Self-Defense for Travelers--Advice Wanted

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goosevr1

New member
In a few months time I will be starting a new consulting position that will require me to travel (by air) frequently. I currently have a FL CCW which works for me almost everywhere with the exception of the Northeast.

However, being that I'll be flying week in and week out, traveling with a firearm (assuming the destination recognizes the FL CCW) will be a hassle. Carrying knives will also require me to check-in; something I'd prefer to avoid. Post 9/11 I much rather print my boarding pass from home and go directly to the gate.

For those of you who have been in this situation before, what did you do? Can anyone else give me some good pointers? If you're staying at the same hotel week after week is it okay to ask them to "hold" things for you? Anything would be helpful.
 
I do this
Go to the nearest hunting,weapon,sportinggoods store and get whatever you like
you will also get a bigger collection that way ;)
 
If you want to leave items in another town that you will be frequenting, get a safety deposit box, don't use the hotel. If you are going to different locations, you'll need to check baggage... If carrying a gun is worth the effort.

For added options while you are actually traveling, consider a hooked wooden cane you can carry them on the plane and take them everywhere.
 
A safety deposit box sounds like a great idea. There shouldn't be any problem leaving knives and the such, but guns? Can you bring firearms into banks?
 
Only if you promise not to rob them. :D Stay in good hotels and stay away from bad parts of town. Don't be out walking around in middle of night. Most of time you won't see any thing except your work ,your room and more work. Ive lived and worked on road as a suiter and latter as a trucker. Both lives suck. :(
 
I work for a large technical consulting firm and fly out of the SE U.S. several times a year to over half a dozen different locations. Most of my trips are 3 days or less. This makes it impractical to have weapons staged at my destination and if I bought them there they would be one-time use items if I did not check my bags. I always check my bags. I always have a defensive folder and fixed blade that I'm familiar with in my shaving kit in my check bag. I always carry a cane. I train in the use of each. When allowed I put a handgun in a FAA/Airline compliant lockable case in my check bag.

I use several trouble avoidance techniques. I try to get on the ground while the sun is up if I will not be using a hotel shuttle (I almost never have the opportunity to do this) so that I can drive the rental car to the hotel and then to my work destination during daylight. I avoid any areas that are not hum-drum and boring while on travel unless I am in a group. I do not drink alcohol unless the bar is in the hotel or within a block of the hotel or unless I am in a group and I do not have to drive or I'm willing to take a cab. Since I'm there for work I usually don't have time to do anything except get to the site and get back to the hotel.
 
Just flew to a host of SE Asian countries (some for work, others for vacation) that had the most restrictive weapons policies around. (Death if caught with an illegal firearm in Singapore)

Being away from home, and not on American soil may be a little different for a civilian who is going from one state to another, so I just depended on the best weapon that we all have - our brain.

Common sense would say you follow the above guidelines provided.

Now I would take some martial arts training and even basic boxing. These will give you the proper HTH skills if you needed to defend yourself. Its about getting out alive if you get into a hostile encounter, but the best defense is to run away or not get into the encounter in the first place, especially if unarmed.
 
I travel all the time for work. Though I never carry my piece with me, I have a friend who does.

He has a neat little lockbox he bought for the gun that has a cable attached to it. The TSA finds it sufficient to transport in checked luggage, and he uses it to lock it in his rental car or hotel room when he has to leave it (coils the cable around something solid on the bed and leaves it underneath where the maid won't notice it). If you don't mind not having your room cleaned everyday, you can also request "no maid service."

I wouldn't plan on handing a firearm to a hotel clerk. If you're coming in late, even at a decent business man's hotel, there's often just the 24 year old skittish clerk who would probably freak.

The only thing I really do when I travel is stay highly aware of my surroundings -- but anyone with a brain should do that. Since expenses aren't a concern with me, I generally go to nice restaurants and places I know tend to be in the "higher class" part of town.

If you go to a Chilis, TGIF, etc. they tend to be pretty suburban and OK. If you pull up to "Buddy's Barbeque" with 3 lights burned out on the sign and a guy in a stained wife beater T-shirt leaning against the door holding a 2x4 with a nail through the end ... probably not what you want.

Congrats on the new job! If you're single, you'll love the traveling life; always something special, opportunities to have multiple GF's in different cities -- just don't be shy.

If you're married and a family man like me sometimes it REALLY SUCKS.
 
Rights that are not used are more likely to be taken. One day, we might not have this right. I would deal with it everyday. If the location is the same each day, consider finding a bank nearby that has a safty deposit box and store a weapon there.
 
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