Transporting firearms by air: how-to?

O

Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
I am trying to get a hold of NWA reps to get the info but have had zero luck thus far. In December, I will need to fly to Nashville and would like to bring some guns along. How should I handle the process with the airline and how should I pack them?

I will have a couple of handguns. Will also have a shotgun, an AK and an AR15. The shotgun and the AR can be disassembled so they fit my luggage better, the AK cannot. I would also like to bring at least a couple of magazine's worth of amunition for each gun.

Advice on packing, insuring and otherwise insuring the safe arrival of the guns would be appreciated.

Suggestions or links to web resources would be much appreciated.

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Oleg "peacemonger" Volk
http://www.a-human-right.com http://www.olegvolk.net

[This message has been edited by Oleg Volk (edited October 14, 2000).]
 
Can't help you with the long guns, but they probably need their own lockable cases. With handguns, get a decent lockable case for transport. Tell the person at the counter that you've got firearms to check. They may ask to see them to verify they are unloaded, but they have just asked me if they are unloaded. They give you a tag that goes on the inside of the case (each case in your case :)). Ammo is OK under a certain weight (11 lbs?) if in its original box. I took ammo in a separate bag. Good luck.
 
Guns and ammo must be stowed separately.

Long guns are going to have to be in a locked case, but you can have more than one in a case. You can NOT break them down and stow them in your regular checked bag. If you have a limit on the number of bags you can check, this may present a problem for you. I recommend getting one case that will hold all three of those long guns if at all possible. I've never travelled with more than one long gun and one handgun, so it's never been an issue for me.

The handguns have to be locked up as well, but once they are verified empty, tagged, and cased you can slip them into your luggage. That'll help on the overall space issue.

Not 100% sure about the weight limit on the ammo, but 11 pounds DOES sound right to me. Can't have the ammo in the same bag as the checked handguns, though.

Declare at the counter that you have firearms to be checked in. After the dirty look ( :D), you'll be given some red tags to fill out, one per firearm. Those will go in the case with each gun. If you have a case that holds two, then you'll still have two tags. You'll be asked a handful of questions about the ammo and other things, and then you'll check the bags and cases and be off to enjoy your flight.

Go early. If you normally arrive an hour before your flight, give yourself an extra half-hour or so. You're likely to get a ticket clerk who has no how to check that a firearm is empty, so you'll need some extra time. And to be fair to them, it's not something they encounter on a regular basis.

Good luck!
 
I've never flown with a long gun so I can't advise you there.

The requirement for handguns is that they must be in a locked case. You'll usually be required to sign a statement to the effect that you are the only person with access to the key or combination locking the pistols in the case and that they are unloaded. The case can be placed in the luggage and the ammo can also be placed in the luggage as far as I know. I've done it and saw nothing saying it was prohibited. The signed statement was placed in the case and locked in it! Usually the counter person wants to check that the firearm is unloaded, usually they have no idea how to determine the loaded state. This takes time; might scare the sheeple.

With a long gun I'd advise pulling the bolts on all the weapons while in the case. Should be a quick way to verify that it is unloaded.
 
If you are rich enough, take a charter flight or private flight. You don't have to go through all the BS for commercial airlines. You usually meet at a private hanger, board the aircraft (without inspections) and take off to where you wish to go. Most will ask if you have any type of weapons going on board but it is up to the Captain of the plane to decide how and where the weapons can be stored. I lucked out and got a free flight on a private jet (okay, me and the captain were "old" friends) and we went into a remote place to go camping and shooting. I carried my handgun on me throughout the whole flight.. while he did the same. I don't know if we were disobeying FAA rules or not but he didn't give a rats @ss about it anyway. He told me right out, "This is my &^^% plane and I'll do whatever I d*(n well please. Great guy.

USP45usp

*special note: I could be wrong on this account about private planes having their own rules... this was about 5 years ago and you know how the guberment likes to infringe on other peoples lives and property.
 
The important thing to remember is that the firearms must go in your checked luggage. You may not carry one in your carry-on luggage.

When you get to the airport, go directly to the check-in counter. If you believe you have to pass through the metal detectors to do this you are in dire jeopardy of going to prison. Do not attempt to go through the metal dectors or declare the weapons to anyone but the check-in clerk. This is what got that pianist in trouble a few years ago. He was presented a .32 cal commemorative and made the mistake of walking up to the guard at the metal detector and asking "What do I do with this?" Even though he did not attempt to enter the restricted area, he ended up on probation and lost the firearm forever. It likely adorns the mantle of some airport rent-a-cop now.

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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
 
The red "steal me" tags go *inside* the outer container (put the handgun case inside a regular suitcase).

Get some "biohazard" sticky tape for the long gun case at least (throw in a used bandaid to avoid lying - blood is a biohazard).


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I see no elephant in my cellar. If there were an elephant in my cellar, I would surely see it. Therefore, there is no elephant in my cellar.

http://www.ety.com/tell/why.html
 
On November 09, 2000 I flew Northwest Airlines from Houston - Intercontinental to Las Vegas. I walked up to the ticket counter and declared I had an unloaded long gun in my checked baggage. I told the ticket agent it was disassembled and there was no ammunition in the checked baggage. The piece of luggage was a military duffel bag. He gave me the red tag to sign. I signed it and placed inside the duffel bag. He tagged the duffel bag and dumped it on the baggage conveyer. We were on our way. We picked the duffel bag up in baggage claim in Las Vegas and proceeded home. Not a hassle at all.

YMMV

Different
 
as far as long guns, i've heard discussions about getting one of those hard cased golf club cases, with wheels, and tossing some foam rubber in there for padding, then putting long arms in them. you may want to drill, reinforce, and add extra hasps which you can put a pad lock on for extra security, as the locks on some of those cases are pretty flimsy. - check out some cases in your local stores and see what you might find. a golf case will be less tempting a target than a rifle case, i think, but considering the price of some clubs now, someone might still be interested in what is in that case.

i personally would suggest that you may want to consider taking fewer firearms on your trip, mainly for insurance reasons - the airlines greatly limit their liability for stolen and lost things so much now that if you do get things lost or stolen, they may not cover the full replacement cost of what you lost. check out their liability coverage on luggage and the restrictions that they have - they try to limit the amount that they will pay for electronics and such, and i think that it applies to firearms too.

i would also have a form with the firearm model number, and possibly serial number on it that the check in person would verify and sign to indicate you did actually check in these items to the airline, so they can't say "we have no proof that you actually checked in a model xxx worth $$$ dollars." commonly airlines will try to deny claims by saying things like "can you provide a receipt or prior proof of purchase of that item for our claim form?" and "can you provide evidence that that item was checked in by you?"
 
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