Traveling w/ guns

It all boils down to this. It's a bit long but 100% relevent.

I've flown my guns a few times and found that each airlines handles firearms differently. Just follow the rules and you will be surprised how easy it is to take your guns with you when you vacation.

It's very easy to fly with handguns. Go to the airlines website and follow their rules. Get the rules for each and every airlines you will be flying on as your departure airline. If in doubt call the airlines customer service department and ask. They are very friendly and always willing to help you out. they won't be alarmed by your questions. They hear them every day.

Lock it in a hard case with non TSA locks (a plastic pistol case that is locked is acceptable. Like a Plano brand pistol case,).
It must be checked in by itself, or inside your check baggage. You may fly ammo in your checked baggage with your guns, but check with the airlines to find out the limits (previous statement edited). Depending on the airlines it may or may not be shipped in the same case with your handguns, read the rules you will know.

Declare that you have packed a firearm in your baggage verbally (but quietly) when you go to the check-in counter.
The counter agent will advise you on their exact procedures at that airport.
Most airports handle firearms transportation differently, depending on the security requirements there.

Federal law requires that a signed firearms declaration tag is placed inside your checked baggage, and not inside the pistol case. If TSA or another authority opens your baggage for inspection of the contents, they must be able to see that a firearm has been declared without having to open your pistol case. Most airlines will tape your declaration tag onto the top of your pistol case so it doesn't end up slipping off and getting misplaced inside your luggage. It is in their interest to protect your contents in this case.

It is also illegal for an airlines or TSA to mark your baggage on the outside in any manner that would indicate that a firearm is in the baggage, by using an identifying mark, tag or other method that can be visually identified. This ruling is courtesy of the California State Supreme Court and upheld by the US Supreme Court.

The odds are high that TSA will pull your luggage and open your bags to verify that a declaration tag is present and the guns are secured properly.
Once your guns are discovered inside of your baggage, by either a gunpowder sniffer or by x-ray. It will be opened by TSA to make sure of the contents.
I've always had my bags opened by TSA when a gun was in it. TSA will leave a note inside your bag indicating they had been in your bag for an inspection.
According to the TSA and Northwest Airlines the Firearms Declaration tag cannot be seen by X-Ray, contrary to common belief.

TSA will not open your pistol case unless it is absolutly necessary. They don't want to mess with it if it's already been verified as secure.

NEVER try to transport a firearm in your carry on luggage, you will lose your flight and your weapon too. You may face prison time if caught.

Unless you are taking a large quantity of firearms and ammo there is no reason to ship it thru FedEx or UPS. The cost of using them to ship your guns is outrageous.

And lastly, don't ever try to ship a firearm by a common carrier without properly declaring it, and paying for the appropriate shipping/handling charges. It is against Federal law to ship a firearm without properly declaring it and shipping it according to Federal laws. Even common carriers shipments get examined every once in a while.
 
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Lock it in a hard case with non TSA locks (a plastic pistol case that is locked is acceptable. Like a Plano brand pistol case,).
It must be checked in by itself, or inside your check baggage. You may fly up to 40 Lbs of ammo in your checked baggage with your guns. Depending on the airlines it may or may not be shipped in the same case with your handguns, read the rules you will know.
Click to expand...

Be very careful when quoting weight allowances for ammo. United only allows 11 lbs of ammo. Alaska air allows 50 pounds. Check each airlines web site for maximum weight allowances. There is no hard and fast rule. Each airline can be different as I pointed out. It would be a shame to show up for a United flight with 40 lbs of ammo Because 29 pounds would not go on the plane using the 40 lb. allowance quoted.
 
An earlier post stated that the tag goes in your bag and not in the pistol case. That is technically correct. There are 2 copies of the tag and I have one put in with the weapon before I lock it. I may sound a little paranoid, but if the tag comes up missing from in my bag, I can open the case if needed and prove that it was declared. The ticket agents have always been fine with that.
 
A couple of observations from someone who has traveled on many occasions with pistols in checked luggage:

1. Although it is legal to ship (not mail) a gun to yourself in another state, you cannot send it FedEx. As an earlier poster pointed out, the law requires that you declare the handgun to the carrier. FedEx regulations prohibit the shipment of a handgun to a non-FFL (even yourself). So once you declare it, they will refuse to ship it. I don't know UPS's policies.

2. The ammunition CAN be in magazines, and the loaded magazines can be in the same locked case as the pistol (though not in the gun itself). Some airline agents don't know this, though, as they believe that it has be be packaged in a box. The relevant portion of the TSA website says:

# You must securely pack any ammunition in fiber (such as cardboard), wood or metal boxes or other packaging that is specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition.
# You can't use firearm magazines/clips for packing ammunition unless they completely and securely enclose the ammunition (e.g., by securely covering the exposed portions of the magazine or by securely placing the magazine in a pouch, holder, holster or lanyard).
# You may carry the ammunition in the same hard-sided case as the firearm, as long as you pack it as described above.​

3. Related to the above, always carry a copy of the airline and TSA policies from their website, as individual agents may not know the rules very well.

4. I have never gotten a second copy of the tag. They just tape the tag to the pistol box.

5. As at least one poster pointed out, different airports have different procedures for checking in the guns.

6. Over Christmas, the airline lost two of my bags, one of which contained two pistols. The bags were delivered to me some 30 hours later. As far as I could tell, no one at the airline knew there were pistols in the bags, and I didn't tell them when I filed my lost-luggage report.

7. It's never taken me more than 10 extra minutes to check in with pistols, and usually it takes less than 5. (I'm paranoid, though, and always leave ample additional time in case I run into an idiot).

8. The bags come out with the rest of the bags from the flight.
 
I've flown with my CCW, as has my husband. At least on Southwest Airlines, flying between Nevada and Arizona, or Nevada and Oklahoma, we have had no problems. Both the Southwest employees and the TSA guys seem to take the rather sensible view that anybody they needed to be worried about would not be following the procedure and openly declaring the guns.

The process is as described up-thread. You declare your guns at baggage check-in, fill out the appropriate tags, and unlock the case for the TSW guys so that they can verify that the gun is secure and unloaded. Ironically, your gun is a lot more secure as checked baggage than the rest of your luggage is because it's locked while being shipped and only you hold the keys to the lock. <wry grin> My husband and I have discussed deliberately packing the gun, in its container, into a locked suitcase with our other stuff so that everything (not just the gun) is locked from end to end.
 
Coming back from Reno two years ago... I got bounced

around and ended up getting home sooner than my original flight.... my luggage with check pistol was on the later flight, even though a ticket agent in Cincinnati said it was on my new flight. When I went to declare the lost luggage on arriving home the first thing the folks asked when they looked it up on the computer was "did I have a gun in the luggage?"

think about it... if you have to 'declare' the weapon at check in... of course it is noted in their computer.
 
I fly with valuables all of the time. Guns are not much different. Document everything! Pictures, reciepts, as much as possible.
 
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