Flying with handguns ??

[mike28w]

Hi !
I'll be headed to Front Sight soon and was thinking about the adventure of flying with a handgun.

I have every intention of doing this "by the book"....I don't want to ever get into any trouble with the TSA.

That being said , I don't have an excess amount of faith in baggage handlers. I would be just sick to find out that someone had walked off with my gun. I'm thinking about removing the firing pin and packing that in a different checked bag....( definitely not carry on.)

This way , if the gun walks off , at least it will not be a functional handgun.....at least not without some work.

Does this seem reasonable ? Legal ? I welcome opinions and suggestions !! Thanks, mike

 

[Louca]

Mike,

I have never checked a hand gun as part of my luggage. What came to my mind was maybe you could separate the slide from the frame. Then find out from TSA which one of those could be carried on the plane without incident. My guess is it would be the frame that could not be carried. If TSA says neither could possibly be carried, then you are stuck. Again, call them and find out. Removing the firing pin will not keep someone from stealing it from your luggage, especially since they could not tell it wasn't there.

If Front Sight has an FFL, maybe you could just ship it to them? Then ship it back to your LGS or local FFL.

Lou

 

[oneounceload]

Put it in a locked case inside your checked bag. Do not put a TSA lock on the case.

Enjoy your flight

 

[Sam1911]

Flying with a handgun tends to be pretty easy. (Print out your airline's guide on the subject and carry it with you.)

If you really want to disable the gun, sure you could remove the firing pin and put it in some other bag, or just hidden somewhere in the same bag, or even in the pistol case. It isn't a firearm.

Oh, and DON'T try to carry any part of the gun on the plane with you.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Then find out from TSA which one of those could be carried on the plane without incident. My guess is it would be the frame that could not be carried. If TSA says neither could possibly be carried, then you are stuck.

No firearms parts are allowed in carry on luggage.

I'm thinking about removing the firing pin and packing that in a different checked bag....( definitely not carry on.)

This way , if the gun walks off , at least it will not be a functional handgun.....at least not without some work.

Does this seem reasonable ? Legal ? I welcome opinions and suggestions !! Thanks, mike

There are thousands of handguns every day in checked baggage in this country. I'll bet the number of those firearms that are disassembled with parts in separate bags is probably not even in the double digits. How many million of pieces of luggage fly every day with nothing taken from them?

 

[hso]

As long as you follow the airline rules for flying with a handgun there's nothing that removing the firing pin will cause a problem.

OTOH, I tried to be "proactive" and pulled the slide off a handgun once and put it in a separate bag and declared the bag with the lower. It confused the airline counter folks so badly I almost missed the flight and it took the assistance of a friendly and knowledgeable LEO at the airport to calm them and explain it was perfectly legal and that I'd declared the part the BATFE considered a "handgun".

So pull the pin, put it in your shave kit, and follow the airline rules for the handgun.

 

[dprice3844444]

run a gun lock through the barrel and one through the mag well.take a picture of it setting in the case(just in case they decide to ask you to open it to see how it's packed,unloaded).take a serial number picture in case they lose it.use a good lock on the outside.

 

[tyeo098]

I put my CZ75 in a sock and stashed it with my rifle in a hard case.
A trip to walmart got me some masterlock-brand key locks. Keylocks went on the case.

Ammo went unsecured in with my dirty laundry.

The rep at Melbourne Itl new her stuff, I'd give her props if I remembered her name

 

[W.E.G.]

If you are flying with a handgun, you must view Deviant Ollam's vid on the subject.

http://youtu.be/mGjddG5Owsc

 

[Drail]

It's a good idea to print out and carry a copy of the carrier's rules because I can guarantee you that the nice employees at the counter won't have the slightest idea what their own rules are. Don't be surprised if they freak out and get all weird when you declare your firearm. Don't use the word "gun". Refer to it as a firearm. Smile a lot. Make certain that they do not assume that you are a LEO. Some of them will. When you drive to Front Sight buy a lot of bottled water. You'll be needing that.

 

[sgt127]

Many times. Never a problem. Gun is unloaded in a seperate case. Case is locked with a lock that only I have a key to. Case is chained to the frame of the luggage.

Declare at the luggage check in. Either the attendent will check it or, send you to TSA. There its verified that its secured, orange hang tag is put on the gun case inside the luggage. Regular TSA locks on the bag.

Interesting aside, the vast majority of the time that I declared the gun to TSA, the bag was not re opened for a regular search. (My TSA locks indicate if it had been opened)

 

[Mainsail]

I've gone down to Utah twice with my XDs, once in August and once last month.

The gun is locked inside a metal box with a cable wrapped around the spine inside the suitcase. (Spine? It's the outer part of the extending handle) Anyway, to steal the box they'd have to cut the cable or take the whole suitcase.

So far in four times through TSA they haven't asked me to open the box.

EDIT to add, Both times I walked up the airline agent and said, “I have a handgun to declare”. Nobody freaked out or got weird, even in liberal Seattle.

The first time TSA put a zip-tie on to lock my suitcase, the other three times the bag wasn’t locked at all.

 

[WNC Seabee]

It's a good idea to print out and carry a copy of the carrier's rules because I can guarantee you that the nice employees at the counter won't have the slightest idea what their own rules are.

I would politely disagree with this. Not because you're wrong, but because you're absolutely right. The employees won't know the "official" rules, but they will know "how it works at their airport". Waving the rules around and acting as if you know their job better than they do (and you just might) will get their hackles raised and cause more trouble than it's worth.

Why do I say this? Because I've been there.

I fly a lot for business. I've probably checked a handgun a dozen times in the last year with only 1 problem. The only time I had a problem is when I tried to inform the ticket agent how 'it worked' when she was confused. That cost me a missed connection while she got worked up about me telling her how to do her job.

So, my advice...again after having done this many dozens of times...is to lock the handgun into a hard sided case and cable lock that case to the inside of your luggage.

Then, go to the ticket counter and say, "I need to declare an unloaded firearm in my checked baggage. How do I do that?" Then, let them do their thing. Sometimes they'll wan't to see it, most times they won't. The vast majority of the time you'll be escorted to a TSA agent and they'll take it from there. Bottom line is be flexible and go with the flow. It's really not a big deal unless you choose to make it one.

 

[K0ZZZ]

Seems about half the time I fly with a handgun in my checked baggage, the gate agent upgrades my seat with a wink and a nod if there's an upgrade available.
I use an MTM ammo box that has the holes in the lid for a non-tsa lock. The 30cal version is small enough to easily fit in my normal luggage. Never had any problem...

 

[jrdolall]

Flying with a handgun is just like any other air travel. It can be, and usually is, very easy and adds about 3 minutes to your trip. Just be sure and let the gate agent know up front that you have it unloaded in your bag and most of them will handle it will little to no problems. They may/may not want to look at it and they may/may not send you to a TSA agent.

No need to disassemble it or take out the firing pin. The chances of it being stolen are no greater than any other item being stolen out of your luggage. Just be friendly and let them do their jobs and you should be fine. Acting all secretive tends to make people suspicious so be open and ask questions rather than trying to explain. I had a TSA agent in Billings one time that had me open my rifle case and, upon seeing that it was an AR, she told me to close it up and didn't really even look at it. She said she wouldn't know if it was loaded or not because she knew nothing about ARs. At least she didn't call it an assault rifle.

 

[Hypnogator]

I'm sitting in Sea-Tac right now at the boarding gate, my XDS secure in a locked pistol case in my checked bag. Airline will ask you to put "unloaded firearm" tag in your bag (girl here mistakenly had me put it in the locked case. Then had to unlock it and retrieve it for TSA). Bag must be taken to TSA, who will check to see the tag is in the bag. Then, bon voyage. That's it. If I hadn't put the tag in the case like the ticket agent told me, would only have had to deliver bag to TSA and tell them unloaded firearm inside.

Doesn't take very long, but I'd allow at least another 30 minutes to deal with the screw-ups.

 

[orpington]

Now, why is it prohibited to carry a handgun in your carry-on luggage, provided you don't have any rounds along with it? Without rounds, it is just a heavy paperweight. I would think as long as you have a CCW permit, it whould be okay (but, obviously, is not). If I had to guess, I would think that those who have CCW permits are MORE responsible than the general population.

 

[oneounceload]

Now, why is it prohibited to carry a handgun in your carry-on luggage,

Up until the large amounts of hijacks to Cuba way back when, you could carry your gun onto the plane loaded, but that was then and this is now

 

[Mainsail]

...(girl here mistakenly had me put it in the locked case. Then had to unlock it and retrieve it for TSA).

Was it Alaska Airlines? They told me the same thing down in Salt Lake until another more knowledgeable employee corrected them. Nevertheless, they all loved the three-button lock-box.

 

[medalguy]

In my experience SW Airlines has very knowledgable ticket agents and generally know exactly what to do.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I've also have very good experiences with SW and Cont. when flying across the country.

Some counter people know their regulations better than others, but I've never had a problem with any of them. I arrive early (so there isn't a press at the counter), I'm pleasant and not demanding, and I don't draw attention to what is happening. I just mention what I have (an unloaded gun), what I'd like to do (check it in), and act like it is the most normal thing in the world

 

[mike28w]

Thanks for all of your input and experience !!

I think I'll just leave the firing pins in place....mike

 

[Armed 24/7]

I was one of the baggage handlers. I have checked in thousands of firearms.
Step 1. Make sure the firearm is unloaded and that there is NO ammunition in the hard sided case or the larger bag that it is inside of.
Step 2. Declare it at the ticket counter, show it is unloaded ( they should never touch your gun), sign the Orange Declaration, and put that into the hard case.
Step 3. Lock the case with a GOOD lock ( not a TSA lock) , also lock the larger bag.
Step 4. Carry it over to the TSA, stand by with he key in case they want you to unlock it. When they clear it, you are good to go.
Things to watch out for
Airlines will only let you check in 11 pounds of ammo in your other bag. I have never figured out where that number came from. If possible ship your ammo ahead of time to the training location.
Also every airline is different on the number of firearms you are allowed to check inside of a hard case. Example if you fill up a rifle case with pistols, some airlines will not accept that.
Just PM me if you have any questions.

 

[herrwalther]

Some counter agents are completely oblivious to their airline or TSA policies about firearm travel. The first time I flew with firearms, the counter told me that it was illegal. Until I pulled up the regulation on my smart phone. That is why it is a good idea to have it printed out, just in case. Highlighted portions are optional. Knowing the rules better than they do is helpful if they try to pull something they *think* they know.

Experiences will vary with this. They might ask you to open the case and show the weapon is unloaded, they may do it, or they may send it through the Xray to verify there are no rounds in the firearm. I have had all three happen at different airports and different carriers.

 

[Mainsail]

Step 1. Make sure the firearm is unloaded and that there is NO ammunition in the hard sided case or the larger bag that it is inside of.

I carried a full box of Federal HSTs in my suitcase next to the locked box containing the gun. The airline knew it and TSA knew it. Not sure where that came from. I'm supposed to check an additional bag just for ammunition?

Step 2. Declare it at the ticket counter, show it is unloaded ( they should never touch your gun), sign the Orange Declaration, and put that into the hard case.

Don't show the agent anything unless they ask to see it. Why on earth would you approach the counter showing them a gun? So far in my measly four times through, nobody has asked to see anything. I'm certainly not going to show them the gun.

Can you provide a cite for these?