latest tips for air traveling with Rifle or handgun, sugges

[CCIman]

Hi,

What's the latest with air travel with guns? Specifically, how sturdy, hard, should the case/lock have to be? Many of my cases are over ten years old, Plano types, and the areas to lock are a joke, and the plastic case can be opened with a carpet knife.

Suggestions? Traveling to FL from Cincy, using Allegient.

Thanks.

[SMMAssociates]

CCIman:

I don't think there's been any changes in law in the last few years (I haven't flown since 2012), other than the somewhat blanket acceptance of other states licenses that popped up a few months ago (except for the craziness in VA). In short, the law has always indicated that you can transport a firearm to a state where you can legally possess it, but you couldn't necessarily carry it. Just a lot more states that will recognize your license.

That said, the Airline's web site and the TSA web site should spell out any rules. Generally, the airlines may further restrict your method of transport, but I don't think there's any one out there that won't let you transport them.

One craziness I ran into - from somebody else's post, somewhere - is an airline ticket agent that demanded the licensee provide a lock for each "hole" in a case. They don't seem to care about the "quality" of the case as long as it's not cardboard . The whole thing is "theater" anyway, but the biggest zingers are the presence of ammunition and/or whether or not magazines may be loaded. My vote is unloaded (including unloaded magazines) with ammunition elsewhere in your luggage. Some airlines limit the amount of ammunition you can transport.

Handguns usually (I think you'd be nuts not to) are placed in a lockable case (with locks!) and then placed inside other luggage. DO NOT use a TSA lock on the gun case itself, and it's not a good idea to use a combination lock. The gun case is not supposed to be opened (or openable) outside of your view. Use a TSA lock, if you want any lock, on the outside luggage.

Long guns should be in solid cases, etc., but don't have to be placed inside of other luggage. Use your own lock.

It should take some time to open one of these without a key, but there's not much to go on here.

The whole idea, IMHO, is to keep an airline employee (or any other party) from easily opening the case to steal or use the weapon inside the terminal (or somehow get it on an aircraft for somebody's "use"). The scanning hardware that we are supposed to walk through, etc., as well as pass our carry-on luggage through, is intended to keep us from actually carrying a firearm into the sterile area or on to an aircraft. None of this seems to work very well, but it's theater. I'm an "arm the passengers" guy ....

Enjoy the trip! My wife's brother lives in the Palm Beach area, and my wife's been itching to go visit. Her mom's in a nursing home here, though, or I'd probably have to chain her to something.

Regards,

[BobK]

I use a locking case that looks something like these:







Mine also has the wire that attaches to the case, which I have attached to a support beam ion my luggage.

Flown many time with it. Never a problem. Retails around $20.

[Caver]

I can concur that if you are traveling with a long gun and the case has places for 4 locks- install 4 locks. I almost didn't get a rifle case shipped after TSA forceably pried open one corner of my case and was able to stick one finger inside. This was a hard very secure case that had 4 lock holes and silly me only installed two locks. I'm not sure what he could have drug out of the case with one finger, but what can I say other than it was TSA!

[OldManTod]

After TSA broke two of the four locks off my Benelli case because they are idiots, I ended up spending the 200 bones on a Pelican to get my shotguns from point A to point B.