Concerns flying with guns under todays political climate

[FLAK]

Some places are more of a pain than others.
Spokane and Seattle come to mind.
Just a higher density of Asstronaut holes.

 

[CHWine]

Oh boy. Flying out of SFO to South Africa in a few months. I worry (not that much really) about whackos in the airport seeing a rifle case and going to hunt Bambi. Flying Delta and I think lots of hunters fly them to RSA. Normally I would borrow my PH's rifle but my deceased uncle's .375 H&H has a date with Black Death.

 

[fatbacks]

No concerns


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MattB]

Actually the guns can't be opened without the owner present. You lock the case before it goes through the scanning process.

Not the case in some airports. If they want into your gun case the airline counter agents will take your keys back to TSA. San Jose and Philadelphia are two that I have heard of, sounds like potentially Spokane as well.

I've flown out of San Jose 5 or more times with a firearm and it has been the same process every time. They tell you to hang out in the ticket counter area for 15-20 minutes after they check you in/take your bags in case they need your keys to open your case. If they do, they do so behind closed doors.

 

[Rob5589]

The TSA website has all the info. It does say that the TSA can ask for the key or combo in order to check for compliance (unloaded). It does not say the owner has to be, can be, or must be present.

 

[hodgeman]

Zero concern. The biggest (maybe only) benefit of the TSA is that all airlines work from a single policy for transporting firearms. Prior to 9/11 everyone had their own policy and traveling between airlines was a huge PITA.

Comply with TSA policies and it'll be smooth sailing. Some airports are better at it than others, but I've never had an issue post 9/11. Airports near major hunting destinations will have the process running like a well oiled machine, others will need some patience.

 

[Sevens]

I just have the regs already pulled up on my phone just in case, but haven’t had any major issues. Some funny stories for sure; always great when the guy checking your rifle doesn’t know how a rifle works (staring down the muzzle is not the best way to check it’s unloaded)!

 

[Murtfree]

Zero concern. The biggest (maybe only) benefit of the TSA is that all airlines work from a single policy for transporting firearms. Prior to 9/11 everyone had their own policy and traveling between airlines was a huge PITA.

I thank everyone for the input. This statement about the TSA seems to sum it all up. I haven’t flown with guns since 9/11 and prior to that the problems I ran into were a result of poor policy and no real recourse for dealing with difficult airline personel. With the advent of TSA and standard Federal regulations creating the rule book for flying with guns, it seems most of the problems I encountered no longer exist. Could it be the first time the Fed Government has actually made a situation better??

 

[gbflyer]

Only time I ever had a problem was in SLC at the Delta counter. I was polite, took the dude’s name and ratted him out to SLC FSDO. They answered my complaint immediately and transferred me to another department. I got a call about a month later from an FAA ops inspector and we had a nice chat. I suspect the little feller got a talking to and probably operates a little differently today.

 

[hunt1up]

I think everyone in O'hare airport knew I was a hunter when I was wheeling 2 coolers marked parishable, a moose rack, gun case, and duffle bags out of baggage claim. It's funny to watch antlers come out on the baggage belt.

Though I don't go out of my way to advertise I'm hunter, it's pretty obvious given the gear and attire. People generally ask how the hunt was and stuff. TSA and gate people have always been helpful with weapons. They see guns all the time.

 

[MattB]

The TSA website has all the info. It does say that the TSA can ask for the key or combo in order to check for compliance (unloaded). It does not say the owner has to be, can be, or must be present.
View attachment 253827

Thanks for posting that. I did however find another section of the TSA website (FAQ) that explicitly says that TSA-recognized locks cannot be used for securing firearms (which contradicts a portion of what you posted above). Our government at work....

 

[Marmots]

I've never had a problem flying with guns, but I've had plenty of problems flying with dry ice and oddball scientific samples.

As others have said, it's a great idea to print out the TSA regs and keep that page on you so you can show an agent if any concerns or disagreements come up.

 

[DudeBro]

No concerns. And I fly out of Dulles and Reagan.

 

[Crghss]

Flying out Ft Lauderdale, United and Southwest, they really don’t know what their doing. On return flight they put gun case on luggage belt. That was crazy. Return flight from Denver and Rapid city people where great.

 

[cbat]

It won't matter because the way things are going you won't flying anywhere. We are supposed to be flying to Mexico next week to go deer hunting. As of yesterday it looks like it won't happen. Border is closed

 

[DontHuntWA]

Definitely heard some horror stories but I feel safe with my rifles in a nicely padded hard sided case. They could prob run over a pelican with the plane and it’d still be good to go.

 

[Southern Heritage]

My vote is buy a nice rifle case. I fly to ND almost every year. This year I flew 3 shotguns up and back in one case. It’s a browning heavy duty flight case that’s 25 years old. They “dropped” it so many times it lost the air release valve, broke one rear hinge, bent the other rear hinge. I was pissed. Opened it up my guns hadn’t moved a inch and the case still works. So it did it’s job.
If I had a scoped rifle I’m 100% coffident it would have been fine.
As for getting harassed it’s just depends who you get at the airport. I always keep a smile and in the end go with how they want it but get through it each time.

My thoughts are this happen in Chicago.

 

[enlightenedred]

First time I ever flew with a firearm (many years ago), I borrowed a heavy duty aluminum rifle case from a friend who is a firearms dealer. No problems going out. On the return trip, the case arrived with a 1.5" v shaped hole in the side. The rifle was fine, no damage or loss of zero, but somebody went way out of their way to slam the case hard enough to puncture it as such. Next day I ordered a pelican case and four locks. Haven't had any issues since. Have always had helpful staff at the airlines. Just give yourself plenty of extra time for check in and kill em with kindnesss.

 

[lhbackcountry]

Hey guys, I am flying through delta in atl headed to missoula: just wanted be clear - I am using apache 9800 with two masterlocks. I am going to print the tsa regs and then have two tsa locks as well in the case with zipties..

anything else i need to do besides getting to airport/ declaring/ and going about my day

 

[DudeBro]

Hey guys, I am flying through delta in atl headed to missoula: just wanted be clear - I am using apache 9800 with two masterlocks. I am going to print the tsa regs and then have two tsa locks as well in the case with zipties..

anything else i need to do besides getting to airport/ declaring/ and going about my day

I have never needed TSA locks, but it can't hurt to take them in case. Zipties won't help w/ any regs, but it doesn't hurt to take them for other things.

Remember, your ammo can go in the same case as the firearm(s), but it has to be in the factory boxes or a container designed for ammunition.

Add 30-60 minutes to your arrival time just to be safe.