Checking your CCW on a flight

[Kilgor]

I plan on taking a flight later in the summer and wish to not be disarmed while I am there, so I am going to check my handgun in my luggage.

Have any of you checked your handgun in baggage before?

How did it go?

Do you have any tips?

Do they put a marker on the bag saying "gun inside?"

 

[Archie]

On the net, look up 'Transportation Security Administration'. I think it's something like www.tsa.dhs.gov or some such.

Also, check with the airline in question. They can (and do) have their own rules and standards they deem cogent. When you speak with the airline, get a name and see if they will email you the information they give you. It's handy when the ticket counter person tells you something different.

The short version is ammo and gun must be separate. Gun must be in hard case and ammo must be in original boxes, boxes designed for ammo or magazines - the primers must be protected from impact.

Frankly, I drive everwhere these days.

 

[skidooman]

ok, i took southwest, did everything they told me to, gun unloaded in hard sided case, ammo with it but in its own cardboard box, locked, in an unlocked soft sided case, i declared firearm, they checked my ID put a little piece of paper in there with my info, i locked it up, gave it to the baggage handler, stood there for a few seconds watched my bag go into the xray thing and bounced. go through security, got to my gate, grabbed a beer, and hear my name over the loudspeaker to report to southwest security, head back downstairs past security, get there and theres 3 LEOs standing around my open bag. the rest went down like this.
LEO "are you "skidooman""
me "yup sure am"
L "why didnt you check this firearm"
m "i did"
L"no you didnt"
m " sure the -H- did!"
now im angry because he basically just called me a liar.
I toss him the key and said "here open it"
he then opened it and saw the little piece of paper in there telling him I was right. He then appologized and sent me back on my way.
You shouldn't have that much problem, just tell the guy at the xray machine there is a declared firearm in the bag, and wait for it to go through the xray and them to let you go.
on my way back i did the norm, plus told them and waited, had 0 problems.
and no they dont put anything on the outside of the bag indicating a firearm.

 

[harrygunner]

I get to travel several times a year for my business.

All the airlines have been friendly about this. However, you must know the procedures yourself if only to direct the counter personnel down the right path. A couple have handed me the form for Air Marshals to carry on-board

Make sure you get and sign the red or occasionally, white tag to declare an unloaded firearm. The agent will ask you to place the signed form in the case your gun is secured in.

I've learned to not fight bureaucrats and to create a way to minimize my pain dealing with
them. The "ammo issue" has been the only source of confusion on the part of TSA
agents. So, I paid less than $10 for a security box from Office Depot.

It's a small (7in x 7in x 2in) metal box with a lock on it. There's room for two or three ammo boxes after discarding the plastic inserts it comes with. I place my ammo in a factory ammo box, like the one the ammo came in. Then, lock the ammo box in the security box. Since doing this, there has not been a single issue about ammo.

For the gun, I use a Center of Mass portable gun safe. It has a cable one can use to secure the gun safe to another object.

http://www.center-of-mass.com/

My luggage has metal struts inside that house the collapsible extended handle. I wrapped
the security cable around a strut inside the luggage. This adds a step to separating the
gun from the luggage. Without cutting the cable, the gun and luggage stay together. TSA
or I can open the safe while it's tethered to the luggage.

The metal box with ammo and the gun safe can go into the same luggage bag.

TSA usually wants me to unlock the luggage and the case holding the gun or ask
me for the key or combination. Lately, they've simply x-rayed the luggage
without opening it. Then, I wait near the counter for a "thumbs up" from TSA before going to my gate.

TSA has, so far, always re-locked the locks on the boxes and the luggage after
the inspection and scan.

 

[budder]

Sounds good. The only problem was that you gave the LEOs your key:
From http://www.atf.gov/firearms/100804tsaeducation.htm

* Firearms are prohibited from carry-on baggage.
* Firearms must be checked with the air carrier as luggage.
* Firearms and ammunition must be declared orally or in writing in accordance with the air carrier's procedures.
* All firearms must be unloaded.
* The firearm must be carried in a hard-sided container.
* The container must be locked and only the passenger may retain the key or combination.
* Ammunition is prohibited from carry-on luggage.
* Ammunition may not be carried loose.
* Ammunition must travel in the manufacturer's packaging or other packaging suitable for transport.
* Ammunition may be packed in the same hard-sided, locked case as the firearm as long as it complies with packaging requirements as stated above and the air carrier permits it to be packed with the firearm.
* Firearm parts may not be transported in carry-on baggage.

 

[El Tejon]

Check your range bag, or however you transport your ammo!

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=209034&highlight=range+bag