OK, I admit, although I am well armed when at home or driving to destinations, I have been flying unarmed since 9/11 due to all the airport security. Before 9/11 I had gotten to where I only flew with a large garment bag and a laptop case or backpack as carry on items so that I never had to go through baggage check and claim. I didn't carry a handgun on board of course but I always had at least a couple of knives.
After helping my daughters and a son-in-law get set up to fly regularly with their handguns and shotguns I finally relented and started packing a checked bag. so that I could take a handgun with me, too.
Really nice to arrive at a destination and have a full suite of knives, multi-tools, ammo and handgun. Instead of feeling like some metro-prison-weenie I feel like a free man when traveling.
Most of you guys know this already, but hear is a recap of my routine for flying with a handgun (mostly Delta, Continental, US Airways, Alaska and Southwest; don't use United or others):
- Empty all mags and put ammo in plastic ammo boxes that I use for reloading. Paper boxes can get wet and disintegrate on you. Most airlines limit you to 11 pounds of ammo, Alaska only allows 50 pounds
. I carry two boxes of 50.
- You can use just about any plastic or metal case that fits the handgun(s) and mags. One of my daughters has a super duty Pelican double handgun case. I use a cheapie one-pistol case.
- The case must be secured with a lock the TSA cannot open. I find a sturdy brass MasterLock keyed or combination lock shackle just fits around both handles of most pistol cases and leaves virtually no room for someone to open the case with it locked.
- I field strip the pistol. TSA likes this because if they can determine by X-ray that it is unloaded then they often will not open it up for detailed inspection. Remove the cylinder from a revolver and have it facing vertically so they can see it is empty. or remove the mag, barrel and slide from a semi-auto frame. This came from a friendly TSA guy.
- The luggage is secured with the biggest TSA-approved lock I can find (none of them are very big). A friendly TSA gal suggested this to me when she saw the dinky little TSA lock I had that came with the luggage. She said those cheap, little TSA locks have a generic key that almost anyone (e.g., baggage gorillas) could unlock with a hairpin, etc. She said the larger TSA locks require a special key that only TSA personnel have (that is, the baggage guys do NOT; hint, wink, hint).
- I go up to the ticket counter to check my bag and let the agent know that I am declaring that I have an unloaded firearm in a case within the luggage. Agent then has me sign a small tag attesting to the fact the firearm is unloaded and place one copy of it within the pistol case. The agent want to look at the open case to ensure it is unloaded but 90% of the time they could care less 9rightly so as that is the TSA job). Secure all locks back on the pistol case and luggage.
- At larger airports such as PDX, I am directed to take the luggage to a TSA scanner station and I again let them know I have a declared firearm within it. They have me wait at the other end of the scanner station. IF the X-ray shows enough detail they may just wave me on at that point. Otherwise they take it to a table and open up the luggage, rummage around making sure everything is accounted for, and then have me open the pistol case. The TSA agent visually inspects to make sure it is unloaded, ammo is in a proper box, and then have me lock everything back up and move on.
- Smaller airports such Ontario and Sacramento don;t have TSA stations, but will send the bag into the back and they may or may not do a hand visual inspection within ten minutes or so.
- All in all it adds about 15 minutes to check-in to include a firearm. The TSA people have all been very friendly to me and family who check firearms, and offer tips on how to streamline the process or improve security of the weapon. I once forgot to sanitize my backpack on the return leg, and the carry-on TSA screener patiently scanned, removed, and re-scanned about eight times to ferret out all my knives, multi-tools, water bottle, etc.
- Once I am in my rental car or hotel I reassemble and load up. On the return trip I wait until I gas up just before returning the rental car to disassemble the ammo and pistol.
I think airports need a "free-citizen shop" at the car rental building where we could rent a set of knives, tools, handguns, ammo, deodorant, water, nail clippers, etc while we are traveling. And then return them all when we drop the car off. Maybe pick up a set of prison sliippers and hospital gown for the passenger screening...
After helping my daughters and a son-in-law get set up to fly regularly with their handguns and shotguns I finally relented and started packing a checked bag. so that I could take a handgun with me, too.
Really nice to arrive at a destination and have a full suite of knives, multi-tools, ammo and handgun. Instead of feeling like some metro-prison-weenie I feel like a free man when traveling.
Most of you guys know this already, but hear is a recap of my routine for flying with a handgun (mostly Delta, Continental, US Airways, Alaska and Southwest; don't use United or others):
- Empty all mags and put ammo in plastic ammo boxes that I use for reloading. Paper boxes can get wet and disintegrate on you. Most airlines limit you to 11 pounds of ammo, Alaska only allows 50 pounds
. I carry two boxes of 50.- You can use just about any plastic or metal case that fits the handgun(s) and mags. One of my daughters has a super duty Pelican double handgun case. I use a cheapie one-pistol case.
- The case must be secured with a lock the TSA cannot open. I find a sturdy brass MasterLock keyed or combination lock shackle just fits around both handles of most pistol cases and leaves virtually no room for someone to open the case with it locked.
- I field strip the pistol. TSA likes this because if they can determine by X-ray that it is unloaded then they often will not open it up for detailed inspection. Remove the cylinder from a revolver and have it facing vertically so they can see it is empty. or remove the mag, barrel and slide from a semi-auto frame. This came from a friendly TSA guy.
- The luggage is secured with the biggest TSA-approved lock I can find (none of them are very big). A friendly TSA gal suggested this to me when she saw the dinky little TSA lock I had that came with the luggage. She said those cheap, little TSA locks have a generic key that almost anyone (e.g., baggage gorillas) could unlock with a hairpin, etc. She said the larger TSA locks require a special key that only TSA personnel have (that is, the baggage guys do NOT; hint, wink, hint).
- I go up to the ticket counter to check my bag and let the agent know that I am declaring that I have an unloaded firearm in a case within the luggage. Agent then has me sign a small tag attesting to the fact the firearm is unloaded and place one copy of it within the pistol case. The agent want to look at the open case to ensure it is unloaded but 90% of the time they could care less 9rightly so as that is the TSA job). Secure all locks back on the pistol case and luggage.
- At larger airports such as PDX, I am directed to take the luggage to a TSA scanner station and I again let them know I have a declared firearm within it. They have me wait at the other end of the scanner station. IF the X-ray shows enough detail they may just wave me on at that point. Otherwise they take it to a table and open up the luggage, rummage around making sure everything is accounted for, and then have me open the pistol case. The TSA agent visually inspects to make sure it is unloaded, ammo is in a proper box, and then have me lock everything back up and move on.
- Smaller airports such Ontario and Sacramento don;t have TSA stations, but will send the bag into the back and they may or may not do a hand visual inspection within ten minutes or so.
- All in all it adds about 15 minutes to check-in to include a firearm. The TSA people have all been very friendly to me and family who check firearms, and offer tips on how to streamline the process or improve security of the weapon. I once forgot to sanitize my backpack on the return leg, and the carry-on TSA screener patiently scanned, removed, and re-scanned about eight times to ferret out all my knives, multi-tools, water bottle, etc.
- Once I am in my rental car or hotel I reassemble and load up. On the return trip I wait until I gas up just before returning the rental car to disassemble the ammo and pistol.
I think airports need a "free-citizen shop" at the car rental building where we could rent a set of knives, tools, handguns, ammo, deodorant, water, nail clippers, etc while we are traveling. And then return them all when we drop the car off. Maybe pick up a set of prison sliippers and hospital gown for the passenger screening...
