldered the rifle! I just stepped back and said I don't think you want to do that. I few supervisors ran over and took over. I couldn't believe that he would shoulder the rifle and look through the scope in a crowded airport! I hope they are getting better about dealing with guns now.

 

[Saakee]

http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/

 

[Mainsail]

Go to the source.

 

[pintler]

As others have said, follow the rules, and not a problem.

The one caveat I would offer is if your flight connects through a hub in Chicago, NYC, NY, etc, and is delayed overnight by weather or something, you want to think twice about claiming the baggage overnight. There have been some folks hassled - i.e. arrested - when they go to check it the next day.

 

[hso]

Never had a problem yet.

Print the airline and TSA requirements, get the required storage container for the weapon and ammunition, simply tell the counter clerk you have a firearm to declare and fill out the card. I use a TSA type lock on my bag and a combo handgun strongbox.

 

[Hypnogator]

I always put my concealed handgun and ammo in my checked luggage when I fly. I rarely fly any more, but other than it taking a few extra minutes at check-in, I've never had a problem.

 

[N003k]

I flew Southwest recently myself doing this. Got a pelican case, put 3 guns in it, declared it at check-in, filled out a small form, opened the case, put it in, put the case back in the suitcase it was in, and gave it to TSA after informing them of the firearms. Waited for it to go through, went along my way, picked it up at my destination no problem.

That was Bradley in Hartford to Tampa.

Return trip from Tampa to Bradley, the only two differences is the person at the check-in counter had me tape the declaration form to the outside of the gun case...I would have argued, but it was going in a suitcase anyways, so, didn't bother since no one would see it anyways, which was my concern. The second difference is due to the size of Tampa, a southwest clerk walked the suitcase over to a special TSA baggage scan area with me. (At bradley they're all within spitting distance of the check-in counters) Once again, waited for it to go through, no problem, picked them up without issue back in CT.

Just know the laws, print up the TSA and airline regulations, but odds are you wont have many issues, just get to the airport early just in case you do encounter someone that has no idea what they're talking about.

 

[Nuclear]

I've checked a pistol a few times when flying somewhere I could actually carry (once less than a month after 9/11) and never had any problems by following the rules. As a matter of fact, my bags went in the special handling queue (oversize, overweight, insured for $$$, live animals, etc.) and came out fast.

 

[psyopspec]

Most of the time it's a simple and quick process that matches what others have outlined above. The one exception I can advise you of is if you're flying United/Continental out of Denver. Never seen the following hoops anywhere else:

-Check in at the oversize luggage/customer service counter to the far right of their terminal. All good and well, but the first time this happened to me I stood in the regular counter line for 15 minutes to find this out. Further, at the special line, there was only 1 agent working the counter, and 3 people ahead of me in line. That would be fine, but keep in mind the line is for issues that can't be handled at the normal counter. Total extra time: 30 minutes.

-Declare unloaded firearm in locked hardsided case. Sign card, drop in. No problems.

-Here's where it really gets time-consuming. They'll call over an airport attendant to put your bag on a cart (even if it's a rolling bag or a rolling pelican case). The attendant is not in a hurry, and may take 10 to 15 minutes to show up. After that, they walk the cart to a TSA screening area in the opposite terminal. You must escort. They are not in a hurry, and the walk will take a few minutes. Total extra time: 15 minutes.

-While you watch, TSA opens, inspects the case. If you have an impressive collection, the woman in charge will nod your way and say "nice hardware." After that you're free to go through security. Cross your fingers that it the line isn't long.

I don't like to rush, so I was lucky enough to have the extra time not to miss my flight. With these procedures though, if you show up the standard 1-hour before you're flight you're only catching it if you're an olympic sprinter. After checking guns more than 10 times in the last couple years, DEN is the only place I actually had a delay of more than 5 minutes.

 

[forindooruseonly]

hmm, things must have changed since the last time I flew with one, which would have been in the mid 1990s. I lost a Mauser Hsc and and a S&W snubby through the airlines.

 

[Nullcone]

I've flown many times with handguns and long guns, only ever had one problem. Some good advice here about being polite, knowing your stuff, and having it in print.

The problem... someone swiped a magazine for a Walther P5 from my locked, wire-tied case (but left the other 4 and the gun). It happened between Phoenix & Fresno and Southwest was shocked at how expensive they are, but they paid up.

I've had check-in people shrug and do nothing (other than get the form filled out), ones who wanted me to demonstrate they were unloaded, and one yahoo who picked my Poly Tech side-folder up out of the case, snapped the stock open and got half way to shouldering it before I forced the muzzle back down on him.

I also managed to get behind a couple of (Federal Marshalls?) who were transporting a prisoner once. Evidently there is a form they need to fill out for carrying on the plane. I was next in line and declared I had a firearm to transport upon which the clerk handed me the little card the other 2 had filled out and asked me to fill it out and sign it. Tempting as it was, I told her I was a civilian and it would probably be better if I checked mine in luggage and used the orange form. She had a laugh.

Remember when you could joke in an airport?

Luck on the trip.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It is pretty easy. The only inconvenience is that you can't check your luggage at the curb, you'll have to fill in the form that goes inside the case (I mostly fly Southwest and Continental) and you should wait until your bags are cleared by TSA before going to the gate (in case they want to look inside)

 

[LT.Diver]

I don't check bags anymore; stricktly a carry-on guy. Which does away with my ability to bring my carry gun on vacation. But I love not paying for baggage and not wasting time hanging around luggage carousels.
Last vacation in Florida I bought a can of Pepper spray, and threw it away on the last day. IT ain't a gun, but it's better than nothing.

 

[asia331]

Travel quite regularly and always carry in those states with reciprocity. Never had any trouble at all with U.S. Airways or Southwest. Agents seemed well briefed and comfortable with the protocol. Just be sure you specifically check the website of the airline you wish to fly with and follow the procedure; course you'll also need to check with your destination state to ensure your legal.

 

[Serenity]

In my Basic Pistol class the instructor said that if you will be flying through a NY airport with a gun checked in your luggage and something happens so that you have to pick up your luggage while you are there (delayed flight, reroute, etc) REFUSE to take the luggage from them, because you won't be able to check it BACK in when you do get to fly out. Is this accurate?

 

[rondog]

I've heard so many horror stories about things mysteriously "disappearing" from peoples luggage that I have no desire to try and take a pistol with me anywhere. I don't even like to fly anymore if I can avoid it.

I just don't understand, with the volume of baggage going through, how baggage handlers can manage to open bags and grope around for goodies, take them out and stash them without getting caught, close the bag and keep on going. Fishing through luggage isn't quick like picking pockets. Isn't there supervisors and cameras watching these apes?

I've heard many, many stories of cameras, electronics, jewelry, etc. coming up missing from bags that were otherwise intact. Seems that guns don't disappear as often because of there being records that it was in that bag, but it still happens. I like my pistols, thank you, and prefer to keep them all. So I'm not flying with any of them.

 

[mec]

Years ago, declaring a firearm was a major event as the baggage handlers weren't a bit familiar with their own protocols. So many people are carrying now that it has become routine and the people are aware of the procedures. Some airlines insist on the ammunition being separate from the handgun others don't seem to care. None of them seem to mind if you have the handgun in a locked box and the ammunition in other luggage. The major problems with air travel stem from simply getting from one place to another without extended delays or misrouting. Starbucks and the ready availabity of liquor at $9 a shot in the larger airports are a great help in this.