Unfortunately, not all ticket agent check in people know the rules.
My last experience flying with a firearm out of Indy the woman who I tried to check the firearm case with refused, said it had to have a TSA lock. At the time I flew the TSA website advised NOT to use a TSA lock, and I tried telling her that. I told her I'd flown before and if the TSA wants me to unlock it the procedure is they will page me and I will unlock it in their presence, which so far has never happened so far, since the slide was locked back in the hard case. She didn't believe me and refused to let me check it in. I was very calm and patient but when it became apparent she wasn't going to budge I asked for a supervisor. When the supervisor arrived she told her what I was trying to do, and the supervisor said yes, that is acceptable. She walked off in a huff. 
Allegedly almost all the people caught bringing a gun carry on are law abiding citizens who just forgot they had it on them or had it in some off body carry, like a purse. Even though I've carried for so long (on body) that I generally forget it's there, I would definitely remember if I ever had to enter some restricted place, like the airport, courthouse, etc. One of the articles (dayton) said that 93% of the firearms discovered were loaded, which some might say what's wrong with the 7% who carry it unloaded?
Even though I don't recommend carrying chamber empty for self defense, I don't judge others who do. There are positives and negatives to almost all choices in life, and as long as responsible people know and accept the risks that's on them, IMO. Regardless of loaded or not, the law is the same for carrying a firearm on a person or in the carry on at the airport. So far I only know of one person who unintentionally took his loaded CC pistol with it on him when he went on a flight, but he didn't get the gun confiscated or get into any trouble because they missed it somehow.
He didn't just fly with it on one flight, he had a layover and had to board another plane. He had to buy a hard gun case and lock in the location where he flew in order to legally get the gun back home when he flew back. https://www.whio.com/news/local/local-m ... HL7YRB7WU/
https://www.whio.com/news/local/most-do ... 2YXEUENBU/
https://www.whio.com/news/state-and-reg ... RY4NQJRPM/
https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/tsa- ... s-in-2023/
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/cri ... 62753.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBiPF0vmtWA
OHIO — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is asking passengers to double-check their bags for firearms before entering checkpoints at Ohio airports.
News Center 7 previously reported that the TSA is finding more guns at checkpoints in Ohio airports.
“It’s been growing, and I think we see pockets of the county where the issue is more exacerbated than others,” said Jessica Mayle, TSA Regional Spokesperson. “The issue is definitely handled in different areas of the country where gun ownership has increased.”
In Cleveland, TSA officers stopped 38 guns last year while agents in Columbus found 55 guns. That is way more than what both airports saw in 2022.
In Dayton, officers said they confiscated eight guns last year, which is down from 13 in 2022.
Mayle told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott on Friday that she hopes that trends continue nationwide.
“We really want to emphasize, that even though most passengers will say, ‘Oh my gosh, I forgot I had the gun in my bag. I didn’t mean to do that,’ the consequences are the same,” she said. “It’s still incredibly dangerous and we want to get passengers in that mindset of checking your bag before you get to the airport, make sure you know what you are bringing to the checkpoint.”
Mayle said that nationwide, 93% of guns found at checkpoints were loaded. She added that is “definitely the overwhelming trend.”
She emphasized that people who don’t carry a gun should feel very safe and that TSA officers are very good at their job.
“The technology is very good, and our officers are very well-trained,” said Mayle. “When you hear that number, it should tell you that these guns are getting stopped at the checkpoint.”
She said that when a gun is found at the checkpoint, all activity is stopped at the lane.
Mayle added that TSA agents don’t move the bag out of the X-ray belt until officers arrive.
“When you’re looking at an airport like Dayton, which is not very big,” she said. “It does not have a lot of lanes. It’s extremely disruptive to those passengers behind you because nobody can get through until we clear this incident.”
Mayle said officers then arrive and have discretion.
They take possession of the weapon and can either make an arrest or cite the passenger. Officers can also decide if there will be any local criminal consequences.
From the TSA’s side, Mayle said the passenger would be also penalized. It could be a fine of hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the circumstances. A pre-checked passenger could lose those benefits for up to five years.